TAE Journal, Edition 13, The Adoption of Grading and Belt Systems into Aikido. By Adrian Punt

adrian9973
Dec 14
8 min read

FROM EDITION 13 OF THE TRADITIONAL AIKIDO EUROPE JOURNAL – SUMMER 2025

Introduction

The ancient martial traditions of Japan focused on practical approaches to combat (armed and unarmed). Your skill was defined by your ability to best an opponent (or opponents), and to survive, whether on the battlefield, or in a civilian encounter. ‘Grades’, and associated markings, such as our modern belt system had little, or no, relevance.

In Japan, by the end of the Edo (also known as Tokugawa) period (1603-1867), the period when Japan was under shogunate (warlord), and relatively peaceful, rule; the ancient martial traditions of the Japanese warrior class began to lose importance and the more modern perspective of ‘budo’, accessible to the commoner, not just the warrior class, gained ascendancy.

The Meiji Restoration in 1868 ended the Tokugawa shogun family rule of more than 260 years and returned the Japanese emperor (Emperor Meiji) to a central position in Japanese politics and national culture. It was a period of modernisation of the country with massive and very rapid changes to Japanese culture, language, dress and society. The Satsuma Rebellion, a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era in 1877, was decisively crushed, its leader killed, and with this, abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class was complete.

In the new, modern Japan, post Meiji Restoration, there was a further shift in focus from practical martial applications to everyday life principles. Budo became not simply a system of fighting techniques, but a broader spiritual-moral-ethical discipline, a way of life and self-improvement (See Aikido as a Modern Budo, TAE Journal Edition 11, Spring 2024 [Ref 1]). Schools now passed their system to students in the form of techniques, philosophy and codes of ethics [Ref 2].

The founder of modern Judo, Jigoro Kano, was born in 1860; and the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was born just over two decades later in 1883. For Kano, the new, modern, Japan was an opportunity to innovate, to develop new teaching ways, methods and approaches, including his introduction of a standardised training uniform (the ‘dogi’) for the practice of his new art, Judo (See ‘Keikogi’, ‘Dogi’, ‘Gi’ – Whatever you call your training uniform, what is its origin, TAE Journal Edition 12, Winter 2025 [Ref 3]).

The story of the modern grading and belt system used in Japanese martial arts, including as adopted, at least in part, by Morihei Ueshiba into Aikido, and subsequently assimilated into other martial systems, starts with Jigoro Kano. It is then linked to the subsequent expansion of Judo to the UK, Europe and the US, and the adaptation and evolution of systems and approaches to meet Western needs.

Jigoro Kano and Establishment of the Kodokan

The International Judo Federation (IJF) [Ref 4] note that Jigoro Kano stated:

“I founded the Kodokan [the headquarters of the Judo community] in the year 15 of Meiji [1882, five years after the Satsuma Rebellion, and at age ca. 22] and established the ranks of the practitioners without delay. In the past, depending on habits, the number of ranks differed, and each one was given scrolls with various names, but generally there were three main divisions which were mokuroku, menkyo and kaiden. I felt there was too much time between each one for this to be of any help in terms of motivating practitioners. So, I baptised the beginners mudan-sha [people without dan] which I separated into three divisions, kô, otsu, hei and I set up a system in which we became 1st dan [yudan-sha, people with dan] after a certain progression in practice then 2nd, 3rd, 4th dan and so on upwards, causing the 10th dan to be awarded to people who in the old system would have reached the kaiden level. Subsequently, I still felt that with my system of three stages kô, otsu and hei for people without dan, the time was always too important [large] between two to motivate them and I reformed the system by establishing a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, a 4th, a 5th kyū as well as a non-grade, which corresponded to 6th kyū. Thinking about it with the experience gained since then, I think it fits the needs quite well."

Two initial students of Kano that started in the Kodokan in 1882, were Tsunejiro Tomita (1865-1937) and Shiro Saigo (1866-1922). In August, the following year, Kano granted them, under his new system, shodan (first rank of the yudansha) grades, the first such rank that had been awarded in any martial art. They were perhaps also the first martial artists to wear a ‘black belt’.

‘In the Dojo’ by Dave Lowry [Ref 5] suggests that Kano considered that yudansha were able to offer advice or instruction and used black belts to distinguish them from the less experienced mudansha (who wore white belts). Ref [6] ‘The History of the Black Belt’ suggests that Kano was particularly influenced by the Japanese strategy game of “Go” that ranked its players for competition, as well as by advanced swimmers who wore a black ribbon around their waste to signify skill level – hence the Kano system of mudansha with white belt and yudansha with black belt was born.

The IJF then note that from 1913, the Kodokan kyū grades (for adults) were divided into 2 belt colours, the white belt (5th and 4th kyū) and the brown belt (from 3rd to 1st kyū). The Japanese Butoku-kai, the section of the Ministry of Education which was established in 1895 to oversee ranks and standards for Kendo and Judo also adopted Kano’s kyū and dan rank system. Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), the founder of Shotokan Karate, who had known and trained with Kano, not only adopted Kano’s dogi (albeit a lighter weight version), but also Kano’s grading and belt system, and in 1924, he awarded the first karate black belts and dan rankings to seven of his students including Hironori Ohtsuka (later the founder of Wado-ryū Karate) [Ref 7].

