O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba was born on the14th of December 1883 in the city of Tanabe, located in Wakayama Prefecture. He was the fourth child of the family and the only boy.

His father,Yoroki Ueshiba was a wealthy farmer and active member of the council. His mother Yuki Itokawa was a descendant of a noble family of the Takeda clan.

The young Morihei apparently was a child born prematurely, with a weak constitution and often sick. His father took great pains to help improve his health and encouraged him to strengthen his body. At the age of seven, he enrolled in a swimming and sumo school where he was taught Aioi –ryu, a secret martial art, a mixture of Tai- Jitsu and Kendo . Being witness of many attacks from bandits to his father , Morihei was determined to become strong. Therefore he worked with fishermen on boats and participated in all the wrestling contests.

The education of young Morihei began with the study of Buddhist texts and classic texts of Confucianism at Jizodera , a Buddhist temple near the Shingon sect . He was graduated at the " Yoshida Abacus Institute and then he worked until 1902 at the office of taxes of Tanabe at the investment income service.

At the age of seventeen, the teenager left home to open a stationery shop in Tokyo with the help of wealthy parents and he founded the " Ueshiba Trading Compagny" specialized in the distribution of school materials. During this brief visit to Tokyo he deepened his knowledge of martial arts in the evening classes, at the school of jujutsu «Tengin Shinyo -Ryu», headed by Sensei Tokusaburo Tojawa and at the Kenjutsu school " Shinkage Kenjutsu."