Highland Funeral Home website
Yumi Nakamura, 1948-2024
A bright light has left our lives.
Yumi Nakamura was born in Osaka, Japan on September 22, 1948. She passed away due to complications of lymphoma on December 3, 2024 at Bridgepoint Health Care Centre in Toronto.
She grew up amid great hardship in postwar Japan. Those challenges shaped her character to make her tough and practical, yet very kind and generous.
She first visited Canada in 1977 and decided to make it her home a few years later.
She had a genius for engaging fully and building community in everything she embraced. She made lifelong friends in all of her many fields of endeavour.
She excelled in her profession of X-ray technician and worked at clinics and hospitals in Toronto throughout her career. She was a caring, reassuring figure for patients. She said that working at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in particular was a highlight, one where she formed many long-term friendships among a very tight-knit community.
She was a towering figure in the martial art of Aikido in Canada, known and respected across the country and internationally. As a seventh-degree black belt shihan (master instructor) with more 50 years of training, she was the highest ranked female practitioner in Canada and was well-connected with many leading international masters, including Kawahara-sensei, the first technical director of the Canadian Aikido Federation and his successor, Osawa-sensei.
She founded two dojos, Aikido Tendokai in Toronto and Aikido Hokuryukai in North York. She was a key figure in the Canadian Aikido Federation, serving as chairperson of its Examination Committee during the formative years and later as Hombu Liaison, facilitating the relationship with Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Despite her busy career, she travelled across the country attending and teaching seminars, selflessly offering encouragement to students of all levels and helping their instructors with advice on testing and dojo matters.
Her artistic streak was expressed through Shodo (Japanese calligraphy). She rarely missed a lesson with Maeda-sensei or each day’s practice. Her talents were recognised nationally in 2022 when she won the Gold Prize in the 15th Japanese Calligraphy Competition in Canada.
She practiced Tai chi for several years in Toronto and she continued with the exercises for the rest of her life. She made a constant study of health and exercise, and perhaps that is part of the explanation for her ability to resist the progress of her disease for so long. Her vigour and energy were truly remarkable.
She loved to travel, travelling extensively in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia. She had a particular fondness for Cuba and visited very regularly for well over 20 years. There, she indulged her love of good food, good people, good music and snorkeling.
As with all of her pursuits, she was very friendly and well-acquainted with most of the staff at her regular resort near Guardalavaca. They always quickly recognised and warmly welcomed her whenever she came back to the resort for another visit. Some of them became like family and she knew all their stories.
She also loved going home to Japan, finding new sites to tour and new restaurants to try on each visit, while catching up with her old friends and her large family. On a couple of occasions she took Canadian friends along on the trip and very much enjoyed showing them the food, culture and history of her native land.
She was an intensely spiritual person. She was an enthusiastic member of the Toronto branch of a religious group, Seicho-no-Ie, for a time.
Her spirituality was key to her character. She was kind and open. She had absolutely no fear of death as the end came closer, instead viewing it as simply the next stage of her spiritual journey. Her sole concern was for the friends and family she was leaving behind.
For her friends, she was a rock — sympathetic, absolutely reliable, intelligent, strong, determined and caring. She had a radiant smile that uplifted everyone she met.
She leaves behind her husband of 37 years, Jim Barnes, and her brother Fukuichi Nakamura and his large family in Japan and Hawaii. She was predeceased by her sister, Motoko.
A celebration of her life will take place on Saturday, January 18, starting with a visitation at 10 AM. More information will be available later.
In lieu of flowers, she suggested a donation to her favourite cause, her dojo, Aikido Tendokai. Unfortunately this organization cannot issue charitable tax receipts. The address for donations by Interac is membership@aikidotendokai.com. Please include your name and “Memorial donation” in the message field.
She would equally encourage you to donate to a charity of your choice. One among many that she felt close to was Doctors without Borders.
Aikido Hokuryukai memorial
It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Yumi Nakamura-sensei, 7th dan, passed away on December 3, 2024, at Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto.
The cause of death was a sudden illness resulting from lymphoma, a condition she had bravely endured for several years.
She grew up amid the chaos of postwar Japan, experiencing many hardships. These challenges made her tough and practical, as well as kind.
She began training in Aikido in Osaka in her early 20s at the urging of her mother, who wanted her to learn self-defence since she often had to travel in public.
It was the start of a lifelong fascination. As a member of Osaka Aikikai, she was profoundly inspired by the great Bansen Tanaka-sensei, a direct student of O-sensei, and other notable teachers such as Kawahara-sensei.
