Yasunari Kitaura (北浦 康成 Kitaura Yasunari, 25 de mayo de 1937 - 26 de abril de 2023), was a Japanese art historian, renowned expert on the European Renaissance, appointed as a Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando from 2016 and an Aikido instructor, 8th Dan, Shihan, under the authority of the Aikikai Foundation. He served as the Aikikai delegate in Spain at his arriving and was the promoter of the "Asociación Cultural Aikikai de España" (ACAE), of which he was the founder and President. On July 15, 2008, he received a Personal Recognition from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA, Individuals) for his dedication to the spread of Japanese culture in Spain through this association.

He graduated from Waseda University (Tokyo) and earned his PhD from the Complutense University of Madrid with a thesis entitled "El sistema imaginativo de El Greco" in the field of art history. He published several books and articles on the history of European, Japanese, and Chinese art. His morphological analysis of artworks from the European Renaissance led him to discover numerous relationships between the creations of different artists and their connection to ancient Greece. This analytical study allowed him to identify certain laws governing the composition of a Renaissance work and, thus, to elucidate the imaginative system of the artists of that era.

Kitaura trained in Aikido under the Kaiso, the founder of Aikido, I Aikido Doshu Morihei Ueshiba, and his son, II Aikido Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba.

In 1967, he traveled to Madrid on a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deepen his studies in European art history. During the same year, he introduced Aikido in Spain and has dedicated himself to its dissemination over the decades, with special support from II Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba and the current III Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, who visited Spain on numerous occasions. Notably, Kisshomaru Ueshiba was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Polytechnic University of Valencia in 1992 as a testament to the spread of Aikido in Spain.

In his 56 years in Europe, Yasunari Kitaura trained numerous experts in this discipline, particularly in Spain, his place of residence. He also contributed to the spread of Aikido throughout Europe, including Russia and some former Soviet republics.

Yasunari Kitaura's Aikido style is characterized by its sobriety and elegance of movements. In his conception of Aikido, he uses forceful and energetic movements to establish dynamic and harmonious unifications with the ki (energy flow) originating from the uke (attacker). The theoretical basis of this conception was summarized in a lecture titled “Kimusubi” (unification/harmonization of energy flows) given at a Peace Conference in Gernika in 1994, where harmonious solutions to conflictual interactions were proposed. This concept is captured in his book  "La Plenitud del Vacío."

With deep respect, honoring his memory and legacy, may he rest in peace.