Born June 27, 1981, he is the son of Moriteru Ueshiba, the third doshu of Aikido Aikikai. According to Iemoto tradition, he is expected to succeed his father, thus becoming the fourth doshu. Since April 2010, he has been acting dojo cho at the Iwama dojo in Ibaraki Prefecture. Mitsuteru Ueshiba is often referred to as Waka-sensei to distinguish him from his father. “Waka-sensei” means young teacher and was applied to Moriteru Ueshiba during Kisshomaru Ueshiba’s lifetime. The term is also used outside of aikido and is an aspect of the sempai/kohai system.