Konkōkyō

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Coat of arms of the Konkōkyō
Konkōkyō headquarters in Ōtani, Konkō-chō, Asakuchi

Konkōkyō ( Japanese 金光 教 ) is a new religious movement in Japan , which was founded on November 15, 1858 by the farmer Kawate Bunjirō ( 川 手 文 治郎 ), who is dubbed Konkō Daijin ( 金光 大 神 ). It has about 450,000 members, mostly in Japan.

history

prehistory

Kawate Bunjirō was born on September 29, 1814 in the Kandori district of the village of Urami (today part of Konkō-chō, Asakuchi , Okayama Prefecture ) as the second son of the farmer Kandori Jūhei ( 香 取 十 平 ) and his wife Shimo ( し も ). At first he was called Genshichi ( 源 七 ) and lived with his birth parents for the first twelve years.

When he was twelve he was adopted by the more affluent but childless family of farmer Kawate Kumejiro from the neighboring village of Ōtani (now part of Konkō-chō, Asakuchi). He took the name Kawate Bunjirō and lived from then on in that village. When he was 22, his adoptive father died, whereupon he became the head of the family and in the same year made a girl from Ōtani named Toseko his wife. Three of his children died. When he was 43 years old, according to Japanese popular belief, an ominous year in a man's life ( yakudoshi ), he developed severe laryngitis and could not swallow or speak and it was assumed that he would die soon. It was believed that he offended the god Konjin by making repairs to his home at the wrong time. This was to be the turning point in his life.

According to the history of the origins of the Konkōkyō, Bunjirō's brother-in-law Jirō prayed in front of the family shrine, is said to have been seized by a spirit, whereupon the terminally ill Bunjirō asked for forgiveness on his knees and later healed. Bunjirō identified this spirit as the god Konjin and, contrary to popular belief, saw him as a benevolent god who wanted to bring people happiness and protection. In addition, this God is dependent on people, he needs people. The relationship is like that between child and parents, just as children would not be without parents, so they would not be parents without their children. This became the basic idea of ​​his religion.

Kawate decided to call the god Tenchi Kane no Kami , "god of the golden universe". He himself went to an office and said that he had got permission from that god to call himself Ikigami Konkō Daijin (literally translated: "living god, golden shine, great god"). The Ikigami was not allowed to him, but Konkō Daijin was.

Those years of his life were marked by luck and good harvests, and so more and more people came to Konkō Daijin to ask him for help. This request for help, in which the Konko Daijin acts as a mediator between the people looking for help and the God who wants to help, is called toritsugi , the characteristic cornerstone of Konkōkyō. On November 15, 1858 he stopped working and devoted himself entirely to his task as a toritsugi . The members of Konkōkyō therefore see November 15 as the founding day of their religion.

From the foundation to 1945

Konkō Daijin practiced his religion from 1858 until his death in 1883. Many people saw the new faith as a refuge or a strengthening of their path, for example the newly created social class of business people. For them, Konkōkyō was a modern belief that was relevant to their role in society. They came from Osaka by sea to seek advice from Toritsugi. The fact that Konkokyo was heard even at geographical and social distance served the followers as an indication and guarantee of the universal significance of Konkōkyō and had a decisive influence on the development of this religion.

After the villages of Kibi (in which 18tani was added in 1899), Urami and Take, d. H. the places where Konkō Daijin grew up, was merged to the village of Miwa, this received the name Konkō in 1923 when it was upgraded to a small town, after the religion Konkōkyō. Today it is a part of Asakuchi.

Since the law forbade farmers to practice religion in their house without a license, Konkō Daijin, at the insistence of one of his followers, registered as a Shinto sect , although they did not worship any Shinto deities. Konkō Daijin was now a Shinto priest on paper, but the new government soon abolished this system and required all Shinto priests to be re-registered. Konkō Daijin refused and practiced his religions in secret until his death in 1883. Two years later, his followers managed to re-register the sect as a Shinto sect. Finally, Konkōkyō was officially recognized as a separate religion in 1900.

