D. C. Greene

This article was read before the Asiatic Society of Japan on March 13 and May 22, 1895, and published in the society's Transactions, volume 23, in 1896, pp. 24-74. Greene writes as a Christian missionary and outside observer, so this page is filed as a historical witness, not as Tenrikyo's own voice.

Source: Google Books PDF for Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, volume 23: https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWQYAAAAYAAJ. A parallel Internet Archive OCR route is available at https://archive.org/download/transactionsasi02japagoog/transactionsasi02japagoog_djvu.txt.

This is an OCR-based archival witness, not a hand-proofed critical transcription. Page headers, page numbers, line wrapping, and obvious article-boundary debris were regularized; minor scan-text errors may remain.

Shintoism, though possibly not the original religion
of Japan, is the legitimate successor of that rudimentary
faith and the recognized heir to its privileges. It seems
to have held undisputed possession of the ground when
Buddhism first claimed the attention of the Japanese
people. Men had not yet learned to philosophize upon
religious subjects and the need of organization appears
to have been but feebly felt. With the advent of Buddhism,
however, attempts were made from time to time to interpret the old Shinto in the light of Buddhistic philosophy.
These attempts at interpretation resulted in various schools,
among which were the Ryōbu Shinto of the ninth century,
the Yuitsu Shinto of the fifteenth and the Deguchi Shinto
ofthe seventeenth.
Again, within the Meiji Period, yielding to the
spirit of organization which has wrought so powerfully
in Japanese society of late years, many sects have arisen.
The names, at least, of the Kurozumi Kyōkwai, the Remmon Kyōkwai and such pilgrim societies as the Mitake
Kō, the Fuji Kō, etc., are familiar to all who have much
to do with the Japanese people. Some of these societies

originated in the remote past, but would appear to have
been until recently schools, or clubs, rather than sects.
Now, however, the need of a legal status has led to
a stiffening of the lines of organization and has given
to many, if not to all, a distinctly sectarian character. In
some cases the effort to secure government recognition
has produced such an emphasis upon the merits of individual
sects as to imply a denial of the claims of others. These
irregular sects are looked upon with marked disfavor by the
upholders of the Pure Shinto; but they are very numerous.
A book recently published in the interest of Shinto
orthodoxy enumerates not less than twenty of these
objectionable organizations, and I think the number is
increasing. They are an important feature of the religious
life of Japan and are worthy of careful study.
Among these heretical bodies, perhaps the most
prosperous and assertive is the Tenri Kyōkwai, that is say,
"The Church of the Heavenly Reason." Viewed from one
side, it appears to represent in an intense form a reaction
from the allegorizing tendency of modern Shinto scholars;
but as will appear later on, it has by no means successfully
resisted the influence of modern civilization. The story
of the growth of this sect possesses much interest, not
merely from the light it sheds upon the religious condition
of the mass of the Japanese people, but also because
of certain psychological phenomena which have been associated with it and which have exerted in the past and,
indeed still exert, a powerful influence upon the religious
life of Japan.
Materials for the study of this sect are fairly abundant,
notwithstanding the fact that the persistent opposition
of both orthodox Shintoists and the Buddhist priesthood
has led to an attempt to keep its sacred writings from
profane eyes. Manuscript copies of these writings, while
difficult to procure, are yet obtainable, although, so far as
I am aware, nothing but twelve hymns and a few

pilgrim songs have been printed. Besides a copy of
these scriptures and hymns, I have secured reports of
some fifteen sermons preached in six different chapels
in Tōkyō, Kyōtö, and Kobe. I have also visited the
chief temple of the sect in the village of Mishima, about
six miles south of Nara, the old capital of Japan.
The priests in Tōkyō were at first suspicious and
reticent, but eventually I obtained from their superiors
at Mishima, on my assuring them of my freedom from
any desire to ridicule their faith, an introduction for
myself and a Japanese friend to the principal preacher
in Tōkyō, which has been of no little service.
In addition to the information thus obtained, I have
gained much from tracts and magazine articles prepared
by Buddhist priests and others for the purpose of staying
the rapid progress of this notable enemy; for the Tenrikyō
looks forward to the time when it shall be the dominant

faith in the Empire and claims from its adherents an
exclusive allegiance quite foreign to the usual practice of
Japanese religionists. Among these I have been able to
examine the following, viz.:-
(a)-The Nihon Kokkyō Daidō Sōshi, Dec. 25th,
1893, an article, entitled " Tenrikyō wo Ronzu" ( Concerning
Tenrikyō). This article was manifestly written after
much careful investigation and is very valuable.
(b)-Bukkyō (Buddhism) Feb. 5th, 1894, article entitled, " Isshu no Kwaikyo, " i. e., An Extraordinary Religion.
This article is really a review of the preceding and has
little independent value, save as indicating the deep interest taken in the subject by the Buddhist priesthood. Both
this and the preceding magazine have a high place in the
current Buddhist literature and the opinions which
they express always deserve attention.
(c)-Shinri no Saiban, i. e., The Trial of the Truth.
This is a tract of 100 pages, in which the examination of
the Tenrikyo is carried on in the form of trial before a

criminal court. The defendant, Tenrikyō, is charged by the
complainant, Japanese Society, with being a disturber
of the peace, etc. The judge, prosecuting attorney,
witnesses, and all the more prominent technicalities of
the court-room have their place in this little book,
and on the whole the plan is well sustained to the
end. The writer, however, shows his strong bias too
plainly to make his work of much value aside from a few
facts which he incidentally brings out. Its author is Mr.
Kaneko Dösen, of Kawasaki Machi, Kobe. It was issued
in June, 1893.
(d)-Tenrino Bemmo, i. e. 'Against the Kings of
the Heavenly Changes,' a tract of sixty-five pages published
by the house called, Hōzōkwan in Kyoto. Its author is
a Mr. Haneda Bummei.

(e)-Benseki Tenrikyō, i. e., An Exposure of the Tenrikyō,' published by Miura Kensuke, Nagoya, Sept., 1893.
(f)-Tenrikyō Taiji, i. e., The Extermination of the
Tenrikyō,' Kyoto, Goho Kwan, May, 1894.
(g)-Kokoro no Kagami, ' A Mirror of the Heart,' with
the sub-title, Tenrikyō Taiji, i. e., The Extermination of
Tenrikyō,' Kyōto, Gohó Kwan, March, 1894. This book
purports to be written by a Shinto scholar, but it is
published by a famous Buddhist house. There are eighty-four pages. The writer seems to have had some unusual
sources of information.
(A)-Inshi Juichi Kyokwai, i. e., ' Eleven Irregular
Sects,' while the name of this book refers to only eleven
sects, an appendix includes notice of nine others. This is
a sort of encyclopedia of the irregular Shinto sects and
is a most valuable starting point for any investigations
regarding them.
These polemical treatises are all of them, apparently,
by men of a good degree of education and present a striking
contrast to the writings of the organization which they
earnestly oppose.

In my investigations, I have received great help from
my friend Mr. Rokotaro Nakamura and also from Prof.
Takayoshi Matsuyama of the Doshisha. The latter accompanied me on my visit to Mishima and has given me
many valuable suggestions. President Kozaki of the
Doshisha and the Rev. M. L. Gordon, D. D., have
also given me important aid.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TENRIKYŌ.

Nakayama Miki, the founder of the Tenrikyō, was
born in the village of Mimita in the district of Yamabe
in the province of Yamato, in the year 1798. Her maiden
name was Maekawa. At the age of thirteen she married a
farmer named Nakayama, who lived in the neighboring
village of Mishima. She is represented as having been a
most industrious woman. Besides assisting her husband
in the ordinary work of the field, she busied herself in
making straps for sandals and clogs; but in spite of her
efforts the family was still poor. Some of her Buddhist
opponents assert that she was a person of low morals
and that her name is borne upon the police records in
connection with charges of gross immorality. The critic
who brings this charge gives also what purports to be the
defence made by her friends. They admit, we are told, that
she was placed under arrest and kept for some time in
imprisonment, but claim that it was a matter of religious
persecution. It is quite probable that the charge is without
substantial foundation, and that the defence is a product
of the critic's imagination, though it is by no means
impossible that Omiki did suffer from persecution. There
is, certainly, reason to believe that some of her followers
have done so. Whatever may be the truth about these
charges, Omiki would appear to have lived quite up to
the standard of her neighbors and even to have gained from
them much respect and great praise for her kindness of
heart and self-forgetfulness.

At the age of thirty-two she had had three children,
all of whom were living. In the same village there lived a
poor woman, also the mother ofthree children, who was sorely
ill with beriberi,¹ and unable to nourish her youngest child.
Omiki's sympathetic heart was touched and she offered to
take the child and rear it with her own children. Her
ofter was accepted; the child was given over into her
charge and received its full measure of care and affection.
Oneday on returning from the field, Omiki found to her
astonishment and grief, that the babe was broken
out with the small-pox in its most dreaded form. She
felt that thedisease indicated some serious lack of faithfulness
on her part toward the child and its mother, and that if it
should be followed by death, she could never atone for
her disloyalty. She, therefore, determined to leave no
stone unturned to save her little charge. She called in
the village doctors, but they could give no encouragement
nor relief and declared the child must die. Omiki, however,
was awoman of strong faith and decided to claim the help
of the higher powers. She visited all the temples of
the vicinity, both Shinto and Buddhist, with perfect
impartiality, and everywhere prayed with her whole heart 1

for the recovery of the child. In the ecstasy of her grief,
she even offered to surrender two of her own children, if
only her foster child might be saved and the reproach of
disloyalty taken away. The story tells us that her prayer
was answered. The sick child was healed and lived to
to a ripe age. Not long after, one of her own children,
a daughter, sickened and died. Two years later, a
second daughter was born, but she too was soon taken
away, as was supposed, to complete the sacrifice which
Omiki must pay for the redemption of her foster child.

