Yutaka Kurita

Who is Yutaka Kurita?

Yutaka Kurita was one of the last live-in students of the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. He entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1956 and after a year as a regular aikido student was accepted as an uchideshi by Ueshiba and went with him to live, work and train at the Iwama dojo. He received his 3rd dan directly from Ueshiba and served him as his assistant/attendant, scribe, uke, and assisted in instructing when people came from Tokyo to Iwama to study aikido.

On 10 October 1979, Kurita was given a Shihan license by Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba and the Aikikai Foundation and dispatched to Mexico City to be the official Aikikai representative for Mexico. He currently holds the rank of 7th dan.

Kurita has devoted the last 30 years to working, developing and teaching what he learned during his time as an uchideshi, the current work and result being Kurita Juku Aiki, in and of which there are dojo and members in Mexico, USA, France, and Argentina.