By the end of the 19th century, Konkōkyō had followers in almost all areas of Japan. With the Japanese expansion in Asia in the first half of the twentieth century, the area of ​​influence of the Konkōkyō also expanded. The peak of the spread was likely to have been around 1941, after which there were setbacks. The Japanese Konkōkyō priests, who had been in North America for over twenty years, were made prisoners of war by the Americans.

When most of the Japanese returned to Japan from the occupied countries after the end of the war, Konkokyo also lost its influence drastically.

From 1945 until today

In 1959 the religious community celebrated its centenary. This point in Konkōkyō's history also marked the beginning of a second international expansion. Slowly but steadily, the followers of Konkōkyō founded churches in other countries. In 2004 there were 23 churches on the mainland of the USA (since: 1938), in Hawaii (since: 1971), in Brazil, in Paraguay (since: 1996) and in South Korea (since: approx. 1990). In addition, international meetings were held in Madrid, Paris, Frankfurt, Erlangen, Tübingen, London and Kuala Lumpur. In 2004 there were 1,563 churches in Japan and approximately 400,000 members worldwide. In contrast to the geographical spread, there is a decline in members. In 1980 there were around 480,000 members, in 1989 only 447,759 members.

organization

The head of religion ( 教主 kyōshū ) Konkōkyōs is called Konkō-sama ( 金光 様 ). Although this is elected democratically, it is preferred if it is related by blood to the founder of the religion. After Konkō Daijin's death in 1883, his son Konkō Ieyoshi ( 金光 宅 吉 ) became the head. After only ten years, his 13-year-old son Konkō Setsutane ( 金光 攝 胤 ) took over these tasks, who carried them out for 70 years. After his death in 1963, his son Konkō Kagamitarō ( 金光 鑑 太郎 ) took over the office. When he died in 1991, the son Konkō Heiki ( 金光 平 輝 ) became head again. The current head of religion Konkōkyō is the great-great-grandson of Konkō Daijins.

Konkōkyō today has a multi-part administration office, and Hajime Suzuki has been the board member since 2002. To this end, the organizational apparatus of the religious movement is divided into the following organs: the Konkokyo Publishing Department, the Konko Library, the Konkokyo Peace Activity Center (KPAC), the Konkokyo Research Institute, the Konkokyo Seminary, the Konkokyo International Center (KIC), the Konkokyo Propagation Centers and the Administrative Centers.

KPAC is registered as an NGO (non-governmental organization) and uses the funds that are available to you internationally for charitable purposes. KPAC runs various projects in the Philippines, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Afghanistan and Cambodia, and advocates there for women, children, human rights and medical care. In 2000, around 232,700 euros were spent on charitable projects.

In general, Konkokyo's missionary efforts are rather cautious. Because aggressive criticism of other religions and the associated missionary attempts would not be compatible with the basic pillars of religion. Instead, Konkōkyō encourages its members to read the writings of other religions. It is believed that this would make Konkōkyō's message more likely to be heard. Because it is openness and tolerance in which the followers of Konkōkyō should practice. They should turn away from discrimination against other religions, racial or gender differences.

The teaching

Since Konkōkyō is monotheistic, who, in contrast to polytheistic Shintō or Buddhism, believes in only one god, syncretistic influences are assumed. Harry Thomsen comments on possible influences from Kakure Kirishitan , the "hidden Christianity" that lived on in the underground after the ban on Christianity in Japan in 1614. Thomsen notes that the monotheism as well as certain practices of Konkōkyō remind of Christianity. Although there is evidence that there was Kirishitan in Okayama Kakure, there is no evidence of any direct influence on Konkokyo.

