the deities of aikido) was completed in late autumn, 1943. The second bigger part (the Haiden) was erected in front of the Honden in 1962. Both parts were renovated by care-taker Morihiro Saito in 2001-2002 with the approval of Dōshu Moriteru Ueshiba. This renovation also included a fence set up around the compound, and a stone with the carvings "Aiki Jinja" designed by Seiseki Abe, a master of both calligraphy and Aikido, who was also the calligraphy teacher of Morihei Ueshiba. A large statue of the founder of aikido was erected in the shrine grounds and unveiled on 8 November 2009. Surplus material from this monument was used to make a bust of the founder which was unveiled at the newly rebuilt Iwama Station on 24 July 2012. The Torii gate and Honden were damaged during the Great Tohoku earthquake. The relatively unscathed Haiden was used for aikido training while the dojo was unusable. When Morihei Ueshiba was alive, once a month he would preside over what was initially a small religious ceremony in the Aiki Jinja called Tsukinamisai (月並み祭), which lasted up to an hour. Food offerings of fruits, vegetables, and fish adorned the kamidana. Later, a small party with the uchi deshi (live-in students) was held inside the dojo. After Ueshiba died, caretaker Morihiro Saito took responsibility for hosting the ceremony every month on the 14th. This tradition is kept up by current Dōshu Moriteru Ueshiba. Every year on April 29 (the start of the Japanese Golden Week holiday), the annual shrine festival "Aiki Jinja Rei Taisai" (合気神社例大祭 "Grand Festival of the Aiki Shrine") is held by Oomoto priests in commemoration of Ueshiba's death on April 26, 1969. Under former caretaker Morihiro Saito, the event grew to become a very big day for the small town of Iwama. The festival has continued to attract hundreds of Aikido practitioners to the small dojo and shrine under current Dojo Chief Moriteru Ueshiba. The Aiki Shrine Festival usually starts with a "shubatsu" (a Shinto ritual), "taisai-shukuji" (ritual felicitations) and "tamagushi-hoten" （offering of sacred sprigs） by the Ueshiba family and representatives from the aikido world and local community. The attendees then take part in a ritual prayer and memorial service offered by the Ueshiba family and other dignitaries. A special Shinto prayer called the "Amatsu Norito" is recited before the current Dōshu makes a speech and a ritual demonstration of Aikido called