35「誠をば更に誠に練り上げて顕幽一如の真諦を知れ。」- 植芝盛平
Original Dōka
誠をば
植芝盛平 (Ueshiba, 1977)
更に誠に
練り上げて
顕幽一如
真諦を知れ
Translation
“As for makoto: refine it into yet truer makoto, knead and raise it—manifest-hidden are one—the ultimate truth—know it!” – Morihei Ueshiba
Waka Translation
As for makoto:
further—into makoto—
knead and raise it—
manifest-hidden are one—
the ultimate truth—know it!
Morihei Ueshiba
歴史的仮名遣い（語構成を明示）
誠をば（まことをば）
更に誠に（さらにまことに）練り上げて（ねりあげて）
顯幽一如（けんゆういちにょ）
眞諦を知れ（しんたいをしれ）
植芝盛平
Bungo Romanization
makoto [w]oba
sara ni makoto ni
neri agete
ken’yū ichinyo
shintai o shire
Ueshiba Morihei
Translation, Notes, Commentary, and Research by Latex G. N. R. Space-Coyote
Ueshiba, M. (2025). 植芝盛平道歌–035: Still truer sincerity (L. G. N. R. Space-Coyote, Trans.; OpenAI ChatGPT-5 Pro, Ed.). Shugyokai.org. (Original work published 1977) https://shugyokai.org/49t2
誠（まこと; makoto）— more than “sincerity”, makoto is a core Shintō / Bushidō virtue signifying truthful heart-mind and straightness of intent; Ueshiba often treats makoto as both ethical sincerity and ontological “rightness”, the inner condition that harmonizes with the world; in Shintō, makoto is a core virtue: sincerity / a heart “free of falsehood”; note that classically, mako counts と (“to”) as separate.
をば （oba）— classical emphatic object marker = を + 係助詞 は (濁音化「ば」); foregrounds the object for focus and rhythm; widely used in premodern prose/poetry.
誠をば更に誠に（さらにまことに; makoto o‑ba sara ni makoto ni）— “sincerity (makoto) then even more to sincerity” — emphasises deepening the quality of sincerity.
練り上げて（ねりあげて; neri agete）— ren’yōkei + て connective: “by repeatedly tempering / refining (it) ….” (classical connective usage); “to temper / polish / knit up” (as with steel or kneaded paste)—a standard metaphor for disciplined refinement of character and practice.The verb evokes forging steel or working lacquer: repeated discipline (tanren) that purifies and concentrates makoto; “to forge / temper / knead up”, i.e., to refine, work repeatedly, perfect.
顕幽一如（けんゆういちにょ; ken’yū ichinyo） — “the manifest (顕 / utsushiyo / visible) and the hidden (幽 / kakuriyo / invisible) are non‑dual (one‑suchness).” The Encyclopedia of Shintō marks the utsushiyo / kakuriyo pair and even glosses 幽顕 as “deities and human beings”, capturing the visible–invisible continuum; “the manifest and the hidden are one suchness”; a nondual formula from medieval Japanese thought (Shintō–Buddhist syncretism) asserting continuity between the seen world and the unseen / spiritual realm, human / divine, and form / spirit.
顕幽一如の（けんゆういちにょの; ken’yū ichinyo no） — “of manifest and hidden (visible and invisible) as one”, a Buddhist / Taoist or Shin-Shū / Ōmoto concept: the visible and the invisible realms unified.
真諦（しんたい; shintai）— “ultimate truth” (Buddhist paramārtha-satya), the deeper reality apprehended when one’s makoto is fully cultivated. As opposed to conventional truth. Ueshiba blends Shintō makoto with Buddhist vocabulary to urge a realization in which ethical sincerity matures into insight: the unity of the visible and invisible orders.
知れ（しれ; shire）— gives an exhortative tone.
真諦を知れ（しんたいをしれ; shintai o shire）— “know the true principle (shintai)”. 真諦 (shintai / shintai) is a Buddhist term meaning the ultimate truth, real principle or reality.
