古言ニ武ハ神ヨリ天皇ニ博ハリ更ニ武将ニ及ブト實ニ至言ナリ。
即チ斯ク道タル皇道ノ誠ナリ
是ニ依リテ天地ノ眞理ヲ悟リ練現シ天地経綸ノ爲メ天地ノ呼吸ト呼吸ニ依リ
世ノ様ヲ腹中ニ修メ
治國平天下破邪顕正ノ道ヲ講ジ
正シキ身魂一如ノ誠ヲ現シ
其術タル一ヲ以テ萬ニ當ルヲ知リ
以テ國体ヲ闡明シ皇稜ヲ宣揚スルヲ本 トスルモノナリ。
植芝盛平
Translation
古言ニ – “in ancient sayings” (old words / old teachings)
武ハ – “the martial (Way) + topic marker”
神ヨリ – “from the gods / from the Divine”
天皇ニ – “to the Heavenly Sovereign (Emperor)”
博ハリ – classical form of hakaru / hakuha, here “transmitted, bestowed, spread to”
武ハ神ヨリ天皇ニ博ハリ — in classical interpretation, 武 contains the ideographic pun “止戈” (to stop the spear). Ueshiba consistently exploits this double sense: martial power = pacifying power. Again this is not a literary waka pivot, but a doctrinal semantic hinge.
更ニ – “further, moreover”
武将ニ及ブト – “and (it) reaches the warriors / extends to the generals” + quotative to
實ニ – “truly, indeed”
至言ナリ – “is a supreme / most profound statement”
即チ – “that is to say; namely”
斯ク – “thus, in this manner”
道タル – “being the Way; the Way that is …”
皇道ノ誠 – “the makoto (sincerity/truth) of the Imperial Way”; A classical ideological concept tied to premodern Imperial cosmology; Not a modern construction—belongs to bungo conceptual vocabulary.
誠 — kakekotoba as (a) 誠 in classical and Shintō usage means truth, cosmic correctness, divine sincerity, and moral authenticity, and (b) The same word shifts meaning depending on context, pivoting between ethical and ontological registers.
ナリ – “is”
是ニ依リテ – “by means of this; relying upon this”
天地ノ眞理ヲ – “the true principle of Heaven and Earth” (object)
悟リ – “to awaken to, perceive”
練現シ – compound: neri-utsusu, “cultivate and manifest; temper and bring forth”
天地経綸ノ爲メ – “for the ordering / governance / weaving of Heaven and Earth”; Classical Chinese metaphysical term (“the ordering/weaving of Heaven and Earth”). Characteristic of high classical prose.
天地ノ呼吸ト – “the breath of Heaven and Earth, and …”
呼吸ニ依リ – “by relying upon breath (itself)”
天地ノ呼吸ト呼吸ニ依リ — Here 呼吸 appears twice, but in classical budō vocabulary “kokyū” means not only breath, but also temporal rhythm, cosmic pulsation, and martial timing. The repetition creates a semantic hinge: (a) 呼吸 = literal breath, (b) 呼吸 = cosmic breath / universal pulsation.
世ノ様ヲ – “the condition / pattern of the world” (object)
腹中ニ – “within the abdomen (hara)”
修メ – “cultivate, perfect, discipline”
治國 – “to govern the realm”
平天下 – “to pacify all under Heaven”
破邪 – “to smash the false”
顕正 – “to reveal / make manifest the Right/True”
ノ道ヲ – “the Way of …” (object)
講ジ – “to expound, teach, elucidate”
正シキ – “right, correct, true”
身魂 – “body-soul; person-spirit”
一如ノ – “as one; in oneness”; Buddhist-origin classical compound meaning “non-duality; oneness”, classical attribute: 「身魂一如ノ誠」.
誠ヲ – “the sincerity / truth” (object)
現シ – “to manifest”
其術タル – “that art which is …”
一ヲ以テ – “to take the One; by means of the One”
萬ニ當ル – “to meet / respond to the myriad; to face ten thousand things”
一ヲ以テ萬ニ當ル — “One” simultaneously refers to: (a) a numeric one, (b) one principle (一元), (c) unity of body–spirit (isshin, ichinyo), (d) singular aiki principle that meets all attacks. This layered meaning functions as a doctrinal kakekotoba linking ethics, metaphysics, and technique.
ヲ知リ – “(one) knows”
以テ – “and thereby”
國体ヲ – “the national essence / identity of the nation” (object)
闡明シ – “clarify, elucidate, make manifest”
皇稜ヲ – “the Imperial Line; Imperial majesty”
宣揚スル – “to exalt, proclaim, glorify”
ヲ本トスル – “to take as the foundation / fundamental purpose”
モノナリ – “is that which … / such is what (it) is”
Classical Stylistic Features (Non-grammatical). (a) Long chains of ren’yōkei forms without explicit conjunctions reflect classical style, (b) Kanbun-influenced parallelism using Chinese-style binomials, a core feature of classical Japanese prose as in expressions like (b.1) 治國平天下, and (b.2) 破邪顕正, (c) Makoto-centric Shintō metaphysics using “誠” in layered senses is typical of Edo-period nativist (kokugaku) and State Shintō classical writing, and (d) Classical cosmological body terminology using “腹中” (the inside of the abdomen / hara) used metaphorically in a way reminiscent of bungo Shintō and esoteric documents.