1 See Transactions, vol. vi. i. art., ' Kakke ' for an account of
this disease.

However, it seems to have been thought a sign of special
favor, both by Omiki and her neighbors, that the Gods while
accepting the vow should have waited two years for the
birth of the second daughter, rather than take one of the
sons.

In her fortieth year, one of the sons was troubled by
a painful ulcer on his foot. His parents applied to a
priest of the class called yamabushi who by means of
prayers and incantations brought, we are told, a measure
of relief. The pain, however, soon returned and a second
appeal to the yamabushi bringing only temporary relief, aid
was sought from the leader of a pilgrim society who was
reputed to be skilled in healing diseases by means of
the gohei, in other words, by putting the patients
into trance in connection with
a
ceremony in
a

which the gohei holds a prominent place. This ceremony is sometimes called kamioroshi, i. e., bringing
down the gods, and was not long since minutely described
by Mr. Percival Lowell in a paper read before this
Society.
As regards the effect upon the son, the history is
not quite clear, but the impression is left that his ulcer
was healed. The mother, however, went into a trance
which lasted three days. At the close of this period,
she was seized with a frenzy which was supposed to
indicate the presence of a deity. This deity eventually
declared himself to be no other than Kuni-toko-tachi-no
Mikoto, the first of the deities mentioned in the second
section of the Kojiki, or to borrow Prof. Chamberlain's
phrase, His Earthly-eternally-standing Augustness. After
causing much distress, this rough deity departed with the
remark that he was coming again. There was a brief

See Mr. Percival Lowell's description of this ceremony,
vol. xxi, p. 106, art., Esoteric Shintōism.

• Vol. x. Supplement, p. 16.

interval of quiet, but soon Omiki went into convulsions
for a second time, though whether these were at the
outset caused by Kuni-toko-tachi-no Mikoto or not, we
are left in doubt; at all events, a voice was soon heard
to proclaim that Omotaru no Mikoto was honoring Omiki
with his presence, that is to say, His Perfect- exterior
Augustness, if we follow the Kojiki, but Her Weighty
Augustness, ifwe follow Omiki's teaching. He, or she, was
succeeded by eight other deities of whom the last were
Izanagi and Izanami no Mikoto.
The demand was now made that Omiki's person, her
family, and the house, including its surroundings, should
be devoted to the service of the ten Gods. Omiki, who
seems to have partially retained her consciousness and
to have been terribly frightened by her experiences, begged
hard to be spared an honor which involved such rough
treatment. At this the spokesman of the Gods became
very angry and declared that while, if she freely
surrendered herself and her family, she would be the
instrument of salvation to 3,000, nay, 6,000 worlds: if she
did not thus surrender herself, her family and its belongings would be utterly destroyed. The husband then saw it
was useless to contend against the determined purpose of
these ten deities who opposed him with a solid front and
yielded to the demand.
The order was now given that the place should take
the name of the Ten Gods, and, that the same name should
be given to Omiki, the first time, we are told, that
so divine a name was ever given to man. If this name
were to be translated according to the Chinese characters
used to represent it, it would become in English, Their
Augustnesses of the Heavenly Changes; but it is evident
that the syllable ten was not that meaning " heaven ” (天). It

Ibid p. 17. $ Ibid p. 18.

was rather that of such phrases as tenyaku (轉 役) and tenkwai
(轉會 ) which means " to change." The rin might then be
rendered " to turn " or " to alternate," and thus we should have
the name, Their Augustnesses, the Kings of the Changing
Turns, in allusion to the series of visitations which was to
furnish the starting point for the new religion. The historian
was also apparently guilty of confusing two other characters
representing the same sound but having very different
meanings; at least from the use of rin, (輪 ) " a wheel," or
revolution, he passes to the thought represented by rin, (倫)
a relation, found in such phrases as gorin, the five relations
of human life, without adequate warning, and then goes
on to show that it was by no means an unreasonable
evolution which led to the substitution of the character
理 ri, “ reason."
In view of the widespread belief that trances such as
the one above described are due to the incarnation of some
deity and that the voice of the subject is, for the time
being, the organ of that deity, it was a matter of course
that Omiki should have been regarded as a special favorite
of the Gods. Her neighbors would seem to have been
predisposed to this faith because of the repute for
sanctity which she had previously acquired. Since the
deity was incarnate in her, the message which came from
her lips was a divine message and this declared her to be
specially inspired not merely now but for life.
The thought of founding a new sect did not arise
at once. Omiki and her immediate followers undoubtedly
expected easy recognition from all quarters. It was only,
we may assume, when met by ridicule and contempt from
both Shinto and Buddhist priests that the lines of demarcation began to gain definiteness. Gradually what was
at first only a natural esprit de corps hardened into a
sectarianism of a more or less exclusive sort. It is even
asserted by some critics that many of the Tenrikyo
believers have renounced their connection with their
family temples and abandoned the ancestral tablets
deposited in them. How far this may be true, it is impossible to say, but that it can be said at all is evidence of
adegree of exclusiveness quite unusual in Japan. With
every success the sense of a special responsibility would
seemed to have deepened until now, its believers look
forward, not merely to the conquest of Japan, but of
the world.
Since the occasion of this revelation was an appeal to
the Gods for relief from suffering, it was natural that the
emphasis of the teaching should be upon this power to
heal diseases by divine help. This emphasis has been
faithfully maintained in its subsequent history; but the
treatment of this branch of my subject must be postponed
to a later section of my essay.
In spite of the terrors of that day, Omiki lived and
taught for fifty years. She died at the advanced age
of eighty-nine, October 26th, 1887. After a funeral the
magnificence of which is attested by photographs taken at
the time, her remains were interred on the top of a low hill
overlooking the village of Mishima. The tomb is arranged
after the fashion of those of the emperors, so common
about Kyōto. A mound of earth is raised over the grave,
perhaps, seven or eight feet high, and is thickly covered with
young pines. This mound is enclosed in a square formed by
neatly turfed banks surmounted by a hedge. This square
has a substantial gate on the side which looks toward the
temple. The whole hillside is laid out as a park and
planted with ornamental trees and shrubs, among which
cherry trees predominate. A broad pathway leads by
easy grades to the tomb. No little expense has been spent
upon the park and its accessories and, though now
painfully new, it will in a few years present an attractive
aspect, especially when the cherries are in bloom.
Six months after the death of its founder, the Tenri
Kokywai received the recognition ofthe government, through

the appropriate bureau of the Home Office. With regard
to the last fifty years of Omiki's life, I have little information. There are reports which indicate much opposi-
tion, if not bitter persecution. In some prefectures the
propagation of her doctrines is said to have been strictly
prohibited.
Thus far I have followed mainly, the story current
among the adherents of the Tenrikyo. Apart from its
supernatural features, it is accepted as substantially true
even by the bitter opponents of the teaching which
it introduces, though some attempt to minimize Omiki's
share in the building up of the new religion and claim
that the movement is purely artificial and the work of
designing men. This is the view taken by the author
of the tract called " The Mirror of the Heart." He
maintains that certain men of evil disposition simply
availed themselves of the reputation for sanctity which
Omiki had gained among her neighbors as a foundation
upon which to build a structure essentially their own.
It would be difficult to definitely disprove this theory,
but yet I think few who carefully examine the subject will
be able to accept it. The story as it stands is on the
whole far easier to believe, though we may, and must,
allow for more or less distortion of facts and many mistaken
inferences. As we proceed, we shall see that the wider
outlook which has come with the growing prosperity
of the movement has led the present leaders to smooth
down some roughnesses and to accommodate themselves
to the stricter demands which grow out of the increasing
influence of the public schools; but there is little reason to
believe that it is, in the main, other than the product of
a sincere faith.

The growth of the sect has been very rapid, especially
of recent years. In April, 1894, the priests of the chief
temple claimed 10,000 priests and preachers and 1,400,000
adherents. Other estimates place the number of adherents

as high as 2,000,000. They are found all over
Japan, indeed, it is said that there is only one prefecture where this new faith has no representatives.
Omiki was succeeded by one of her sons and now a
grandson wields the sceptre of authority and lives in some
state inMishima. The adherents, though mostly from the
ignorant and poor, possess in the aggregate considerable
property which they contribute with great generosity.
It is reported that when a few years ago the wealthy men
of Japan were vying with one another in their gifts for
coastdefence, the head priest of the Tenri Kyōkwai offered
yen50,000, in behalf of that organization.
So far, there seems to have been but little loss from
schism, but there has been one secession. It resulted,
according to the " Inshi Juichi Kyōkwai," in the formation ofthe Tenrin (天 輪) Kyōkwai, that is, The Church
ofthe Heavenly Changes, which also looks back to Omiki
as its great prophetess. When or for what reasons the
separation took place, I have been unable to ascertain
with any definiteness; but the statement that it arose from
personal jealousy is given in the book to which I have
already referred. The similarity of the names and also of
the doctrinal belief has led to considerable confusion, but
the two bodies are organically distinct.
THE COSMOGONY.

