Iwama is an important historical location from the development of Aikido. The former town has a famous dojo built by the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, who lived there from 1942 until his death in 1969. It has become "a Mecca to the aikido community." This dojo is also where Morihiro Saito, one of the founder's closest students, learned and taught aikido from 1946 until 2002. The lineage of aikido that has been passed on through Saito is highly acclaimed.