Kakekotoba on Makoto. The repeated まこと (“sincerity; truth”) naturally splits as ま + こと, inviting the canonical waka pivot on こと that toggles among “word / matter / koto (instrument)”. In performance, 誠をば…誠に lets こと ring twice, so the poem simultaneously urges (i) the refining of real matters (事), (ii) the purification of our words (言) (an echo of 言霊), and (iii) the disciplined tuning of the koto (琴) as emblem for artful cultivation. The “こと cluster” is among the most standard kakekotoba families in classical poetry (cf. Miner, Odagiri, & Morrell, 1985; c.f. Shirane, 2007; c.f. Sugimoto, 2017).
Kakekotoba on refining into more makoto. In 更に誠に練り上げて, 誠に can be heard simultaneously as an adverb (“truly”) and as a case phrase (“into sincerity”). This is a classical kind of pivot/kakekotoba that rides grammar as much as lexeme: the ambiguity intensifies the exhortation—“truly refine it” and “refine it into sincerity.” (cf. Shirane, 2005/2008; cf. Komai & Rohlich, 1983/1988). Spoken ねり covers both 練（kneading/artful polish）and 錬（metallurgical tempering → tanren 鍛錬）; both are central metaphors in budō training. Hearing both senses compresses “moral cultivation” and “body/steel forging” into one verb.
Kakekotoba on shintai. Ueshiba’s syncretic discourse (Buddhist–Shintō–martial) lets しんたい resonate three ways: “know the ultimate truth,” while also “recognizing the divine body (shintai)” and “this very body.” Within 顕幽一如 (“manifest / hidden are one”), the triple pun fuses doctrine, shrine-object, and the trainee’s body—a dense kakekotoba typical of modern waka-like aphorisms drawing on Sino-Japanese homophones. For 真諦, see Buddhist reference dictionaries; for 神体, see Shintō studies; 身体 needs no gloss. (c.f. Buswell & Lopez, 2014; c.f. Hardacre, 2017; c.f. Britannica, 2025; c.f. Mertz et al., 2022).
Kun-Euphony as allusive pivot. Although 顕幽一如（けんゆういちにょ）scans in on-yomi (けんゆう), classical recitation easily lets 顕 echo its kun-reading あらは（す／る） “to reveal / make manifest”. That kun-echo, heard under the on-yomi surface, sets up a micro‑pivot with 幽 (“hidden”), so the phrase itself performs the act of revealing the hidden as we say “顕”. This is more allusive pivoting than a strict kakekotoba, but it operates the same paronomastic pressure Heian poetics cultivated (i.e., ambiguity invited by hearing / KANA). (Miner, Odagiri, & Morrell, 1985; Shirane, 2007). For the doctrinal use of 顕幽一如 (“the unity of the manifest and the spirit worlds”), see studies of new religions and Shintō discourse. (Nanzan NIRC paper; Shinnyo‑en / kan’nagara expositions).
Classical particles and morphology. Using をば (focus‑marked accusative) and the imperative 知れ matches bungo usage and tone.
Kyūjitai & kanbun‑style compounds. Keeping 顯幽一如／眞諦 preserves the Sino‑Buddhist register characteristic of premodern diction.
31‑mora discipline via ellipsis. Dropping the genitive の before 「真諦」 is a standard waka tactic; ellipsis and particle suppression are well‑documented devices for meeting 5‑7‑5‑7‑7 while intensifying compression.
Connective chaining. The ren’yōkei + て chain (“…練り上げて…知れ”) typifies classical hypotaxis linking action and admonition.
Term fidelity. I keep makoto untranslated in L1–L2 for precision—“sincerity” is close but lacks Shintō valence; the gloss is given in notes.
Doctrinal precision. “Ultimate truth” explicitly renders 真諦 in the two‑truths framework; “manifest and hidden worlds” makes 顕／幽 legible without losing the 一如 non‑duality.