Naturally the rough deities who so rudely forced
themselves upon Omiki's hospitality were regarded by her
as the Gods par excellence. While she was catholic enough
to admit there might be other gods-that in this wide
world there might be other ways of deliverence from sin
and disease (see Hymn V. 1.), she asserted that the one
safe and certain way was by favor of the Kings of the
Heavenly Reason. These Kings were as follows, viz.:-
I.-Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto, i. e., His Earthlyeternally-standing Augustness who is represented as the

God of the essential principle of the earth. This view
seems to have arisen from a confusion of the Japanese word
toko 常 with the Chinese term toku 德 which is taken to
mean essential principle. He is the God of the eye and of
water in all its forms. He appears inthe heavens as the moon
and presides over the north. What the connection may be
between the moon and the north is not stated, but it may
be this, viz., that great stress is laid upon the primacy of
the moon among the heavenly bodies while the north is
apparently considered as the central point in the siderial
universe. If this be the connection, it was of course purely
subjective, but subjective considerations have no small place
in this system.
II.-Omotaru no Mikoto, i. e., according to the usual
interpretation of the Kojiki, His Perfect-exterior Augustness,
but according to the new revelation, Her Weighty Augustness. She presides over fire and heat. She appears in the
heavens as the sun and rules over the south. She is
represented as a dragon with twelve heads and three
tails. These twelve heads evidently symbolize the twelve
months of the year and the twelve hours of the day of the
old Japanese reckoning.
III.- Kuni- satsuchi no Mikoto, i. e., His Augustness
the Earthly Elder-of-the-Passes, according to our prophetess
a female deity. She presides over metals; also over
the skin and sinews in man and over all sorts of
bindings and relationships. In the heavens she appears
as the star Genjō." She rules in the southeast. Her
true form is that of the turtle.

IV.-Tsuku-yomu no Mikoto, i. e., His Darknesspiercing Augustness. This is the God of wood, of bones,
and of framework. He appears in the heavens as the

• Ibid p. 28.
The stars Genjō and Shusei, I have not been able to identify.
• This deity is not in the list of the Kojiki.

star, Shusei, and presides over the northwest. His true
form is that of the ko, a fish similar to the carp. He is
identified with Hachiman and Shotoku Taishi."
V.-Kumo-yomi no Mikoto, i. e., Her Cloud-darkness Augustness, or, as Omiki seemed to think, Her
Cloud-reading Augustness. In the petition for government recognition, this name was dropped as being quite
foreign to the Shinto Cosmogony, and that of Toyo-kumunu no Mikoto 10 substituted. The latter, according to
Prof. Chamberlain's translation, with a change of the gender
to suit the new revelation becomes Her Augustness the
Luxuriant-integrating Lady. In man she presides over
the alimentary processes, and in general, over the evaporationandcondensation of water. She appears in the heavens
as the morning star and rules over the east. Her earthly
symbol is the eel. She is identified with Monshu Bosatsu, "
Yakushi Nyorai,¹ª and Ryuō Shinno.13
These five deities preside over the Gorin, i. e., the
Five Relations of Chinese ethical philosophy.
VI.-Kashikone no Mikoto," i. e., according to the
Kojiki, Her Augustness the Awful Lady, the consort of
Omotaru no Mikoto, but according to the new teaching,
a male deity, who presides over the inspiration and expiration of the breath and over wind. His earthly symbol is

Shōtōku Taishi (A. D. 573-621) is the posthumous name
given to Umado Ōji, a prince to whose patronage the early success
of Japanese Buddhism is largely attributable. He is reverenced
byall sects.
10 See vol. x., Sup., p. 16.
11 Bodhisattva Manjushiri, the apotheosis of transcendental
wisdom. His image is usually seated on the right hand of Shaka.
12Bhaishajyaguru, literally, the Healing Buddha.
13Prince of Dragon Kings, a sea god adopted by certain
Buddhist sects. He is said to have the face of a man but the body
ofadragon.
14Vol. x. Sup., p. 17.

the flounder. This association with the flounder is due,
apparently, to the resemblance of that fish to a fan, the
uchiwa, which naturally suggests air in motion. He is
identified with Dainichi Nyōrai¹ and Enkō Daishi.16
VII.-Taishoku Tenno. The interpretation of this
name would seem to be His Augustness the Great-eating
Heavenly King. This name is thought to be a corruption of
that of a Buddhist divinity, Tai Shaku Ten, of whom I can
get little information. In the petition for government
recognition, this deity was dropped from the list, and
as a substitute Oto-no-ji " no Mikoto was added. The
interpretation of this name is, His Augustness the Elder
of the Great Place. He presides over the sundering of relationships of all kinds, but especially that between parent and
child at birth and between soul and body at death, also over
cutting instruments. His symbol is the poisonous fish called
fugu (tetrodon hyxtris.) He is identified with Kyoku-uzo
Bõsatsu, Myōken Bōsatsu,18 etc.
VIII.-Otonobe no Mikoto,19 His Augustness the Lord
of the Great Place. Here again the prophetess dares to
differ with the Kojiki, which describes this as a female
deity. He presides over birth and production in general.
His place is in the western heaven, where he appears as

15Vairotchana Tathagata, a member of the Buddhist trinity,
the personification of wisdom and purity. Nyorai, i. e., Tathagata
is often translated Blessed.'
16 Enkō Daishi, the posthumous title of the famous priest,
Genku (A. D. 1132-1211), who founded the Jōdō sect.
17 Vol. x. Sup., p. 17.
19 Kyoku-uzō, or Kokuzō, Bōsatsu is a Bodhisattva especially
reverenced by the Nichiren sect. Myōken Bosatsu, also a
favorite with the Nichiren sect, is by some at least associated
with the North Star.
19 Vol. x. Sup., p. 17.

the evening star. His symbol is a black snake. He
is identified with Fudo Myō-6,0 Kobo Daishi, En no
Gyōsha, etc.
IX.-Izanagi no Mikoto, His Augustness the male
Deity who Invites. He presides over paternity. He
appears in the heavens as the star, Tanabata, the Weaver,
the Vega in western terminology. His form is that of
themerman. He is identified with the deity of the inner
shrine of the great temple at Ise.
X.-Izanagi no Mikoto, Her Augustness the female
deity who invites. She presides over maternity, the germination of seeds, the fields of sprouting rice, etc. Her form is
that of a white snake. She is also associated with the
star Vega and is identified with the deity of the outer
shrine at Ise.
Since these ten deities represent the heavenly reason,
they are called collectively Tenri Ō no Mikoto, Their
Augustnesses the Kings of the Heavenly Reason. We are
taught, however, that of these deities the first two are
the chief. The others play a very subordinate part, unless
we except Izanagi and Izanami no Mikoto, who became, as
we shall see, the immediate ancestors of the human race
and in consequence of their direct relation to man gain
special distinction. The other six are almost totally ig.
nored in the later literature and may perhaps be considered
as merely di emeriti in view of services rendered in connection with the creation of man.
When Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto is first introduced
upon the scene, with his consort, Omotaru no Mikoto,
the world was one immense mud sea. The two deities

Fudo Miyō- ō (Sanscrit Achala, immoveable) is the Brahminical god Siva. He is represented with a short sword in his right
hand to frighten evil doers and a rope in his left with which to
bind them.
21For an account of these two important deities see vol. x.
Sup.p. 18.

are represented as suffering from ennui and as having
determined to seek relief in the creation of man. Some
of the lower animals were in existence, it would appear,
notwithstanding the fact that the definite statements of
the record would imply that they came into being, as an
incident to the creation of man, at a much later stage
in the creative movement. The two deities resolved to
look about them for suggestions as to the details of the
prospective human frame. These suggestions came to
them from the fish and reptiles mentioned above as
symbolizing the eight subordinate deities. Thus, for
example, the turtle, the symbol of Kuni-satsuchi no Mikoto,
suggested the strength of the sinews as well as the
protection to be afforded by the skin. A bony fish
suggested the framework of bones in the human body, etc.
When the plan was complete, Izanagi and Izanami no
Mikoto were fixed upon as the parents of the human race,
and in due time Izanami gave birth to 999,999 pigmies
six-tenths of an inch in height. In the course of ninetynine years these offspring grew to be four inches tall
and then died. Later on a similar number of pigmies
was born who in ninety-nine years grew to be five
inches tall and then died. This gradual growth rejoiced
the heart of Izanami and she laughed for joy,
saying, " If they have already attained the height
of five inches, they will in due time become men
of five feet stature. Some of the Buddhist critics
pronounce these offspring of Izanami lampreys, but
the manuscript in my hands and which appears to
be authentic, leaves the impression that they were pigmies
in human form. It is possible that this may be a point
where to escape ridicule, the text has been amended, though
as regards other points where criticism has led to changes,
my text adheres to the old form.
From these nameless beings, for at this stage Izanami died, the bulk of the lower animals were produced

After 9,999 years these pigmies all died and there seems
to have been left no one to succeed them, only the original
pair of deities; but in spite of this catastrophic destruction of life, the evolution in some way went forward
and the ancestors of man advanced in height a little over
half an inch in each generation. For a time five males
and five females were born in each generation. The
next advance was to birth by twins and the stature
became three feet. By this time the world had become
in large degree fitted for the home of mankind. The
evolution continued by regular stages until the normal
height of man became five feet and the world assumed
its present aspect.

THE LITERATURE OF THE TENRIKYO.

