Masatomi Ikeda (April 8, 1940 – June 21, 2021) was born in Tokyo, Japan. He was a Japanese Aikido teacher with a rank of 7th Dan Aikikai and a status of Shihan. Through the course of life, he also achieved the 4th Dan in Judo and had success in Sumo.
He started practicing Aikido in 1958 and in 1960 he enlisted to a Hiroshi Tada‘s Dojo. Soon after, in 1964 he successfully graduated from the Nippon Physical Education University and obtained a university degree in gymnastics and hygiene. But instead of moving in the direction of his education he was up to become an Aikido professor and that is why he moved to Italy to promote Aikido in Naples city.
Nonetheless, Masatome came back to Japan in 1971 for 7 years. He was working at Dokkyo High School as a gymnastics teacher this time, collected more Aikido teaching experience, got knowledge in Asian medicine named Seitai and learned Hojo no kata, the fundamental principals of Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-Ryu that contains a lot of breathing exercises. He also practiced and taught Hojo during his aikido lessons.
At the request of the Swiss Cultural Association of Aikido Sensei moved to Europe in 1977. From this time he was a delegated Aikido teacher from the Aikikai Foundation and was fully concentrated on the art development and promoting. He became a Technical Director for ACSA and in 1986 opened a Aikido Ikeda Dojo Zurich.
He embraced all the Switzerland and been visiting various Dojos a few times in a week despite his own Dojo where he gave regular lessons. In addiction, he led international seminars and maintained a friendship with the nearby countries. The next video was made in Sofia, Bulgaria during the European Aikido Federation General Meeting in 1995. Another headliner was a Masatake Fujita Shihan.
Hideki Hosokawa, Pasquale Aiello of the Italian Aikikai, his teacher Hiroshi Tada and Katsuaki Asai of the German Aikikai were his close aikido friends to share Aikido events.
He got his 7th Dan in 1989. In 1994 Ikeda Sensei became a Technical Director of Czech Aikido Aikikai, in 1996 a Technical Director of Slovak Aikido Aikikai and a technical adviser of the International Aikido Federation together with Hiroshi Isoyama. From 1997 a held a post of a Technical Director for the Yugoslavian Aikido Federation in Serbia, from 1998 a Technical Director for the Turkish Aikido Association.
Masatomi Ikeda had a lot of foreign internships. Mostly in the European countries. He was practicing in Japan in the late years despite his health condition and still has a good list of high ranked students up to 6th Dan. Here’s a Facebook page dedicated to Masatomi Ikeda Shihan.