Masando Sasaki (February 1, 1929 – February 15, 2013) – was an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan and a Shinto priest. Was an Otomo for the O-Sensei and been teaching in the Hombu Dojo.
aikido history
Koichi Tohei
Koichi Tohei (20 January 1920 – 19 May 2011) was a first one to be promoted to a 10 Dan by the Morihei Ueshiba ever. He taught people like Hiroshi Tada, Seigo Yamaguchi, Mitsugi Saotome, Sadateru Arikawa, Kazuo Chiba, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Steven Seagal and many others.
Rinjiro Shirata
Rinjiro Shirata (March 29, 1912 – May 29, 1993) was a 9 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan also known as the Kobukan Prodigy because of the strong body.
Seigo Yamaguchi
Seigo Yamaguchi (April 13, 1924 – January 24, 1996) 9 Dan Aikido, Hombu Dojo Shihan and one of the most important, early teachers in Aikikai.
Yoshinobu Takeda
Yoshinobu Takeda is an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan. He had a chance to learn from the O-Sensei and Seigo Yamaguchi was his main teacher.
Shoji Nishio
Shoji Nishio (December 5, 1927 – March 15, 2005) was an 8 Dan Aikikai Shihan. He was one of the Morihei Ueshiba’s post-war era students in the Hombu.