As has been already intimated, the principal literature
ofthe Tenrikyō exists only in manuscript. It comprises,
that is, my own copy, sixty-one closely written pages. In
view of the wide territory over which the believers are
scattered and the activity of the priests, the number of
copies of these scriptures in existence must be very large.
Reasoning à priori, one would conclude that there must be
considerable variation in the readings of these many
hundred copies, but of this I can offer no testimony from
personal observation. In spite of considerable effort, I have
failed to secure more than one copy. There is, however,
evidence of the existence of such variations. It is found in
some of the anti-Tenrikyō literature. Such passages as the
one regarding the development ofthe human race to which I
have referred would seem to be in a different form in my
copy from that which existed in the copy upon which some,
at least, of the criticisms of Buddhist writers are based. It
would appear, also, that some of the more recent copies have
been brought into conformity with the petition for government recognition, in the matter of the names of the Ten

Gods. It would be interesting and useful to compare
such variant copies, because it is probable that other traces
of a rationalistic movement would be found; for it is
evident that rationalization has begun its work.
The style of these writings is such as might be expected from uneducated men. It is a mixture of the or-
dinary book language and a provincial colloquial, with here
and there phrases from the modern letter writers so much
in vogue among the lower classes. Aside from this conglomerate style, the ill-education of the writers is in-
dicated by numerous mistakes both in the use of the
kana and of the Chinese ideographs. The distinction
of long and short vowels, too, is often ignored and important
particles are often wanting, or they are interchanged in
a most confusing manner. Cases are by no means rare
in which the writer is evidently misled by the resemblance of the on (the Japanese prononciation of the
Chinese word for which the character stands) of one
ideograph to the kun (the Japanese translation) of another.
For example is often used for 様 and in one or two
cases there seems to be suggested a connection between the
Chinese phrase yō-ki (陽氣), cheerfulness, and the Japanese
adjective yoki, good.
A part of these peculiarities may be accounted for
on the supposition that a considerable portion of the
scriptures consists of the reports of lectures, or sermons,
of Omiki taken down by an unpracticed hand without
careful revision. The speaker most certainly spoke idiomatic
Japanese, though doubtless not without faults. She
must have used the local dialect in its current form, with,
perhaps, occasional phrases from books, such as she had
frequently heard from the Shinto and Buddhist preachers.
In the process of reporting, some of the colloquial idioms
probably gave place to equivalent expressions in the book
language, which often have the advantage of brevity.
The loss of particles may with much probability be

traced to the omissions of a rapid writer, at least very
many of them may. They are of such a sort, oftentimes,
as could hardly be accounted for on any other theory
-they are the result of stress of some sort. In
some cases, no doubt, these omissions and confusions
may be owing to the fault of later copyists, but on
this point judgment must be reserved until opportunity
is oftered for the collation of a considerable number of
manuscripts.
This disordered condition of the text renders the work
of interpretation very difficult. At times the only reliance
is upon conjecture, but numerous as such troublesome
passages are, they do not seriously obscure the general
teaching. Naturally, this obscurity is more perplexing
in the case of the hymns, because there is little help
from the context, and the loss of a line, or phrase, may
mean the loss of the entire thought; but even here the
general thought is usually fairly plain.
The scriptures consist of the reports of four sermons;
twelve hymns (Kagura Uta); An Account of the Origin ofthe
Gods, i. e. the story of Omiki, (Kamisama no Yurai); and
the Ancient Record of the Gods (Kamisama no Koki), upon
which I have relied in writing out the account of the
Cosmogony. The story of Omiki has already been
given, and I have noted my conviction that while the
prejudices of an untutored and superstitious mind are
plainly revealed, they do not seriously distort the facts
which are the main matter of the record. It is to this.
story that we must look for the first direct impulse
which gave rise to this important movement. To the
sermons, however, we must look for what is not less
important, namely, a picture of the mind before which
these facts were presented, and which, by virtue of its
own condition, clothed them with asupernatural aspect.
As was to be expected, we find evidence of a mind
utterly without culture. Its workings are irregular, pre

senting no indication of self-control. So extreme is this
irregularity, that the impulse to ascribe it to insanity is
very strong; yet on the whole it does not go beyond what
might fairly be expected in the case of one born before
the days of common schools and who had lived all
her life within the narrow circle of a farming village.
It may well be that the strain upon her nerves
produced by her experiences had weakened still further
the power of connected thought; yet there is no evidence,
I think, that these sermons are the product of a
deranged mind. At this point we must remind ourselves,
also, that Omiki does not speak to us directly, but
through the medium of reporters no better educated
than herself, and who may not improbaly be supposed,
in their more or less abridged reports, to have failed to
do full justice to her discourses. It was almost inevitable
that she should venture to pass somewhat abruptly from
one subject to another, because of her knowledge that her
whole life was intimately known to those to whom she
spoke, and that her mental attitude, both as regards religious
and secular affairs, was essentially the same as theirs. She
spoke almost exclusively to those of her own station, to
men and women whose mental processes were as irregular
as her own. She was, it is true, by no means without hopes that she might sometime gain a hearing
among the upper classes, but as a matter of fact she did
not, and it was a source of great regret to her that the
way to their hearts was not open. She spoke to the
poor and the uneducated and in such a way as to win their
confidence and respect. She asserts with emphasis her
claims as a divine teacher, and calls to her hearers to accept
the new doctrine of deliverance from trouble and disease
which she preached. She urged them, too, to abandonsin and
lead upright lives; indeed she declares that it is useless to
seek deliverance without repentance and reformation of
conduct.

I shall endeavour later to give an analysis of her teaching, and will content myself here with a few extracts from
these sermons, which will indicate their general style. A
few ofthese are interesting and, perhaps, I may say striking,
when we consider the source from which they come.
The first passage which I will quote is the introduction to the first sermon.
" If one looks over the whole universe of 10,000
worlds, there is no one to be found who has understanding [i. e., apparently, regarding the origin of the universe].
This was to be expected, for they have never been
told. It is not the fault of men that they do not know,
not at all. Now, however, the Gods have appeared
in the external world and are explaining all things to
men. Men call this place the Divine Region ( Kamigata)
of Yamato, but they probably do not know its origin.
If they once hear the story of its origin, they will become
absorbingly interested ( koishiku naru). If you want to
hear, inquire. If you will come, I will tell you. If I tell
you, the whole world will rejoice. Since all are eager for
deliverance, the heart gradually becomes joyful, the whole
world becomes prosperous. In the future all will engage
in kagura tsutome,-will as one company offer their worship. If all as one company engage in the service, you
will rejoice and the Gods will rejoice. If the hearts of
the Gods rejoice, all things will be produced in abundance.
If you desire this joyous productivity, engage in the kagura
tsutome and in the dance. Now quickly begin the dancing.
At the signal for dancing, don't say this is strange and reject
it as a trivial thing. When the appointed month comes
round you will understand. When the day comes, you
will understand something, you may be sure. When it does
come, what feelings you will have! You will be profoundly
impressed. The way of the world is to see and then
explain. All these things, I explain before they are seen,

• • *"
    mind you!

" In the future, the hearts of the upper classes will
become calm and be at peace [with us]."
Here we see evidence of Omiki's sensitiveness to
the contempt of the upper classes. She returns to this
subject frequently and maintains, as here, that the time is
coming when their respect will be secured.
" This universe is governed by law. All things are
governed by the law of song-it is not by the putting
forth of the hand, not even by speaking with the
mouth. Govern by the future."
This last clause seems to mean that her disciples
must govern themselves by a faith in the Gods, which
would enable them to recognize the fact that even the
contempt of the haughty classes would in due time be
turned into respect.
" All disease is from the heart."
" Hitherto, as men have not heard the voice of the
Gods, they of necessity have represented them in a
material form (I take this to be the meaning of the
passage, omote ye arawashita nari]. So great is the
regret of the Gods that from this time forth there is
no need of physicians and medicine. Now don't think
this is the ordinary talk of men. Everything whatsoever we control by means of songs."
" Although this has ever been the Universe of the
Gods, nowfor the first time have they a mediator. Now
the men of the world will say, ' This is ridiculous.'
However they may laugh, this is the best (teaching]
(ichiban). In the world, they are doubtless saying,
What are these people doing?' but the laughter of men
is the pleasure of the Gods."
The following passages are from the early part of the
second sermon:-
" Though the moon desired as quickly as possible to
make known her sincere mercy, these upper classes did
not know it. Each one was thinking his own thoughts;

but in the path which is manifest to the moon and the
sun there are fearful and dangerous places. The moon and
the sun are anxious to make known this path as quickly
as may be. This is just as parents are anxious about the
dangerous roads their children travel. The upper classes
do not know this and are thoughtlessly living on."
" If your hearts be sincere, ask quickly for anything.
It will be promptly granted-anything whatever. Don't
doubt this. Though the moon and the sun are so urgent
[i. e., so anxious to help men], the bystanders are saying,
Why are these people so elated?"
The following passage from the third sermon teaches
that men must co-operate with the Gods in this work
of moral reformation:-
"This impatience of the Gods is due to their
desire to put a pillar in the heart of man. Though
they long to put up this pillar in the heart, they cannot
see where to place it, because the water is not clear.
Quickly find a way of purifying this water. Make it clear
by using a sieve and sand. The heart and the mouth,
they are the sand and the sieve. If you understand this,
put in place this pillar of the heart. If this pillar be
once in place, the world will certainly be at peace."
THE HYMNS.

As has been already noted, the hymns are the
only portion of the sacred writings which has been
printed. It is, therefore, natural that much interest, both
on the part of believers and critics, should center in them.
They are described as " The Kagura Hymns," or often
as "The Twelve Hymns." Occasionally in the poetical
prayers of the irregular Shinto sects, there is so much of
sustained and noble imagery as to demand a metrical translation. Such, however, is not the case with these hymns as
a whole, or even with any one entire hymn, though a
few stanzas here and there are far above the general level.

