The land on which the dojo and shrine were built was first purchased by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido, in 1940. In 1943 he built the first part of the current Aiki Jinja and an "outdoor dojo" where he lived a life of ""Buno Ichinyo"" (the union of agriculture and Budō). This dojo was completed in 1945 and was originally called "The Aiki Shuren Dojo" (合気修練道場, lit. harmonising drill dojo). At first the dojo did not include "tatami" mats, and students received training directly upon the wooden floor. Eventually 24 mats were installed. The dojo was later moved to the present day location and expanded to 60 mats. When the founder formally established the Aikikai for the promotion of aikido in 1948, the dojo served as the world headquarters for the art and remained so until the opening of the new Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1956.