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Budo Zen Art Gallery
In traditional Japan, Budo was only one of the arts assiduously practiced by the samurai; both male and female warriors were expected to learn the arts of poetry, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, music, dance, and above all the arts of the brush – calligraphy and painting. While Miyamoto Musashi is respected as one of history’s premier swordsmen, he is also honored as one of Japan’s greatest painters. Since the time of Musashi, warriors – of the battlefield and of the spirit – created many wonderful calligraphies and paintings to inspire and instruct their followers.

In modern times, we have such examples as Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875), a samurai lady turned Buddhist nun who produced delightful pottery, poem cards, and paintings; dynamic Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-1888), Zen master and Muto Ryu Patriarch, who brushed a million pieces of inspiring art; and Ueshiba Morihei, (1882-1969), founder of Aikido, an enthusiastic calligrapher, who created art cherished by his students all over the world.

The Budo Zen Art Gallery was established by Aiko Institute to make available fine examples of Budo and Zen art. The trustees of Aiko Institute have been inspired by Ueshiba Morihei’s vision of a peaceful and beautiful world. Thus, it is one of the missions of the Institute to promote the appreciation and dissemination of top quality Budo and Zen scrolls.

All of the items in the Budo Zen Art Gallery have been carefully selected for quality, impact, and the message they convey by John Stevens and Susan Perry both long time Aikido practitioners, college professors, and aficionados of the brush.