There is little in their form to suggest an attempt
at rhythm, unless it be a certain balancing of clauses
which at first sight resembles the parallelism of the
Hebrew Psalms, but a closer examination shows that
the resemblance is superficial and is confined to the form is sometimes merely mechanical. This balancing of clauses
can only be represented very imperfectly in an English translation because of the different order of thought.
The language of these hymns is not less homely than
that of the discourses of Omiki and their interpretation
is beset with no fewer difficulties. A considerable number
of passages which were undoubtedly plain enough at the
time when they were (probably) improvised, are almost
meaningless as they stand, i. e., while they originally
took on a meaning from the circumstances under which
they were uttered, now that these circumstances are
forgotten, they remain a collection of disconnected sentences into which, though an active imagination can
perhaps infuse a meaning, there will be no assurance
that it coincides with the thought in the mind of the
author.

Still, however broken and imperfect the form of
these hymns may be, and however much they may have
lost by separation from the incidents which called them
forth, there are noble thoughts enough to account for the
interest which they have excited and the hold they have
gained upon the hearts of the believers.
The translation which follows is believed to be
faithful, though it is confessedly and, I may say purposely, rough. The notes which are added will serve as
a commentary and set forth what, after considerable study,
I believe to be the true meaning.
One at least of the hymns has been set to music
written both by the staff and the Tonic-sol-fa notation.
This music was prepared by two of the principal bandmasters of the Japanese army.

The Kagura Hymns

Introductory Verses

Drive away evil and deliver us,
O August Kings of the Heavenly Principles!
Let me say a few words! Listen to the words of the
Gods! Don't speak evil things [of this revelation]!
Marriage was instituted in imitation of the heavens
and the earth of this world.
The Gods are hastening to drive away evil and deliver
all. O the Mound of the Sweet Dew! 23
Though we search through the universe of ten thousand
worlds,
There is not one who understands [the true relation of
the Gods to man].
This was natural, for there has been no one to explain.
It was no fault of men that they did not know.
Now the Gods have revealed themselves;
They are explaining all things.
Though men call this place the Divine Region of Yamato,
Its origin they do not know.
If one will hear about this origin, be he whom he may,
he will become absorbingly interested.
If you want to hear, if you will come and inquire, I
will tell you the origin of all things-everything.
When the Gods come forth and explain all things,
the whole world will rejoice.
Since the deliverance of all things is hastening on,
The whole world begins to rejoice.
22 Kagura is the name given to a certain element of the Shinto
worship. It includes the theatrical exhibitions in connection with
the temples. With the Tenri Kyōkwai, however, it refers to the
sacred dances in connection with which these hymns are sung.
The Japanese term is Kan-ro-dai. It apparently refers to
the spot where Izanagi and Izanami first met. See the section of
this paper devoted to the worship of the Tenrikyō.

Hymn I (Hito kudari me).

(1) The fertilizing in the First Month,24
Oh! how strange!
(2) If we with laughter receive this fertilization,
Oh! how delightful!
(3) Make steady your three year's heart."
(4) [Thus] the society of the world,
(5) Will become prosperous.
(6) [Grain, etc.] will be produced without limit.
(7) If all sorts [of grain, etc.] be produced,
(8) Yamato will be prosperous.
(9) Come hither!
(10) The rate of production is fixed [i. c., there need be
no anxiety about the crops on the part of the
faithful].

Hymn II (Futa kudari me).

(1) Clatter, Clatter! The beginning of the New Year's
dances,
Oh! how delightful!
24To what this refers is not quite clear, but it would seem
to look forward to a time of such prosperity that even in the dead
of winter the fields will yield rich fruit.
25The Japanese term is sanzai, but as no Chinese ideographs
areused, the meaning is obscure. The traditional interpretation
is embodied in my translation. The priests say this word refers
to the fickleness of children, but a Japanese friend, for whose
judgment I have great respect, identifies it with a word
current among the lower classes, which means to scatter one's property, and hence, to carouse. If this latter view be correct the
meaning would be, translating freely, " Give up carousing and
become sober and sedate." This passage illustrates the perplexing
condition of the text, in view of the absence of the determinative
ideographs. However, there are not many other cases where there
is so little to guide the judgment of the critic.
26 This hymn was evidently written just before the building
of the first temple.

(2) Ifthis miraculous building be begun,
Oh! how prosperous [our sect will be]!
(3) [This prosperity] comes to the individual
(4) The world is made better.
(5) Ifall come to us,
(6) The root of rebellions will be cut off.
(7) If poverty be relieved,
(8) The root ofdiseases will be cut off.
(9) If the hearts of the people are steady,
(10) The region will be at peace.

Hymn III (Mi kudari me).

(1) Hinomoto's Shoyashiki.27
Its place of service [i. e., worship] is the foundation
of the world
(2) As to this place of wondrous service,
Though we appeal to no one,
(3) All the world gathers,
Comes flocking together. This is strange.
(4) Welcome! Welcome!
Now true deliverance is coming
(5) We continually meet with contempt and reviling, but
we give wondrous deliverance.
(6) Don't offer unreasonable petitions.
Come in simplicity ofheart.
[
Response.] 28

(7) As regards everything, from this time forth, in
simplicity,
Relying upon the Gods, will we walk.
27Hinomoto is the pure Japanese equivalent for the Sinico-
Japanese name for Japan, the Source of the Sun. Its use is
restricted to poetry. Shoyashiki is the old name of the village of
Mishima.
28The stanzas 7-10 would appear to be included in the response.

(8) There is nothing so painful as disease.
I also will daily offer worship.
(9) Though I have hitherto worshipped,
The original Gods have I not known.
(10) Those who now reveal themselves
Are the true Gods without dispute.

Hymn IV (Yo kudari me).

(1) Whatever men may say,
The Gods are looking upon us, be at peace.
(2) Let the hearts of the two be at peace.
All things whatsoever will come to light.
(3) Look all of you, O ye bystanders!
Behold the working, the doing of the Gods!
(4) Night and day, ding dong, rubadub, we perform our
service.
The neighborhood will be in commotion.
(5) Since deliverance is ever hastening,
Quickly become joyful. ( Yō ki ni narite koi.)
(6) As to the villagers, we long to help them,
But they do not understand.
(7) All sorts of mutual help,
From the depths of your breasts think out.
(8) The root of disease is thoroughly torn out,
The heart gradually becomes joyous.

[Response, 9-10].

(9) Here is the Paradise of this world.
I, too, quickly, quickly, desire to come.
(10) Now within my heart,
Has it become perfectly pure. How grateful I am!

29The reference of the word two is obscure, but I think the
stanza is to be understood as an exhortation to conjugal harmony.

Hymn V (Itsutsu kudari me).

(1) Since the earth is wide,
Theremay be here and there other ways of deliverance.
(2) But the wondrous way is here.
There is deliverance both inpregnancy and small-pox.
(3) Water and the Gods are alike.
They wash away the filth of the heart.
(4) There is no man without desire,
But in the presence of the Gods there is no desire.
(5) However much one performs service,
The revealed happiness is in due proportion.
(6) Thoroughly forgetyour heart of cruelty;
Come with gentleness of heart.
(7) No hard service is exacted;
This is simply a place of deliverance.
(8) It is not Yamato alone;
This deliverance goes to all provinces.
(9) [Response] Here is the service of the world.
Awondrous place has been revealed.
However much one performs religious worship
(shinjin),
It is by no means in vain.

Hymn VI (Mu kudari me).

(1) The heart of man
is deeply skeptical,
(2) Since the Gods have offered wondrous deliverance
We can understand all things.
(8) All that is in the breast of the world
is reflected as in a mirror.
(4) You have indeed done well to come;
This is the place of deliverance.
(5) Whenever you share in the music or the dance,:
Wonderful deliverance will follow.

(6) They come with all sorts of requests;
The ways of receiving are also a thousand.
(7) However much religious service be performed,
Faults must not be tolerated.
(8) But religious service must be performed;
Correct your faults!
(9) After having carried our worship thus far,
We must see the fruit.
(10) What you have just seen,
the fan ceremony, is wonderful in its efficacy,

Hymn VII (Nana kudari me).

(1) To speak one word is loyalty to the Gods.
It simply diffuses the fragrance [of our religion].
(2) If there be true sincerity (lit., a deep heart)
No one will prevent [such exhortation].
(3) According to the mind of the world,
there is no one who does not desire tillage land.
(4) If there be good land, with one accord,
All desire it,do they not?
(5) Every one without distinction
[will say] ' I, too, want that land.'
(6) Don't over urge the people and say ' do this ' or
'do that.'

The decision must be left to the choice of each one.
(7) Tillage laud is sought after,
Whatever the price may be.
(8) This yard is the tillage land of the Gods.
All seed sown here will spring up.

30 The general purport of this hymn is plainly an exhortation to missionary effort. There must be readiness to speak
but without over-urging; the exhortation should be spontaneous
like the fragrance of a flower, or the self-evident fertility of the
soil: such an evidently sincere, though modest, effort at propagation will surely be efficacious.

(9) [Response 9-10] If this be the tillage land of
the world.
I, too, will sow in abundance.
(10) All the world has come to sow seed.
Whoever has planted seed shall harvest without
fertilizers.

Hymn VIII (Ya kudari me).