Cultural framing. Ueshiba’s dōka often braid Shintō ethics and Buddhist metaphysics in brief devotional meters. Here 誠（makoto）— a Shintō cardinal virtue—is something one refines (練り上げて) through practice until one realizes 顕幽一如, the unity of visible and invisible realms. Makoto in Shintō sources denotes a heart “free of falsehood”, aligning with O‑Sensei’s lifelong emphasis on purification and right intention.
Hidden and manifest. The “visible / invisible” pairing traces to Shintō cosmology as 現世／顕世（うつしよ） vs. 幽世・隠世（かくりよ）, a contrast Kokugakuin’s Encyclopedia of Shintō explicitly treats; the same article even glosses 幽顕 as “kami and humans”—two registers of one continuum—which makes Ueshiba’s 一如 (“non‑dual”) entirely idiomatic.
Ultimate truth. At the same time, 真諦 is a Buddhist technical term (Skt. paramārtha-satya), paired with saṃvṛti-satya (“conventional truth”). Reading the verse as an admonition—“refine makoto until you realize non‑duality and know the ultimate truth”—tracks mainstream accounts of the two truths.
Ōmoto. Specialists also read Ueshiba’s dōka inside the founder’s religious entanglements (e.g., Ōmoto inspiration, misogi, kotodama) and the broader martial‑spiritual habitus. Aikido‑historical treatments and entries on dōka detail these connections and the devotional tone of the poems.
Shugyōkai note. Note that effects of manifest and hidden cross-references with simultaneous readings of 「て」 in 植芝盛平道歌–038: Right hand in sunlight (Ueshiba, 1977/2025).
解説; Commentary
このページの第35首は「誠をば／更に誠に／練り上げて／顕幽一如／真諦を知れ」――口語にすれば「まことを、もっと「まこと」へと鍛え直し、〈見えるもの（顕）と見えないもの（幽）が一つ〉という本当の道理（真諦）を知れ」という訓戒だよ。ここで誠（makoto）は単なる「誠実」以上で、虚偽のなさ・意志の直さをもつ神道的徳目として説明され、練り上げては鋼や漆を丹錬する隠喩――反復の修練で誠を濃くしていくことを示す（ページ注）。さらに顕幽一如は〈現れの世界＝顕／隠れの世界＝幽〉が本来一体だという古来の枠組みで、真諦は仏教語の「究極真理（paramārtha‑satya）」に当たる語、結語の知れが強い勧告の調子を担っている。
六つのプライマーで張った縦糸に通すと、構図はこうまとまる。プライマーの第一原理〈武＝宇宙原理〉は、「誠を濃くするほど世界（顕・幽）との整合が高まる」という座標を与え、プライマーの第二原理〈人との合気〉は顕（対人のふるまい）を、プライマーの第三原理〈心魂一如〉は幽（内奥）を受け持つ――それらが一如に結び直されるのが本首の核心だ。プライマーの第四原理〈和合美化〉は「磨き上げられた誠」が美へ収束するテロスを担い、プライマーの第五原理〈体＝道場、心＝修業者／修行者心／学び手〉は練り上げを日々の最小単位に落とす運用図になる。プライマーの第六原理〈「至愛」の源に順う〉は、この真諦（ultimate truth）を倫理の北極星として測る拠りどころだ――誠の錬成 → 顕幽の一如 → 真諦の体得という階段を、このページはひと息で言い切っている。
直前の三首ともきれいに糸が戻る。第32首が「武術＝御姿と御心」で形（顕）と心（幽）の二層を提示し、第33首が「刃ではなく『人（手）』＝起点を見る」と視線の誠を定め、第34首が「姿を囮に背後で結ぶ」と顕／幽の運用を具体化した。その上で第35首は、それらの手筋を「誠をさらに誠へ」という内的丹錬にまとめ、顕と幽は本来ひとつだという認識の芯（真諦）へ引き上げる章だ――稽古でチェックすべきは、所作（顕）と動機・息（幽）がズレずに一つで動いているか、その整合度＝誠の濃さだと、このページは教えてくれる。
口語要約のひとこと
「誠ってものを、さらに誠へと練り上げて、見える世界と見えない世界は一つだっていう本当の道理を知ろう。」
References
Aikido Journal. (2011, August 27). Doka 道歌 (entry).
