Teachers | International Japanese Yoga Association

IJYA Officials

Read The True Paths to Meditation by Sawai Atsuhiro. He's a student of Nakamura Tempu.

Sawai Atsuhiro is a master of meditation and author of The True Paths to Meditation. He's a student of Nakamura Tempu.

Sawai Atsuhiro, IJYA President

Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei was born in 1939 in Japan, and he can be seen in the images to the left. He met Nakamura Tempu Sensei in the 1950’s, eventually becoming one of his closest students and obtaining the highest teaching credential in Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a unique form of Japanese yoga and meditation. Nakamura Sensei is widely regarded as the father of yogic meditation in Japan, where his teachings are studied by people from every walk in life.

Professionally, Sawai Sensei was a full professor of English at Kyoto Sangyo University. He became Professor Emeritus of English in 2004. Since his retirement he has had several top-selling books on Nakamura Tempu Sensei’s teachings published in Japan. In addition, he is the leader of the Tenpu Juku in Kyoto (www.tenpujuku.com), and he is the President of the Kokusai Nihon Yoga Renmei (International Japanese Yoga Association) that promotes instruction in Shin-shin-toitsu-do around the world. The IJYA has members in over 20 nations, and it is a not for profit organization.

Sawai Sensei is a best-selling author of meditation books in Japan, and an in demand lecturer/seminar leader. The True Paths to Meditation is his first book with Michi Publishing and his first book written specifically for Western readers. Like all of Sawai Sensei's works, it aims to help the reader discover a way of living rooted in health and harmony via meditation. Sawai Sensei uses a simple and direct writing style that appeals to both Japanese and Western fans of meditation, yoga, and spirituality. He is, in addition, a regular contributor to the IJYA Journal, writing about the innovative forms of meditation created by his teacher Nakamura Tempu Sensei.

Learn Japanese yoga and realize deep relaxation and calmness in life. He's a student of Nakamura Tempu.

H. E. Davey, IJYA Vice President

H. E. Davey Sensei is the IJYA International Chief Instructor and the group's Vice President. He has a lifetime of experience studying classic Japanese arts and meditative disciplines, with an emphasis on Nakamura Tempu Sensei's Japanese yoga. He is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts (www.senninfoundation.com), which offers instruction in Japanese yoga, martial arts, healing arts, and fine arts. His introduction to the arts of Japan came via traditional martial arts. Since age five, he's studied jujutsu extensively in the USA and Japan. He received a seventh-degree black belt and the title of Kyoshi from the Kokusai Budoin, a Tokyo-based international federation. Kokusai Budoin defines Kyoshi as comparable to a "Master's Certificate" and equivalent to modern ranks of sixth- to eighth-degree black belt. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association (www.smaa-hq.com), an international coalition of Japanese and Western experts, who have granted him an eighth-degree black belt.

In middle school, Mr. Davey began Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a system of Japanese yoga and meditation founded by Nakamura Tempu Sensei. He's a full-time professional instructor of Shin-shin-toitsu-do. He is also a member of the International Japanese Yoga Association in Kyoto and the Wakuwaku Honshin Juku in Osaka, and he holds the highest level of teaching certification from these associations, which are devoted to meditation and the teachings of Mr. Nakamura. He's practiced in Japan and the USA under Nakamura Tempu Sensei's senior disciples, including Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei and Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei. Mr. Davey's also received extensive instruction in Nakamura Sensei's methods of bodywork and healing with ki ("life energy"), which he teaches. He's furthermore received training in Hatha yoga and Pranayama breathing exercises in the tradition of Indra Devi.

Davey Sensei also studied shodo, Japanese brush writing and ink painting, for 20 years under the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei of Kyoto. Mr. Davey holds the top rank in Ranseki Sho Juku shodo and exhibits each year in Japan. He's received numerous honors in these exhibitions, including Jun Taisho ("Associate Grand Prize").

H. E. Davey's articles on Japanese arts and his artwork have appeared in numerous American and Japanese magazines and newspapers. He's the author of The Teachings of Tempu: Practical Meditation for Daily Life (Michi Publishing), Unlocking the Secrets of Aiki-jujutsu (McGraw-Hill), Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony (Stone Bridge Press), Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation (Michi Publishing), Living the Japanese Arts & Ways: 45 Paths to Meditation & Beauty (Stone Bridge Press), The Japanese Way of the Artist (Stone Bridge Press), and The Japanese Way of the Flower: Ikebana as Moving Meditation (Stone Bridge Press).