(1) In this wide world and even in this province,
There are both stones and standing trees, are there not?
(2) Although we are engaged in this wondrous building,
We make no appeal to any one.
(8) As all gradually come flocking to us from the world,
This [work of building the miya] can be accomplished.
(4) Completely forgetting your heart of desire (yoku no
kokoro),
Begin to establish a heart of virtue (toku no kokoro).
(5) However long we have delayed,
It is because we have not been working sincerely.
(6) Don't hurry thoughtlessly.
Think the matter over within the breast.
(7) After your hearts are once purified,
Then begin the building.
(8) Going far into the mountains,
I found both stones and standing trees.
(9) Though we think to cut these trees and bring these
stones
It must be as the Gods will.
(10) Now the hearts of us all are thoroughly
purified [i. e., have become clear.
as water does by settling].

HYMN. IX. (Koko kudari me).
(1) Walking all over the earth I deliver [men and collect]
one sen or two sen [contributions].

(2) I will protect you from trouble.
Trust in the heart of the Gods.
(3) When we look into the heart of the world,
We see that desire is mingled there.
(4) If there be desire, I beg you to cause it to cease,
[Otherwise] there can be no acceptance with the Gods.
(5) Let every one without distinction,
Make steady his heart and come.
(6) I do not unreasonably ask you to come until youhave
made up your minds.
(7) Now certainly all-every onemust make up his mind.
(8) Even in the mountains all about,
They worship the Lords of the Heavenly Principles.
(9) Here though they engage in worship,
There is no one who understands.
(10) Now since I call out the names of the Gods,
Quickly come hither to inquire.
HYMN Χ. (To kudari me).

(1) The heart of man is by no means easily understood.
(2) Though we are offering wondrous deliverance,
This is the first revelation of it.

(3) This mud in the water,
Iwant you quickly to remove.
(4) The endless desire [of our hearts] is muddy water.
The complete cleansing of the heart, this is supreme
bliss (Goku raku.)
(5) This matter will ever be,
the theme of conversation.
(6) Though I have uttered cruel words,
It is because deliverance is urgent.
(7) Though I suffer, it is from my own heart-
It is self-reproach.
(8) Although disease is a distressing thing,
No one understands its source.

(9)Until now, no one at all
has known the source of disease.
(10) Now it is revealed;
The source ofdisease is in the heart.

Hymn XI (Ju ichi kudari me).

(1) In Shoyashiki of Hinomoto,
Establish the house of the Gods.
(2) Husbands and wives together serve the Gods,
This is the original germ (mono dane).
(3) If we look, the whole world gradually
by bringing earth s¹ is coming to serve the Gods.
(4) Forgetting desire, serve the Gods;
This is the best fertilizer.
(5) It is an endless carrying of earth.
Ifthere be still men [needed], I, too, will go.
(6) Since we do not unreasonably prevent any,
Whoever has the will, let him come.
(7) This is a wonderful carrying of earth,
Because it is a service to the Gods.

(8) By digging and carrying away the earth of the yard,
We merely change the place.
(9) That no one at all till now
Should have understood, what a pity I
(10) This year we did not fertilize the fields,
Yet we harvest in abundance, how delightful I
What a cause for gratitude!

Hymn XII. (Jū ni kudari me).

(1) First, by builders' estimates
Allthings are arranged.

31The reference here is to a kind of " bee " in which all
interested in atemple are brought together to assist in building
or repairing it.

(2) Since we are engaged upon this marvelous building,
(fushigi na fushin),
Fix the estimates and give your orders!
(3) To the builders who are coming from all over the world
Give your orders
(4) Ifyou have good master builders,
Quickly send them hither.
(5) We certainly need four master builders;
Quickly arrange for the estimates.
(6) We force no one to come, mind you!
Surely they [the builders] will gradually come.
(7) This marvelous building,
If it be begun, there will be no interruptions.
(8) If you go into the midst ofthe mountains,
Take with you the rough builders!
(9) Here are the carpenters,
Here are the joiners!
(10) Now the whole number
of the builders in complete.

THE DOCTRINES.

The most superficial inspection of the sermons and
hymns of Omiki is sufficient to indicate her great indebtedness to that popularized Confucianism of which the
Shingaku and Kiuō Dowa are familiar representations.
She assumes the truth of the Chinese philosophy of male
and female principles embodied in all nature. She assumed also the general truth of the type of Shintoism
taught by the Ryōbu Shinto, and hence a good deal of
Buddhist philosophy. She evidently regarded her teaching
as supplemental to that of the priests of her region,
though of radical importance. The pains taken in the
account of the Cosmogony to state the connection between
the best known Buddhist worthies and the Ten Gods
of the new teaching, show conclusively that she had no
wish to part company with her old teachers...

As has been already stated, while Omiki taught that
the Ten Gods should be worshipped, and while the phrase,
Tenri O no Mikoto, is constantly repeated in the services
of the sect, she also insisted that the real allegiance of
manisdue to the moon and sun. In Omiki's direct teaching,
aside from the Cosmogony, the formula, Tsuki-hi (The moon
and sun) is almost exclusively used in referringto the Gods
excepting when the generic term, the Gods, is used. While
accepting polytheism, she comes as near to what Max
Müller has called henotheism as her Chinese philosophy
would allow. Practically she would seem to have believed
in two Gods and two only-one representing the male and
the other the female principle-who always work together
and exert a joint influence upon the world in general, but
especially upon man. As they are represented conspicuously
innatureby the heavens and the earth, so are they represented inhuman society by the relation of husband and wife.
These Gods are, according to Omiki, spiritual beings chiefly
(one passage says exclusively) revealed in the human heart
and endowed with personal attributes. They are capable of
all the emotions which agitate the human breast. It
would be too much to expect a consistent theology from
such a source, and it need cause no surprise to find expressions which imply that the deities embodied in the
moonand sun are the source of all that is, in close connection
with other passages which assume the eternity of matter
andthe limitation of the divine activity. This dualism is
that of immaturity and need not obscure the evident tendency
toward monotheism which becomes even more apparent in
the sermons of some of her later followers.

39 It is interesting to note that in teaching the primacy of
the moon among the heavenly bodies, Omiki agrees with the
Chaldean and Babylonian mythologies. See Rawlinson's seven
GreatMonarchies (J. Stillman Smith & Co., Boston, 1884), pp.
81 and 350.

It should be observed in passing, that many of the
passages which at first sight suggest monotheism will
be found on closer study to be absolutely colorless
in this regard. This arises not merely from the absence
of any distinct form for the plural, but in many
cases to an indifference to the distinction of number. In
the case of English words like sheep and deer, which
have the same form both in the singular and plural,
the context almost invariably fixes the number and the
reader, or hearer, is seldom in doubt as to the intention of the
writer in this regard, even when the idea of number has
little to do with the main thought. With a person like Omiki,
however, the case is very different. There are, therefore,
manypassages in herwritings which a monotheist might adopt
without change, but in which the term Kami sama is used,
apparently without the idea of number being even present
in the mind of the writer. If she had been met
by the question " Do you refer to one God, or to
several Gods?" She would probably have been surprised at the question, regarding it as irrelevant, but
would have promptly answered " I mean the Ten Gods."
The tendency to Monotheism is, however, as I have
intimated, suggested by the persistent use of the formula
Tsuki- hi (The Moon and the Sun), but quite as much by
asomewhat intangible undercurrent which, while it evades
description, I cannot think is purely a matter of imagination.
It is this, in large degree, I think, which createsthe impression among so many that the Tenrikyō is closely related to
Christianity. This tendency, the Tenrikyō preachers generally do not acknowledge, but they cannot escape its in-
fluence. Last year, however, a preacher in Kyoto went
so far as to use the term Ten-tei (the Lord ofHeaven), very
definitely in a monotheistic sense. A colleague, who fol
lowed him at the same meeting, felt called upon to denounce
such an approach to Christian teaching, and he did so in
severe terms; but his own sermon was taken largely from

the sixth chapter of St. Matthew, and contained some passages almost in the very words of the current Japanese
version of the New Testament. Here, also, one must
speak guardedly, for there does not appear to be any fixed
standard of doctrine for the preachers, who are taken as
the leaders find them. After very meager instruction they
are left chiefly to their own resources, as regards material
for their sermons. But making every allowance which
can be reasonably asked, I think we may fairly say that
this tendency towards monotheism exists and that it is
an important characteristic of the new teaching.
But this, however interesting it may be to us, was not
the special feature of the new revelation which Omiki
sought to emphasize. She felt that she had been
chosen to declare a new view of the relation of the Gods
to man-they are the Divine Parents. As parents are
anxious about the long and dangerous paths their children
travel, and seek by counsel and guidance to keep them
safe from harm, so do the Divine Parents yearn over
men, their children, as they travel through this world,
beset by dangers on every side. For some inscrutable
reason men have not heretofore known this love, but
since it has been revealed at last, it cannot be that any
willfail torespond to its appeals. The great desire of these
Divine Parents is to see their children happy to save
them from the effects of sin, especially from suffering and
disease, which, according to Omiki, all have their cause
in the impurity of the human heart. Here she appeals
toher hearers to cleanse their hearts so that the Divine
Parents may be able to bestow the tokens of their love..
This view of the Divine Parents as yearning over
their childrennaturally led to the doctrine of faith-healing.
Neither physicians nor medicines were considered
essential- indeed Omiki seemed to think them hindrances to the efficacy of faith. Healing was to come by
faith and faith alone. She also taught that fertilizers were