She also pursued her practice in Kyoto under the careful guidance of Hoshina-sensei and his wife, who remained lifelong friends.
She first visited Canada in 1977 and decided to make it her home a few years later.
Despite a busy, full-time career as an X-ray technician, she regularly attended seminars, traveling across Canada and to the USA seeking instruction.
She was a loyal student and confidante of the CAF’s first technical director, Kawahara-sensei, and of the second technical director, Osawa-sensei, after Kawahara-sensei’s passing.
She also enjoyed warm relationships with other members of the North American Shihankai, including Yamada-sensei, Kanai-sensei and Tamura-sensei. The knowledge imparted to her by these Aikido greats enabled her to serve as a bridge for passing their teachings on to Canadian students.
Her students were treated to her warm friendship and radiant smile, along with her exacting standards. She practiced Aikido as a martial art, with no patience for what she called “wishy-washy” Aikido. At the same time, she felt that Aikido was a path to spiritual evolution, not violence.
She founded and taught at two Toronto dojos, Aikido Tendokai and Aikido Hokuryukai.
She was a cornerstone of the Canadian Aikido Federation. A founding member of the CAF Examination Committee, she served as its Chairperson in its formative days. As well, she later served as the Federation’s Hombu Liaison, facilitating contact with headquarters in Japan.
She dedicated her life to Aikido and its practitioners. As the highest-ranked female Aikido practitioner in Canada, she inspired a generation of girls and women to pursue excellence in the art.
Despite her terminal illness, as a true martial artist she had no fear of death. She never complained, even when faced with great pain in her final days. She had a profound spirituality.
In her last moments, her concern was for her friends and she had as many visitors as the time permitted. She died peacefully with her husband of 37 years, Jim Barnes, at her side.
For those wishing to honor her memory through donations, her favorite cause was her dojo, Aikido Tendokai. Unfortunately, as a not-for-profit organization, it cannot issue tax receipts.
She would equally encourage you to donate to your favourite charity. She supported many causes, with a particular fondness for Doctors without Borders.
We extend our sincere condolences to her family, many friends, and students across Canada who were touched by her life and teachings.
A date for a memorial service will be set soon.
Canadian Aikido Federation Examination Committee
It was with the deepest sorrow that the Canadian Aikido Federation Examination Committee learned of the passing of Yumi Nakamura Shihan.
She was a leader of and a mentor to the Canadian Aikido community for more than 40 years, both in her own dojos in Toronto and for students across the country whom she taught at camps and seminars.
Her work with the Canadian Aikido Federation was tireless and invaluable. She was internationally respected, serving as a bridge between CAF members and many great Shihans, including our two Technical Directors, Kawahara Sensei and Osawa Sensei.
She was a guiding light on the Examination Committee since its inception and served as Chairperson during its formative stages. She also served as liaison between the Canadian Aikido Federation and Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
The inspiration she provided to students and instructors of all levels and her tremendous enthusiasm for and generous support of Canadian Aikido will be sorely missed.
— The Canadian Aikido Federation Examination Committee
Message from the CAF President
On Tuesday December 3rd, we lost a prominent member of our Canadian Aikido Community when Yumi Nakamura Shihan passed away at the Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto after courageously battling cancer for several years. Her contributions to our community are far reaching.
She was a member of the CAF Exam Committee since its inception, acting as Chair for many years. This brought her face to face with teachers from across the country as she skillfully shared her technical expertise. As the CAF’s official Liaison to Hombu Dojo, Yumi sensei ensured a reliable, open channel of communication was always present. She was the backbone of our strong connection with Hombu Dojo and our current technical director, Osawa sensei.
Yumi sensei made time for everyone and she was especially careful to shine her light on our younger students. Many young students have been set on a great path having grown up with her wonderful example. A generation of young girls are following in her footsteps right now.
Yumi sensei was a direct technical advisor to many dojos across the country, including my own. Her high standards, experience and wisdom benefited many dojos. In my opinion, this is where Yumi sensei’s incredible generosity was most clearly felt. When Kawahara sensei passed away in 2011 there were many difficult days for me and I believe this adversity was shared by many. In those times there emerged a few leaders who would carry our community while we established an enduring connection with Osawa sensei.
For me, Yumi sensei was at the front of that select group – impeccable in character, overflowing with generosity and patience. There were days I could not find direction or motivation. Yumi sensei was there for me as a guiding light — as she continues to be.
Steve Erickson, CAF President