John Stevens (scholar)
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John William Stevens (December 2, 1947 – July 21, 2025)[1] was an American Buddhist priest, author, professor of Buddhist studies and Aikido teacher.[2]
Stevens lived in Sendai, Japan from 1973 to around 2008, where he taught Eastern philosophy and Aikido at Tohoku Fukushi University.[3][2] His Aikido rank was 7th dan Aikikai.[4] After leaving Japan, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he resided until his death on July 21, 2025.[1][5]
Biography
Stevens was born in Chicago but grew up in Evanston, Illinois.[3] He moved to Sendai in 1973 in order to study Buddhism and began practicing Aikido soon afterwards. He trained with many teachers throughout his career, but his main teacher was Shirata Rinjiro (9th dan Aikikai),[2] about whom he wrote the book Aikido: The Way of Harmony. He created his own system, which he called Classical Aikido, which is a complete system emphasizing misogi, kotodama, and the unity of aiki-ken, aiki-jo, and taijutsu (body arts). He taught it at numerous seminars all over the world.[6]
Bibliography
Stevens wrote over thirty books on Buddhism, Aikido and Asian culture, including:
- Training with the Master – Lessons with Morihei Ueshiba ISBN 1-57062-568-9 (2004 Edition)
- Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind With Calligraphy and Painting
- Lust for Enlightenment: Buddhism and Sex ISBN 0-87773-416-X
- The Sword of No-Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu ISBN 1-57062-050-4
- The Secrets of Aikido ISBN 1-57062-235-3 (1997 Edition)
- Abundant Peace ISBN 0-87773-350-3
- Aikido: The Way of Harmony ISBN 0-394-71426-1
- Invincible Warrior ISBN 1-57062-394-5 (1999 Edition)
- Zen Bow, Zen Arrow (2012) ISBN 9780834827233
- Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei (Shambhala 1988, Echo Point Books 2013 paperback, ISBN 978-1626549951)
- The Philosophy of Aikido (2013 paperback edition) ISBN 978-1626549937
- Extraordinary Zen Masters: A Maverick, a Master of Masters, and a Wandering Poet (2013 paperback edition) ISBN 978-1626549920
- Sacred Calligraphy of the East (2013 paperback edition) ISBN 978-1626549944
- The Way of Judo: A Portrait of Jigoro Kano (2013) ISBN 978-1590309162
- Three Budo Masters (1995) ISBN 4-770018-52-5
- The Shambhala Guide to Aikido (1996) ISBN 978-1-57062-170-3
- Budo Secrets (2001) ISBN 1-570624-46-1
Translations and collections
- The Art of Peace ISBN 1-59030-144-7 (2011 Edition)
- Best Aikido: The Fundamentals (Illustrated Japanese Classics) ISBN 4-7700-2762-1
- The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2 ISBN 4-7700-2763-X
- Budo Secrets ISBN 1-57062-915-3
- Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan
- One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
- Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu (Companions for the Journey)
- Lotus Moon: The Poetry of Rengetsu (Companions for the Journey) ISBN 1-893996-36-0
- Rengetsu: Life and Poetry of Lotus Moon ISBN 1-6265-4931-1
- Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda ISBN 0-8348-0151-5
- The Heart of Aikido: The Philosophy of Takemusu Aiki by Morihei Ueshiba ISBN 4770031149
- The Essence of Aikido: The Teachings of Morihei Ueshiba (1993) ISBN 4-770017-27-8
References
- ^ a b "John William Stevens Obituary". Valley of the Temples Mortuary. August 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
- ^ a b c Pranin 1991.
- ^ a b Matrasko.
- ^ "Seminar archive". aikidojo.cz. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "Remembering John Stevens". Shambhala. 2025-07-25. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ "John Stevens". shambhala.com/. Shambhala. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- Pranin, Stanley A. (1991). The Aiki News Encyclopedia of Aikido. Tokyo, Japan: Aiki News. p. 105. ISBN 4-900586-12-9.
- Matrasko, Cheryl (2001-09-09). "Interview with Renown Aikidoist John Stevens". aikido-world.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2 September 2010.