Tenrikyo

Texts

Scriptures

The three scriptures (三原典, sangenten) of Tenrikyo are the Ofudesaki, Mikagura-uta, and Osashizu.

The Ofudesaki (おふでさき, "Tip of the Writing Brush") is the most important Tenrikyo scripture. A 17-volume collection of 1,711 waka poems, the Ofudesaki was composed by the foundress of Tenrikyo, Miki Nakayama, from 1869 to 1882.

The Mikagura-uta (みかぐらうた, "The Songs for the Service") is the text of the Service (otsutome), a religious ritual that has a central place in Tenrikyo. During the Service, the text to the Mikagura-uta is sung together with dance movements and musical accompaniment, all of which was composed and taught by Nakayama.

The Osashizu (おさしづ, "Divine Directions") is a written record of oral revelations given by Izo Iburi. The full scripture is published in seven volumes (plus an index in three volumes) and contains around 20,000 "divine directions" delivered between January 4, 1887 and June 9, 1907.

According to Shozen Nakayama, the second Shinbashira (the spiritual and administrative leader of Tenrikyo), the Ofudesaki "reveal[s] the most important principles of the faith," the Mikagura-uta "come[s] alive through singing or as the accompaniment" to the Service, and the Osashizu "gives concrete precepts by which the followers should reflect on their own conduct."

Supplemental texts to the scriptures

The supplemental texts to the scriptures (準原典, jungenten) constitute three officially sanctioned texts which, along with the scriptures, are used to instruct students and adherents of Tenrikyo. They are required texts for students enrolling in Tenrikyo's seminary programs, such as the three-month "Spiritual Development Course" (修養科, Shuyoka).

The Doctrine of Tenrikyo is Tenrikyo's official doctrine, which explains the basic teachings of Tenrikyo. The Life of Oyasama, Foundress of Tenrikyo is Tenrikyo's official hagiography of Miki Nakayama. The Anecdotes of Oyasama, Foundress of Tenrikyo is an official authorized anthology of anecdotes about Nakayama that were passed down orally by her first followers and later written down and verified.

Other texts

The kōki (こふき or 後紀) are manuscripts of creation narratives dictated by Nakayama Miki that are not part of the official canon of Tenrikyo scriptures. Today, they are rarely read and circulated. The Doroumi Kōki is one such kōki (古記); there are also various other kōki texts that were composed from 1881 up until Nakayama Miki's death in 1887.

Organization

Tenrikyo is subdivided into many different groups with common goals but differing functions. These range from the Daikyōkai (大教会, lit. 'large church'), to disaster relief corps, medical staff and hospitals, universities, museums, libraries, and various schools.

Tenri Judo is renowned as a successful competition style of Judo that has produced many champions, while there are also other sporting and arts interest groups within Tenrikyo.

History

In Tenrikyo tradition, Nakayama Miki was chosen as the Shrine of God in 1838, after her son and husband began suffering from serious ailments. The family called a Buddhist monk to exorcise the spirit causing the ailments. When the monk temporarily left and asked Nakayama to take over, she was possessed by the One god (Tenri-O-no-Mikoto), who demanded that Nakayama be given to God as a shrine. Nakayama's husband gave in to this request three days later.

Nakayama's statements and revelations as Shrine of God were supplemented by Izo Iburi, one of her earliest followers, who developed a position of revelatory leadership as her deputy, answering questions from followers and giving "timely talks". His position, which is no longer held in Tenrikyo, was called Honseki. The revelatory transmissions of the Honseki were written down and collected in large, multi-volume works called Osashizu. Following Izo's death, a woman called Onmae partially carried on this role for a while, although it appears that she did not have the actual title of Honseki. Since then, Tenrikyo itself has never had a Honseki, although some Tenrikyo splinter groups believe that the revelatory leadership passed from Iburi to their particular founder or foundress.

Nakayama's eldest son obtained a license to practice branch of Shinto, but did so against his mother's wishes. Tenrikyo was designated as one of the thirteen groups included in Sect Shinto between 1908 and 1945, due to the implementation of Heian policy under State Shinto. During this time, Tenrikyo became the first new religion to do social work in Japan, opening an orphanage, a public nursery and a school for the blind.

Although Tenrikyo is now completely separate from Shinto and Buddhism organizationally, it still shares many of the traditions of Japanese religious practice. For instance, many of the objects used in Tenrikyo religious services, such as hassoku and sanpo, were traditionally used in Japanese ritual, and the method of offering is also traditional.

Timeline

• 1798, April 18 (lunar calendar) – Miki Nakayama was born.
• 1838, December 12 (October 26, lunar calendar) – God was revealed to Nakayama at the Mishima Shrine.
• 1854 – Nakayama begins to administer the Grant for Safe Childbirth, and thus begins to recruit her first followers.
• 1866 – First chapters of Ofudesaki appear.
• 1887, January 26 (lunar calendar) – the death of Nakayama.
• 1908 – official recognition as one of the thirteen branches of Sect Shinto.