Brower, R. H., & Miner, E. (1961). Japanese court poetry. Stanford University Press.
Buswell, R. E., & Lopez, D. S. (2014). Paramārthasatya. In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-3121
Carter, S. D. (Ed.). (1991). Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology. Stanford University Press.
Encyclopeadia Britannica. (2025). Shintai. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved November 5, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/shintai
Green, T. A., & Svinth, J. R. (Eds.). (2010). Martial arts of the world: An encyclopedia of history and innovation. ABC‑CLIO.
Hardacre, H. (2017). Shinto: A history. Oxford University Press.
JLearn. (n.d.). Meaning of 練る/煉る/錬る (neru). Retrieved November 5, 2025, from https://jlearn.net/Dictionary/Browse/1559140-neru-%E3%81%AD%E3%82%8B-%E7%85%89%E3%82%8B
Komai, A., & Rohlich, T. H. (1988). An introduction to classical Japanese. Nagoya University Press. (Original work published 1983)
Labrune, L. (2012). The phonology of Japanese. Oxford University Press.
Mertz, M., Tazuru, S., Itō, S., & Bogel, C. J. (2022). A group of twelfth-century Japanese kami statues and considerations of material intentionality: Collaborative research among wood scientists and art historians. Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University, 7, 127–158. https://doi.org/10.5109/4843145
Mikiko, N. (1995). Magic and self‑cultivation in a new religion: The case of Shinnyoen (P. L. Swanson, Trans.). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 22(3/4). (Original work published 1993) https://www.jstor.org/stable/30234457
Miner, E., Odagiri, H., & Morrell, R. E. (1985). The Princeton companion to classical Japanese literature. Princeton University Press.
Nishioka, K. (n.d.a). Makoto. In Encyclopedia of Shintō [EOS]. Kokugakuin University. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=8728
Nishioka, K. (n.d.b). Utsushiyo. In Encyclopedia of Shintō [EOS]. Kokugakuin University. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9003
Pranin, S. (2002, Aug. 2). Morihei Ueshiba and Onisaburo Deguchi. Aikido Journal.
Shirane, H. (2005). Classical Japanese: A grammar. Columbia University Press.
Shirane, H. (2007). Traditional Japanese literature: An anthology, beginnings to 1600 (2nd ed.). Columbia University Press.
Sugimoto, M. (2017). How a medieval monk-poet (Saigyô) and Japan became identified with ‘nature’. Asian Literature and Translation, 4(1), 73–95. https://doi.org/10.18573/j.2017.10130
Ueshiba, M. (1977). 合気道奥義（道歌）(S. Abe, Ed.). 阿部, 醒石. Retrieved from http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~yp7h-td/douka.htm
Ueshiba, M. (2025). 植芝盛平道歌–038: Right hand in sunlight… (L. G. N. R. Space-Coyote, Trans.; OpenAI ChatGPT-5 Pro, Ed.). Shugyokai.org. (Original work published 1977) https://shugyokai.org/mpie
Vovin, A. (2003). A reference grammar of classical Japanese prose. RoutledgeCurzon.
Appendix I: Change Modification Log
29 MAR 26 - Added connectivity to 038.15 JAN 26 - Phase V improvements on translation; utilizing back-and-forth critical translation steps; corrected Mikiko (1993/1995), Mertz et al. (2022), & Buswell & Lopez (2014) references.21 DEC 25 - Phase V styling applied to waka.08 DEC 25 - Corrected English quotes to Japanese quotes in Japanese commentary; back propagated English "Primer" to Japanese "プライマー" updates for Japanese readability.05 NOV 25 - Phase IV completion; commentary added.12 OCT 25 - Phase III completion.14 APR 20 - Initial notes transferred.