日本発祥の武道、「合気道」。一筆書きのような優雅な動きで、一瞬にして相手を投げ飛ばす。一見、勝敗を争っているように見えるが、実は合気道は勝敗がなく、試合も行われません。そのため「争わない武道」と言われています。いまや130の国と地域、約150万人の人々が学んでいます。海を渡った合気道に触れ、わざわざ本場日本へやって来る生徒の数も増えています。

東京新宿にある合気道道場には、毎日大勢の外国人が訪れています。ある者は母国で道場を開くことを夢見て、また、ある者は自己探求のために生涯を合気道に捧げようとしています。様々な想いや人生を背負っている人々が、同じ時代にこの道場に居合わせる。彼らにとって合気道とは何なのか？彼らの視点から合気道の魅力に迫ります。

Aikido is a Japanese martial art in which the opponent’s attack is redirected to avoid damage, rather than opposing it head-on. Aikido consists of elegant moves which are like strokes of calligraphy that can throw over the opponent in a split second. While it may seem otherwise, Aikido is not about determining a winner or loser and does not have organized competitions. Due to this, it is called the “Non-Fighting Martial Arts”. Currently, it is said that there are around one million practitioners of Aikido in 130 regions and countries around the world.

Many students from overseas come to learn Aikido in Japan. There is an Aikido Dojo in Shinjuku, Tokyo where a number of Aikido students from abroad come to practice every day. One of them aspires to open his own Dojo back in his country. Another student is on a self-finding quest and has dedicated everything for Aikido in the past few years.

People with different goals and a variety of reasons in life gather to this place to practice Aikido. What do they hope to achieve? The program features Aikido’s appeal seen through international students’ perspective.

Producer：Katsuyuki Ishitsuka
Director：Momoo Arita

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