unnecessary for the fields-that the best crops would
result from the seed sown in faith. Under pressure, her
followers have receded from this extreme teaching and
deny with emphasis that they disparage either medical
assistance or the use of the ordinary helps in husbandry.
In view of the relief which Omiki attributed to the
kami- oroshi before referred to, it is surprising that it
plays so small a part in the later history of the sect.
The explanation is doubtless to be found in the fixed
purpose of the civil authorities to stamp out the
practice which is said to have done much harm to
those addicted to it. The Tenrikyō leaders, whatever
may have been their attitude at the outset, are manifestly determined to allow no ground for the charge
of opposition to the settled policy of the government in
such matters. Hence they assert that they willingly make
use of all available medical help, but at the same time they
look to the Divine Parents as the main source of hope.
It is highly probable that at the beginning, the so-called
kami-oroshi ceremony played an important part in their
faith-cures and that it is sometimes secretly resorted to
even now; but, as I have said, the public teaching shows
no trace of this superstition, and a temple-keeper of whom
I inquired stated in the strongest terms that the ceremony
is never practiced. I referred him to the story of Omiki,
at which he remarked that the practice may have existed
in her day, but that it was unknown now.
Even should it be proved that the practice, were tolerated, it need not constitute a reproach against this sect,
or an indication of a reactionary tendency. It might
simply mean that the Tenrikyō believers have not yet
thrown off the common usages of the grade of society
in which their doctrine took its rise. This practice, to the
minds of many a simple-minded peasant, is clothed with
ameaning to which even the foreign observer can respond.
On another occasion, I stated before this society that

there exists in the province of Ise, or rather in
certain parts of it, the custom of visiting the village
shrine at important epochs in life in order to obtain
some special revelation from the Gods. It is said that
boys are accustomed to go at the age of fifteen, if
their parents be living, but otherwise at seventeen.
At the age of twenty-six, which is fixed as the time when
a man assumes the full duties of manhood and can enter
the village councils, they again visit the ancestral shrine
and seek the guidance of the gods in their new duties.
Athird visit is made at the of age forty-five, the time when,
under favorable circumstances, a man may hope to
lay aside the responsibilities of life and become inkyō.
On each of these occasions, it is said, the priest of the
shrine causes the tutelary divinity to descend and occupy
for the time the body of the supplicant, who falls into
atrance and while unconscious gives utterance to the
divine message. This messagethe priest receives and transmits to his client when consciousness is regained. How
far this custom may prevail, I cannot say, but that it
expresses the same sense of dependence upon the Divine
Parents which Omiki sought to cultivate is evident. It
is not maintained that she originated this thought, but
simply that she emphasized it and made it the central
truth of her teaching. While teaching the love of the
Gods, she did not hesitate to warn men that this
love must not be trifled with. No prayers nor religious
service are, they are told, of any avail so long as the
heartisimpure.
The corollary of this doctrine of the divine love, the
brotherhood of man, while not so clearly enunciated, or
at least so much emphasized, in the scriptures of the
Tenrikyō, has been taught very clearly by some of its
more recent representatives. Apreacher in Kyoto not long
since embodied this doctrine in a most interesting
sermon. The Gods are, he said, the Divine Parents and

hence we are all, high and low, brothers and sisters..
The Emperor is the elder brother, the head of the
family, occupying the Parents' place. All duties of loyalty
to him, as well as those tributary to the general wellbeing, really resolve themselves into the one great duty
of filial obedience to the Divine Parents; every transgression of the laws is an effort to thwart the purpose
of parental love which seeks the welfare of all the human
children.
This suggests the universality of the teaching.
While all mankind are one family, the Japanese are in
the direct line and the nearest to the parent stock,but
ere long all nations will come flocking to Yamato to
acknowledge their filial duties to the Divine Parents.
Relatively little is made of the future state, and, yet it
is evident that our prophetess believed in it. She assumes
its reality rather than preaches it. She teaches in one
paragraph that the soul is an emanation from the Gods
and that death is the separation of this spirit from the
body. To use her figure, which reminds us of St. Paul,
death is like changing ones clothes. Whither this spirit
goes she does not say, though she certainly leaves the
impression that the personal identity is not lost and that,
for the good at least, there is a reunion with the Divine
Parents in some happy Paradise.
The problem of the co-existence of divine sovereignty
and human freedom seems to have vaguely risen before
the mind of Omiki, for she warns her hearers against
the mischievous theory that the character of this present
life is fixed by the events of a previous state of existence.
While she states that it is true the Gods rule the
world by means of the relation which subsists between..
the present life and previous states of existence, she
makes it very plain that the assent to this doctrine of
divine providence must not lead men to throw off the
responsibility for their personal conduct. She teaches.

by the figure of the pillar which the Gods are prevented
from setting up in the turbid pool of the human heart
because they cannot see where to place it, that there
must be coöperation on the part of man in his own moral
reformation-he must cleanse his heart that the Gods
may find a firm foundation for their work.
This analysis, rough and imperfect though it confessedly is, will show the worthy aim of Omiki and
her followers and justifies the statement that this is
an ethical movement. With hardly an exception, the recent
sermons which I have examined are exhortations to duty
which mutatis mutandis would not be unworthy of
Christian teachers. It is true that one sermon, and only
one, indicates a low standard of morality in certain
important respects; but however low the position occupied
by the preacher and presumably by his hearers, he was
engaged in an effort to make them better, more persistent
and exact in the performance of their various social duties.
That these men are all sincere, it would be too much to
maintain, but the public sentiment of the sect must be
judged rather by the character of the general teaching than
by that of individual teachers. In such a large body, it
must be that many hypocrites will find a place, but the
almost universal testimony of hearers attests the general
purity of the teaching.
I am aware that charges of gross immorality are made
against the adherents of the Tenrikyō. They are brought
with great persistency by Buddhist writers, but it is my conviction that, so far as the body as a whole is concerned, these
charges are not justified. It is charged that promiscuous
dancing in the dark was known to be systematically practicedby one community, and that many scandals grew out of
it. So far as I can learn, however, no such dances are
practiced by the Tenrikyō believers now. All the testimony
Ican find, outside ofBuddhist polemics, goes to show that
such dances are rigidly forbidden and that men and women

invariably nowadays never dance together. At the Ushigome district of Tōkyō, at least, I was told that the women
do not dance at all. That the Tenrikyō believers
have all been raised above the general standard of morality
which prevails among the lower classes in Japan, I do not
contend; but simply record my conviction that the movement is on the whole upward. The charges may for the most
part be accounted for on the theory that sectarian hostility
has fixed upon sporadic misconduct in isolated congregations as evidence of a bad character on the part of
the entire body. In other cases the charge of immorality
is brought because of the failure to note that the evil
belongs not so much to the sect as to the community
or class concerned and might, possibly with greater
justice, be brought against the very men who so virtuously
condemn the party of moral progress.
The question arises, how far, if at all, is the Tenrikyo
indebted to Christianity? Here we must discriminate
between the Tenrikyō of Omiki and that of her more
recent followers. In the case of Omiki, there is no
evidence, I think, that she was consciously indebted to
Christianity, though there are some passages in her writings
which remind one of the Christian scriptures. Certainly
the public at large sees a connection between Tenrikyō
and Christianity. This doubtless grows out of the general
conception of the Deity in its relation to man. How
far this may be owing to the teaching of Xavier and
his successors, it is hard to say. It is possible, and I
may say not improbable, that much of their teaching
remained in the minds of the people during the long
interval between the expulsion of Christian missionaries
in the early part of the seventeenth century and the commencement of modern missions; but no satisfactory answer
to this question can be given until the history of religion
in Japan has been more carefully studied. If it should be
found that this conception of the Deity, with its corollaries,

does not appear in the religious literature of Japan prior
to the seventeenth century, that would be fair proof that
it was introduced by the early Christian missionaries.
Until such a careful study is made, we can only conjecture.
As regards later preachers, it is plain enough that
they do borrow largely from Christian sources and do
it systematically. It is quite possible that the preachers
of this sect are doing more to give currency among the
lower classes to certain fundamental Christian doctrines
than the missionaries themselves.

WORSHIP.

The theory which underlies the worship of the
Tenri Kyōkwai seems to be that the Divine Parents
desire above all things, to see their earthly children
happy. Hence, in view of their great love and innumerable blessings, it is the duty of these children
to rejoice their parental hearts by giving free expression
to their joy and gratitude. While prayer is not neglected,
themaincurrent of worship is praise and thanksgiving.
Accordingly, music and dancing, or posturing, form
its more striking elements. Drums, cymbals, bells,
clappers of hard wood, etc. are called into use.
At the Ushigome, shikyōkwai (branch church)
the orchestra consists of a flat drum about eighteen
inches in diameter hung in a wooden frame, tastefully
lacquered and gilded, a bell about eight inches in diameter
hung in a similar frame, a pair of small cymbals, and a pair
of hard wood clappers, besides one or two flutes or fifes.
The leader of the orchestra is furnished with a bundle of
tally sticks, as an aid to memory in conducting the
service.
While the theory of the service makes it chiefly, if
not exclusively, an expression of thanksgiving, it was a
matter of course that even the prophetess herself should
fall back to the idea of worship as an opus operatum by

which the special favor of the Gods was bought. Hence
she dwells on rewards of worship and teaches that the
divine favor will be in proportion to the diligence of the
worshipper.
The structure of the temple at Mishima, however,
and indeed that of all their temples, indicates the prominence given to instruction in their services. The
Mishima temple is a rude affair which has the appearauce of a building once very small, but which has been
increased by additions on three sides, so that it now
covers, perhaps, a space forty-two by forty-eight feet.
At the middle of one side are to be found the mirror
and the gohei, with shelves for offerings, such as are
usual in Shinto temples. On these shelves there were,
at the time of my visit, offerings of rice and fish,
and I think also of mirin.83 Between the worshipper and this shrine was an opening in the floor about
six feet square and over it a corresponding opening in
the roof. In front of this opening was an enclosed space
in which were arranged a drum, cymbals, etc. On the
middle of the opposite side there were also arranged
Shinto emblems and the usual offerings which, we
were told, were intended especially as expressions of
gratitude to Omiki; though elsewhere I have seen no
distinct and unmistakable evidence that she is regarded
as an object of worship. The rest of the broad low
room presented no feature of interest, unless it be the
numerous tags hanging from the ceiling warning worshippers to beware of pickpockets.
On inquiry of those in charge of the building, we
were told that the openings in the floor and ceiling near
the shrine had no special significance they were merely
a device to secure ventilation for the hall. An old
woman whom we found worshipping told us, on the
contrary, that they marked the place of the Kanrōdai.
88 A distilled liquor.

