[2] Abe met Morihei Ueshiba at the inauguration of the aikido dojo of Bansen Tanaka in Osaka in 1952 and began training immediately.
He was particularly struck by the similarity between the breathing technique used in aikido, misogi and shodo and arrived to the conclusion that the three arts are pursuing the same ultimate goal - the comprehension of the concept of ki.
Ueshiba gradually took interest in calligraphy and one day asked Abe to teach him shodo (around 1954).
A very special relationship developed between the two men and from 1959 until his death, Ueshiba would regularly come to stay at Abe's home in Osaka to learn calligraphy and teach aikido at the traditional dojo Abe built for him just next to his house (the Ameno Takemusu Juku Dojo).
He had formed over 200 shodo shihan and had about 3000 students in the Kansai region as well as in the United States (New York, Los Angeles) and in Australia.