Religious services

Tenrikyo utilises traditional musical instruments in its otsutome (おつとめ, lit. 'service or duty'), such as hyoshigi (wooden clappers), chanpon (cymbals), surigane (small gong), taiko (large drum), tsuzumi (shoulder drum), fue (bamboo flute), shamisen, kokyū, and koto. These are used to play music from the Mikagura-uta, a body of music, dances and songs created by Nakayama. Most of the world's foremost authorities on gagaku music (the ancient classical Shinto music of the imperial court of Japan) are also Tenrikyo followers, and gagaku music is actively promoted by Tenrikyo, although, strictly speaking, the Mikagura-uta and gagaku are separate musical forms.

The hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, and fue were traditionally the men's instruments but are now acceptable for women to play. The shamisen, kokyū, and koto were traditionally women's instruments and, although not very popular, are now acceptable for men to play as well.

Daily services

The Otsutome (おつとめ or お勤め) or daily service consists of the performance of the seated service and, optionally, the practice of a chapter or two of the 12 chapters of Teodori (lit. 'hand dance') (てをどり or 手踊り) or Yorozuyo. The daily service is performed twice a day; once in the morning and then in the evening. The service times are adjusted according to the time of sunrise and sunset but may vary from church to church. Service times at the Jiba in Tenri City go by this time schedule and adjust in the changing of seasons.

Instruments used in the daily service are the hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, and kazutori (a counter, to count the 21 times the first section is repeated). The hyoshigi is always played by the head minister of the church or mission station. If the head minister is not present, anyone may take their place.

The daily service does not need to be performed at a church. It can be done at any time and anywhere, so long as the practitioner faces the direction of the Jiba, or "home of the parent".

The purpose of the daily service, as taught by Nakayama, is to sweep away the Eight Mental Dusts of the mind.

Hinokishin

Hinokishin (ひのきしん or 日の寄進) (lit. 'daily service') is a spontaneous action that is an expression of gratitude and joy for being allowed to "borrow" their body from God the Parent. Such an action ideally is done as an act of religious devotion out of a wish to help or bring joy to others, without any thought of compensation. Hinokishin can range from helping someone to just a simple smile to brighten another person's day. Examples of common Hinokishin activities that are encouraged include cleaning public bathrooms and parks among other such acts of community service. Doing the work that others want to do least are considered sincere in the eyes of God.

Hinokishin is a method of "sweeping" the "mental dusts" that accumulate in a person's mind. The "mental dusts" are referring to the Eight Mental Dusts. The official translations of these dusts are: Miserliness (Oshii), Covetousness (Hoshii), Hatred (Nikui), Self-love (Kawai), Grudge-bearing (Urami), Anger (Haradachi), Greed (Yoku), and Arrogance (Kouman).

The Tenrikyo Young Men's Association and Tenrikyo Women's Association are Tenrikyo-based groups that perform group activities as public service. To participate in such groups may be considered Hinokishin.

Monthly services

Tsukinamisai (月次祭) or the monthly service is a performance of the entire Mikagura-uta, the sacred songs of the service, which is the service for world salvation. Generally, mission headquarters and grand churches (churches with 100 or more others under them) have monthly services performed on the third Sunday of every month; other churches perform on any other Sunday of the month. The monthly service at the Jiba is performed on the 26th of every month, the day of the month in which Tenrikyo was first conceived – October 26, 1838.

Instruments used in the monthly service are all of those aforementioned. Performers also include dancers – three men and three women – and a singer. Performers wear traditional montsuki kimono, which may or may not be required depending on the church.

Divine Grant of Sazuke

The Divine Grant of Sazuke is a healing prayer in which one may attain through attending the nine Besseki (別席) lectures. When one receives the Divine Grant of Sazuke, one is considered a Yoboku (lit. 'useful timber') (用木). The Sazuke is to be administered to those who are suffering from illness to request God's blessings for a recovery. However, recovery requires the sincere effort from both the recipient and the administrator of the Sazuke to clean their minds of "mental dust." Only with pure minds then can the blessings be received by the recipient through the Yoboku administering the Sazuke. It is taught that when God accepts the sincerity of the person administering the Sazuke and the sincerity of the person to whom it is being administered, a wondrous salvation will be bestowed. This is accomplished through having the recipient be aware of the mental dusts and the teachings of Tenrikyo to remedy their dusty minds.

Tenrikyo centers outside Japan

In recent years Tenrikyo has spread outside Japan, with foreign branches centered primarily in Southeast Asia and the Americas. Tenrikyo maintains centers in:

• Argentina: Buenos Aires
• Australia: Calamvale, Melbourne
• Brazil: Bauru, Recife
• Canada: Vancouver
• Republic of Congo: Brazzaville (see French Wikipedia article)
• Colombia: Cali, Bogotá, Medellín
• France: Paris, Antony
• Hong Kong
• Kenya
• Mexico: Mexico City
• Philippines: Manila (in Makati)
• Singapore
• South Korea: Gimhae
• Taiwan: Taipei
• Thailand: Bangkok
• United Kingdom: Leeds, London
• United States: Los Angeles (US headquarters), Honolulu, Seattle, New York City, San Francisco

Notable followers

• Avram Davidson – American writer of speculative fiction and crime fiction
• Ayaka Hirahara – Japanese pop singer
• Naoki Matsuyo – Japanese association footballer
• Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin – American shakuhachi player