This word which occurs in the introduction to the hymns,
means the mound of the sweet dew. It has puzzled all
students, but there is little room to doubt that it is the
supposed meeting place of Izanagi and Izanami no Mikoto.
It is somewhere stated that the dew which falls on this
spot possesses miraculous healing efficacy. It is probable
that the priests are unwilling to acknowledge before
strangers any faith in the story which associates the two
deities with this spot. A devout old man, however,
subsequently corroborated the woman's story.
This legend would appear to have occupied a larger
place in the original teaching than it does in the more or
less rationalized system of the present day. The believers,
especially the older ones around Mishima whose memories
run back to the simpler faith of other days, no doubt
cling more tenaciously than others to this story, which
brings them and their homes so impressively near to the
great father and mother of their race.
Until recently it has been difficult for those not
officially introduced, i. e., for those whose dress or bearing
indicated that they belonged to the middle or upper
classes, to gain access to the chapels of the Tenrikyo.
But with the increase of strength the fear of ridicule
is passing away, and now anyone who wishes can witness
the worship and listen to the preaching.
METHODS OF PROPAGATION.

The main reliance in propagating this new doctrine
is public preaching. Chapels are found everywhere,
Probably there is not a ward in Tōkyō without at least
one centre for the propagation of the Tenrikyō. The
preachers are indefatigable and they till a fertile soil. It is
amistake to suppose that the Japanese are not inclined
to religion. It is undoubtedly true that a considerable
section of the shizoku class does not respond readily to
religious appeals of any sort; but there could be no

greater error than to take this section of a single class
which altogether constitutes less than five per cent. of the
population as a standard by which to judge the whole
nation, and yet a very large proportion of what is
written of the Japanese people by foreigners, and by
natives, too, is vitiated by the use of this mistaken
standard. We need not say that there is more superstition
in Japan than in other lands, for such comparisons are
of little value unless based upon a more careful collection
of facts than is now possible; but it is incontestible that
there is an abundance of superstition on every hand and that,
whatever one may say of the tendency of the Tenrikyō,
it makes its first appeal to superstition. It comes at a
time when many of the older sects belonging to the same
general class have lost their novelty and hence their
grasp upon their adherents. Disappointed in their hopes
in other directions many, very many, with eager hearts
look to this new teaching and see in the enthusiasm
of its preachers an encouragement to faith. This is, I
think, the great secret of the rapid growth of the Tenrikyō
Kyōkwai. It has come upon the field at a most favorable
period, when almost any preacher of strong faith, who can
speak to the hearts of the common people would be sure of
a hearing.
To speak more specifically, the preaching of the
doctrine of faith-healing may be said to be the
attractive feature of this teaching. That more or
less remarkable cures are effected is probably beyond
dispute; though it is difficult to secure altogether
satisfactory evidence, one may well hesitate to say
that the evidence does not exist. It is difficult to secure,
simply because of the necessarily remote relations which
foreigners must sustain, for the time at least, to the
believers of this sect. In view of what is known
of such cures in connection with other religious
movements, it is only natural to expect to find them

here. We may therefore accept as substantially true
the reports of the cures effected by the Tenrikyo
leaders, while reserving the right to doubt in any specific
case.

It has been stated by a hostile critic that large use
is made of money in winning the confidence of the poor.
It is said, for example, that when a man is known to
be disheartened by business troubles to the extent of
nervous depression, small sums of money will be advanced
to relieve the immediate stress and on the basis of the
new friendship faith in the doctrine is built up. This
may be true to some extent, but the very rapidity of
the growth of the sect would seem to render it impossible
that such a method of aid should be a prominent element
in the system of propagation. It is further said by
some that the organization of the sect includes a plan
for mutual aid-a rude kind of insurance and that this
attracts many; but I find no satisfactory proof of the existence of such a scheme. This would constitute an in-
teresting subject for investigation, but probably it would
be extremely difficult to gain a sufficiently accurate know.
ledge of the facts to ascertain the nature or value of such
a system of aid, granting that it actually exists.
ORGANIZATION.

To my inquiries regarding the nature of the organization, the priests whom I met at Mishima replied
that there was no organization. This must be understood to mean that the question of organization has
not been specially studied-that what there is of organization has grown up naturally and without thought of
a logical system, It is evident, however, that, though
rudimentary, an organization there must be. There is certainly ahead priest who is held in great honor and who
seems to be the seat of authority, both as regards teaching
and ecclesiatical government. There are also, it would

appear, travelling agents clothed with large supervisory
powers. These supervisors appear to have authority to
appoint and induct into office the representatives of the
sect in the provincial towns and villages, at least
during the missionary stage; though the congregations,
or rather the principal congregations, in the large cities are
in direct relations with the head temple.
These principal conjugations are called bunkyōkwai,
i. e., divisional churches, and they through their kwaichō, or
church presidents exercise a certain authority over the
smaller congregations which are called shikyōkwai, or
branch churches. Each bunkyōkwai and shikyōkwai has
its president, cho, and a considerable number of preachers
besides, doubtless, other officers. None of these officers
or preachers are paid in any way, it is stated with great
positiveness. At the Ushigome (Akagishita Machi)
Shikyōkwai, I was told that not even the ordinary attendants of the temple are paid that the faithful divide
up the work and serve by relays. The building is large
and well appointed. The impression which it creates
upon the visitor is that it is prepared for the residence of
a considerable number of priests; but my informant
stoutly maintained, and he was evidently the man in
charge, that all whom I saw and heard about the place
had simply come in to worship or to serve for the stipulated
time.
The candidate for the office of preacher must first
secure the approval of the head of his own local congregation who transmits his names to the bunkwaichoō
and he, after an examination of some sort, in turn
transmits the names with his recommendation to the
Honbucho, the Chief Priest at Mishima, who through
the same channels sends the would-be preacher his
license.

It is probable, however, that some salaries are paid
during the missionary stage, for preachers are sent to con

siderable distances where they begin work with some display,
which must mean larger bills than the preacher himself
can pay. There is a story reported from Tamba, and I
believe it to be authentic, which indicates that in certain
cases security to the extent of yen 20.00, is exacted from
those who take up the work of a village priest though this
security, may be in some cases reduced to yen 10.00.
These facts were, I am told, brought out in a judicial
inquiry at the instance of a would-be priest who had
with much effort scraped together yen 10.00 and paid
it over to a man who acted as mediator between him
and the supervisor, but who failed to secure his appointment. If my informant be correct, all the parties to
this affair belonged to the criminal class the supposed
supervisor having forged his own credentials. What
the issue of this inquiry may have been, I cannot say,
but the principals soon found their way to prison
on other charges. This scandal was bad enough, but the
Tenrikyo authorities apparently were in no way responsible
for it indeed, it is the general confidence in the sect
among the lower classes which makes such scandals
possible, and it is noted here simply because of the
light it throws upon the question of organization.
It is probable that a large measure of responsibility
as regards local affairs is accorded to each congregation,
but the presidents of the congregations are I understand
appointed by the Chief Priest. There is no systematic
arrangement for the education of the priesthood and while,
as has been said, the general line of teaching, apart
from the few special doctrines of the sect, would seem
to be nearly identical with that of the Shingaku and Kiuō
Dowa, the Kurozumi, etc., there is considerable room
left for individual opinion on the part of the preachers,
who are taken as they are found and chosen rather because
of oratorical gifts than because of their close adherence
to a strict system of doctrine.

Conclusion

It remains to add a few words regarding the prospect of the new teaching. From the great sensitiveness
of the leaders of this movement to public opinion, which
has led them already to modify their teaching to correspond
with the growing influence of rationalism, we may fairly
infer that the supernatural element will gradually lose
its prominence and that little besides a more or less
interesting and valuable ethical teaching will remain. The
question arises, Can the organization hold together, if its
adherents lose faith in the revelation of Omiki? It seems
to me there can be but one answer and that is an emphatic, No. The very efforts of the leaders to conciliate
public opinion are a confession of weakness and an indication
of decay. The immediate effect of these efforts is a large
increase of numbers, perhaps, though even here there is
room to ask whether the increase is not in spite of,
rather than because of, these concessions; but the
ultimate effect of rationalism must be disintegration
and decay. Though the organization may soon be lost,
an important part of the teaching will remain. That
portion, as I have elsewhere stated, I believe to be a
conspicuous illustration of the henotheistic, if not
actually monotheistic, movement now visible in Japan.
As such it deserves further and more careful study on
the part of students in comparative religion and offers
an attractive subject for investigation. To yield the best
fruit, however, it needs to be connected with a painstaking survey of the whole field for the past three
hundred years, with special reference to the growth of
the many heretical sects to which the Tenrikyō is so
closely allied.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Works Library, 2026.