Toshikazu Ichimura

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Toshikazu Ichimura (born December 12, 1941) is a Japanese aikido teacher who lived in Sweden from 1966 to 1986. During this time he led aikido in Sweden and was also an important teacher in Denmark and Finland. He helped develop iaido in those countries and was the first to give aikido demonstrations in Finland. He holds 6th dan in the Aikikai organization (awarded in 1977) and 6th dan in iaido (renshi) since 1969. He also taught macrobiotics and the Japanese sound mysticism system called kototama.

Ichimura began aikido in 1957 at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, studying mainly under Shoji Nishio. In 1961 he went to Toyo University and started a university dojo. In 1966 he moved to Stockholm after requests from Jan Beime and others. He first taught at Beime’s Stockholm Aikikai, then at Minnano, and he also visited many other dojos in the Stockholm area. In 1968 he moved to Uppsala and started a dojo with the local YMCA, which is now known as Uppsala Aikikai.

Over the years he taught in Sweden and gave seminars in Finland, Denmark, and Poland. His work helped connect aikido with iaido in Sweden, so many older aikido students also practiced iaido. He wrote two early Swedish aikido books, Aikido and Aikido och fred (Aikido and Peace).

In 1986 Ichimura returned to Japan, leaving Sweden without a Japanese teacher. Yasuo Kobayashi took care of Finland, and Nishio took care of Denmark. Ichimura no longer practices aikido but runs a shiatsu clinic in Kobe. For the 50th anniversary of aikido in Sweden in 2011, he made a temporary comeback and led a training session at a Stockholm camp.