MORIHEI UESHIBA (1883-1969), the founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido, is renowned as one of the greatest martial artists of all time. After years as a master of many martial arts, a soldier, and a spiritual seeker, he developed aikido as a way to cultivate peace and harmony in the world. JOHN STEVENS is a professor of Buddhist Studies and an aikido instructor at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan. He is the author or translator of over thirty books on Buddhism, Zen, aikido, and Asian culture.