The IJF further notes that in 1926, the Japanese Judo master, Gunji Koizumi (1885-1965), founder of the British Judo Association, and therefore considered the ‘Father of British Judo’, introduced, in the UK, additional colour belts. Koizumi's programme consisted of five belt colours (white, yellow, green, blue and brown), to which orange was subsequently added. The IJF, state, noting that it is not possible to be verified, that inspiration for the belt colours may have been based on that of billiard balls (or potentially that of snooker balls, although not the numbering or sequence of either game).

The IJF also note, that in 1935, another Japanese expert, Mikinosuke Kawaishi (1899-1969), after a stay in England (where presumably he was exposed to the coloured belt system), introduced coloured belts in France (through the French Judo Association) and developed a teaching programme associated with it, that would soon be called the “Kawaishi Method.” This coloured belt model quickly became the norm not just in the UK and France, but across other countries.

There is a popular story about the origin of the progression in belt colours [Ref 8]. The story is that a new student started with a brand new white belt (the dogi that Kano developed was white cotton, as was the associated belt) and although the jacket and trousers of the dogi got washed, the belt generally didn’t. Over the years, this belt would become discoloured with blood, sweat, and other stains. The more the belt’s colour darkened, the more expertise the student gained. When the belt finally turned black, this symbolised that the student had put in the time and effort to master the art.

The story above gives a romanticised view of training and skills progression, but has no basis, particularly as Kano’s development of the dogi, white belt and black belt happened pretty much at the same time. Equally, traditional Aikido groups in Japan and other countries, do not use the multiple different coloured belt system; a student has a white belt until they achieve shodan, when they then change to a black belt. Despite years of practice, white belts, remain white, they may become a ‘dirty white’, but they are still white. Equally, dan grades, yudansha with black belts, over not just years, but decades of training may find their black belt colour fading to the point that the belt is so worn, that it is almost white. However, with continued use, the belt does not become black again. This is therefore a myth that is easy to dispel.

There is also the suggestion that when the colour system first developed, students would begin with a white belt and dye it a different colour with each promotion, each time dying with a darker colour, until the belt was finally dyed black. When Gunji Koizumi introduced the concept of multiple coloured belts in the UK, it is possible that students did this (different coloured belts would not, initially, have been available for sale). However, overdying (dying from one colour to another), as would be required here, is not straightforward, particularly when a belt is dyed multiple times as it transitions from one colour to another. It is more likely that Koizumi arranged to have white belts dyed into a range of colours and perhaps these coloured belts were passed down from one student to another.

The Application of Belts and Grades in Aikido

Although Morihei Ueshiba is often pictured in traditional Japanese garments, photos and video footage from the 1930s show that adoption of the dōgi, with hakama, in Aikido practice was commonplace, for students at least, in pre-war Japan. Aikido Pioneers, Prewar Era [Ref 9] presents an interview with Hisao Kamada (1911 – 1986) who entered Morihei Ueshiba’s private dojo in Sengakuji, Takanawa, Tokyo in 1929. He then became one of the senior uchi deshi (live-in students) in Ueshiba’s Kobukan Dojo (also in Tokyo), where he performed various duties up until 1932. He notes that in these prewar years, students wore a white or black hakama but there wasn’t any rule about it. He also notes that at the time, there were no dan rankings, or the use of white, black or other coloured belts.

It is unclear when O-Sensei adopted the mudansha (white belt) and yudansha (black belt) system, although it has been suggested that this was around 1940 (Kenji Tomiki was awarded 8^th dan in 1940 [Ref 10]). At this time Aikido promotions were often based on Ueshiba's personal assessment of a student's development, rather than formalised testing [Ref 11]. In the post-war period, Aikido dan grades were regularly being awarded, and in the 1950s and 60s dan promotions were very rapid, with a number of prominent Aikidoka being awarded high dan ranks after relatively short periods of training [Ref 12].

In Iwama, after O-Sensei’s death, Saito Sensei did not issue kyū grades, students simply trained (wearing a white belt) until ready to take their 1^st dan test [Ref 13]. This is likely to reflect what O-sensei did, i.e., he adopted the dan system of Kano, albeit with perhaps little interest in what different dan grades represented. He was then either unaware of Kano’s kyū grade system, or more probably, considered the kyū grade approach as pointless.

Post WWII, as Aikido grew and the Aikikai Foundation operations in Tokyo expanded in the second half of the 1950s, the need for standardised grading procedures became apparent and the mudansha (5^th to 1^st kyū) and yudansha dan grade system that Kano developed, was adopted by the Hombu Dojo (although not the coloured belt system for kyū grades) [Ref 14]. The date this system was adopted has not been identified, but although implemented in Tokyo, the kyū grade system was not adopted in Iwama, whether by O-Sensei or Saito Sensei.

Today, Aikidoka generally wear a white dogi as developed by Kano where the practitioner starts with a white belt. Some will progress through a series of coloured belts (potentially yellow, orange, green, blue, brown) before achieving black belt. Some may follow a more traditional approach of wearing a white belt through various kyū grades until the first dan rank is achieved. Irrespective of the approach taken, it is important to note that the white belt / kyū grade and black belt / dan grade approach is a relatively modern system, less than 150 years old.