154「日々に鍛えてはまたまたにこり雄叫びせんと八大力王。」- 植芝盛平
Original Waka
日々に
植芝盛平 (Ueshiba, 1977)
鍛えてはまた
またにこり
雄叫びせんと
八大力王
Translation
“Day by day, forging, tempering, [and then] smiling again—mighty battle-cry poised—of the eight great power kings.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Waka Translation
Day in and day out,
forging, tempering, again,
faint smiling again—
a mighty battle-cry poised
of the eight great power kings.
Morihei Ueshiba
歴史的仮名遣い（語構成を明示）1
日々に（にちにちに）
鍛へてはまた（きたえてはまた）
またにこり（またにこり）
雄叫びせむと（おたけびせむと）
八大力王（はちおりきおお）
植芝盛平
Bungo Romanization
nichinichi ni
kitaete wa mata
mata nikori
otakebi semu to
hachio rikiō
Ueshiba Morihei
Notes
1 Through the power of 々, to preserve 5 mora in first line, I use “nichinichi ni”. Classical かな makes the continuative “鍛え” → 鍛へ, and volitional / future せん reflects せむ; “雄叫び” takes old‑kana を in pronunciation (otakebi). In the last line for 八大力王, I opt for hachio rikiō to preserve 7 mora and valence of weaving/looms, and echo the nichinichi, matamata, and oō.
Translation, Notes, Commentary, and Research by Latex G. N. R. Space-Coyote
Ueshiba, M. (2025). 植芝盛平道歌–154: Tempered day by day (L. G. N. R. Space-Coyote, Trans.; OpenAI ChatGPT-5 Pro, Ed.). Shugyokai.org. (Original work published 1977) https://shugyokai.org/b3yn
々 — doubles a character preceding; it saves resources and time. See Lab Notes.
日々（にちにち; nichinichi）— daily / every day (special reading, see opening of 第216首)
鍛えては（きたえては; kitaete wa）— 鍛えて (forging / tempering / working out / training) + は topic marker; 〜ては in bungo expresses repeated or habitual action: “whenever I train / every time I forge,” a pattern that is textbook classical usage (Shirane, 2005).
また （mata） — “again, in turn” strengthens this iteration: each training bout leads into the next state.
鍛えてはまた（きたえてはまた; kitaete wa mata）— “as I temper / train, again…” (iterative 〜ては + adverb また).
にこり（nikori）— mimetic/adverbial form of にこりと笑ふ – a faint, restrained smile, much subtler than にっこり (broad grin). Waka diction strongly prefers suggestion and understatement over overt emotional display (Brower & Miner, 1961).
またにこり（mata nikori）— “(I) again nikori (faintly smile)”.
鍛へてはまた／またにこり（きたえてはまた / またにこり; kitaete wa mata / mata nikori）— “training / tempering, and again—smiling”: 〜ては marks iteration (“whenever / each time I train”), またまた amplifies repetition; にこり is the restrained “faint smile,” not a broad grin—fitting waka’s preference for understatement.
またまたにこり（mata mata nikori）— [redacted] / with smile / another smirk / another grin / he smiled again / he smirked again.
雄（お, o）— male / husband / male (animal).
叫（たけ; take）— shout / cry / scream / crying.
雄叫び（おたけび; otakebi）— otakebi is an aspect of misogi; “battle‑cry” / literally “male roar”; in martial contexts this evokes the sudden shout that concentrates spirit and breath (cf. kiai), a trope Ueshiba uses to fuse technical skill and spiritual intensity.
雄叫びせんと / 雄叫びせむと（おたけびせんと / おたけびせむと; otakebi sen to / otakebi semu to）— せむ (〜む) expresses volition / intention; と gives the intentive / quotative frame (“with the intent ‘[I will] shout…’”); “せんと” means “on the verge of doing / about to do” which I render as “poised to let loose”.
八（はち; hachi）— eight.
大（お; o）— great.
力（りき; riki）— power / force / effort / strength.
力王（りき; rikiō）— mighty king.
王（おお; ō）— king.
八大力王（hachio rikiō）— ; Ueshiba’s diction blends Shintō–Buddhist imagery: “power‑kings” recalls esoteric guardian figures (e.g., sets like the Eight Great Dragon Kings of the Lotus Sūtra, Godai Myōō / “Five Great Wisdom Kings”), and also resonates with local cults such as Kyoto’s Hachidai Rikison—“Eight Great Power Worthies”—venerated as sources of foundational strength and the power to overcome adversity. I keep the numinous, plural sense with “Eight Great Power‑Kings”. This also relates to eight powers.
