The DOI matches its Crossref record; 23 of the 23 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Religion, Ki, and Aikido: From Pre-war Japan to the Post-war United States
Open accessAbstract
Abstract The Japanese term ki 氣/気 (Chinese qì) is a fundamental concept in East Asian religions, medicine, and martial arts. In Euro-American settings, the dominant way to understand ki is in terms of vital energy or life force. However, when the martial art aikido (aikidō 合氣道) was introduced to the United States following World War II, ki was not explained in terms of “energy,” but rather as “mind” or “spirit.” This article examines the transnational development of ki discourse in aikido from pre-war Japan to the post-war United States, including its entanglement with religion and state power. It also compares aikido’s development and circulation in the North Pacific with that of the healing practice of Reiki 靈氣/レイキ.
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“However, by the time the Human Potential Movement took off in the 1960s, also other models of subtle energies had abounded, for example, the orgone of the Freud-disciple Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), ´ sakti and kun . d . alin¯ ı of the T¯ antrikas, or the ki of the Japanese martial art Aikid¯ o (Kripal 2007, 234, 283-284, 458; Stein 2024).”
From “Medical Men in the New Age”: Alice Bailey’s Impact on Contemporary Energy Healing (2025) · cites this paper as Stein 2024
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
“Medical Men in the New Age”: Alice Bailey’s Impact on Contemporary Energy Healing
Zoehrer, D. S. (2025) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel16050643 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Stein, J. B.
- Affiliations
- Kwantlen Polytechnic University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Stein, Justin B.
- ORCID
- Stein, Justin B.
- Venue
- Vienna journal of East Asian studies
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2024-10-22
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 194-222
- ISSN
- 2521-702X (ISSN-L)
- 2521-7038
- OpenAlex
- W4408842773
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 0.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Vienna journal of East Asian studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Japanese History and Culture
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
- Keywords
- KI, aikido, Reiki, vital energy, state power, postwar Japan, United States, healing practices, North Pacific
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