Kami‑no‑ku / shimo‑no‑ku. Lines 1–3 set daily habitual training / forging and tempered affect of the faint smile, then line 3 cuts (English dash; Japanese と / intent) into an intensified sudden deepening lower phrase naming the invoked powers. This mirrors canonical practice: a 5‑7‑5 upper scene or stance, then a 7‑7 lower turn toward implication / identification.
Historical kana & lexeme choice. I use 鍛へ（きたへ） and 雄叫び read をたけび, both canonical in bungo orthography and lexis. The auxiliary む (here せむ) conveys volition (“will/shall”), a staple modality in classical waka diction.
Prosodic scansion. Re‑lineating as 日々に｜鍛へてはまた｜またにこり｜… preserves the classical 5‑7‑5 pivoted into a 7‑7 close, the default frame of waka/tanka. Minor ji‑amari (line 5) when preserving two おお…おお (ō…ō) is acceptable and historically common, particularly with proper names or compounds of Sino‑Japanese origin.
Kire (cut) without explicit kireji. Classical tanka often rely on grammar or diction for the cut. Here, the intentive 〜むと functions as the hinge before the name—exactly the kind of structural turn discussed in waka/tanka poetics.
Guardian complexes. Eight Dragon Kings & “Eight Legions”. In East Asian Buddhism, the Lotus Sūtra famously lists the Eight Dragon Kings among dharma‑protectors; Japanese iconography also amplifies guardian groups (e.g., 八部衆). Reading 八大力王 as an inspired epithet aligning the war‑cry with such protective might is thus culturally legible. In addition, the eight powers are linked here as well.
Waka as disciplined affect. Waka/tanka tradition privileges restraint and layered stance. The faint にこり before the “war‑cry” embodies classical poetics—containment before release—while the closing name / epithet performs what Brower & Miner call waka’s structural “turn” into implication.
解説; Commentary
第154首は「日々に／鍛えてはまた／またにこり／雄叫びせんと／八大力王」。上句は〈日々に〉＋〈鍛えては〉＋〈また〉の反復で稽古の習慣性（〜ては＝反復）を刻み、三句目〈にこり〉は控えめな微笑（にこりと笑ふ）で放つ前の鎮静を置きます。下句の〈雄叫びせんと〉は意志・未然の「せむ（＝せん）」で「今まさに発する」の縁（ふち）をつくり、結語〈八大力王〉は守護的威力の喚起（仏教・神道の守護群像への連想）として読ませる造語的呼称です。ページは、「にこり」は和歌の抑制美に合致すること、「雄叫び」は禊や気合の位相を帯びることを指摘し、五七五→七七の切りも〈〜むと〉を蝶番にして実。
六つのプライマーで配列すると、プライマーの第一原理〈武＝宇宙原理〉は鍛（たん）—鎮（にこり）—発（雄叫び）の秩序に合うこと、プライマーの第三原理〈心魂一如〉は声・息・身を同一拍でにこり→雄叫びへ移行させる芯、プライマーの第五原理〈体＝道場／心＝学び手〉は「日々に」＝反復を稽古法として徹底すること。プライマーの第二原理〈人との合気〉ではにこりが衝突を避けて結びへ導く間の取り方となり、プライマーの第四原理〈和合美化〉は「叫ぶ」以前に場を整える抑制を美の基準に、プライマーの第六原理〈「至愛」の源に順う〉は雄叫び（気合）を加害でなく保護の方向へ運転する規範になります。ページの語注（反復の「〜ては」、意志の「せむ」、守護の呼び名としての「八大力王」）が、この読みを支えています。
直前の三首とも一本でつながる。第151首は「玉の緒の筋を正して立つ」とアラインメントを命じ、第152首は「日・地・月が合気になりし橋の上」で媒（浮橋）と共鳴の世界（やまびこの道）を見せ、第153首は「火と水の合気」で呼吸（火水）を組み上げました。そこに 第154首 は、その場で「日々」鍛え、まずにこり（鎮静）を通して、火水の気合を「雄叫び」にまとめ上げ、守護の力（八大力王）を呼び起こす——という現場の運転順序を置き直します。要するに、整える（第151首）→媒に立つ（第152首）→息を組む（第153首）→日々鍛え、鎮め、発する（第154首）。この往還が、今日の稽古メモです。
口語要約のひとこと
「日々鍛えて、またにこっとして、雄たけびを上げようとして――八大力王。」
References
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Appendix I: Change Modification Log
15 JAN 25 - Corrected Mikiko (1993/1995) reference.
21 DEC 25 - Applied Phase V styling to waka.
09 DEC 25 - Phase IV completion; commentary added; lightweight adjustment to poetics.
23 NOV 25 - Phase IV preparation.
20 OCT 25 - Phase III completion; this was a favorite to work on due to the echoes of repetition via 々.
14 APR 20 - Initial notes transferred.