Regardless, the highest authority of Konkōkyō is the god Tenchi Kane no Kami, the "god of the golden universe". Belief in other Shinto deities is not forbidden, as these are seen as manifestations of the one god. The relationship that a Konkōkyō follower has to God is similar to that of the Christian to the “almighty father.” In contrast to Christianity, however, Konkōkyō has the idea that God himself needs people. Its fulfillment is human happiness. In his memoir, Konkō Daijin describes this relationship as follows:

“Kami exists through man and man exists through Kami. This is the same as the relationship between child and parent. Parents seek aid in their children, while children seek aid for their parents. In addition, the children seek aid in their parents, while parents seeks aid for their children. This relationship, like the heaven and earth, enables both to seek aid through aiyo kakeyo ”

Aiyo kakeyo is the principle of reciprocity. In this context it means that God is only fulfilled if He can make people happy. The reciprocity consists in the fact that man can only become happy through God. The “commandments” for this are: have an honest heart, respect your parents, hold back anger, look for faults in yourself and not in others, and do not neglect work.

McFarland gave his chapter on Konkokyo the title "Konkokyo: A Functional Monotheism," that is, a functional belief in one God. Willis Stosez summarizes in the concluding sentence of his work on Konkō Daijin that the principle of sincerity and honesty is the factor that gives the Konkōkyō religion its practical aspect:

“Sincerity provides a source of stability open both to transcendent power and to practical ameliorations. It is a principle that supports an attitude of constancy in circumstances that may be as various as the human beings in the world are various. "

The Toritsugi

The toritsugi as an encounter with the revered deity is the essential characteristic of Konkōkyō.

The ritual of toritsugi is performed in a hall called hiromae . The supplicant sits kneeling next to the kneeling priest as a mediator ( toritsugisha ) to God. The position of the priest is called the kekkai (border). To the left of the priest now sits the believer, to the right, it is believed, the deity. Now the Toritsugisha conveys the person's questions as prayers to the deity and also passes on the deity's answers to the questioner.

This ritual reflects the principle of reciprocity (aiyo kakeyo): Man needs God's help, and God wants to give him this help.

Classification in the sect Shinto

In the first years Konkō Daijin practiced without having a legal status. In order to be recognized by the state as a priest, he was registered as a Shinto priest in the Shirakawa Shinto office in Kyoto in 1867. Konkokyō thus officially became a Shinto sect. Due to religious reforms, however, he lost his status after four years. It was not until 1885 that Konkōkyō was again accepted as a sect of Shintō. This step was taken to protect the still young religion from the interference of pro-Shinto politics. From 1900 to 1946 Konkōkyō was one of thirteen independent Shintō sects that were registered with the government. Only after the end of the Second World War , Konkōkyō officially became an independent religion, which it always was after its own understanding.

The Encyclopedia of Shinto describes the Konkokyō as “ Shinto-derived new religion and one of the thirteen sects of prewar Shinto ” (German: “the origin of Shinto religion and one of the thirteen sects of pre-war Shinto”).

literature

  • Peter B. Clarke: Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge, Abingdon, New York 2006, ISBN 0-415-26707-2 .
  • Heinrich Dumoulin : New Religions. In: Horst Hammitzsch (Ed.): Japan Handbuch. Fritz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1981, ISBN 3-515-02952-4 .
  • H. Byron Earhart: Konkokyo. In: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Volume 5. 1st edition. Kodansha, Tokyo 1983, ISBN 0-87011-625-8 .
  • Horst Hammitzsch : Religions. In: Horst Hammitzsch (Ed.): Japan Handbuch. Fritz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1981, ISBN 3-515-02952-4 .
  • DC Holtom: Konkokyo. A Modern Japanese Monotheism. In: The Journal of Religion. Vol 13, 1933.
  • Johannes Laube : New religions: State of their research in Japan. A manual. Otto Harrasowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-447-03508-0 .
  • H. Neill McFarland: The Rush Hour of the Gods. A Study of new Religious Movements in Japan. 1st edition. Macmillian, New York / London 1967.
  • Shigeyoshi Murakami: Konkokyo. In: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. Volume 4. 1st edition. Kodansha, Tokyo 1983, ISBN 0-87011-624-X .
  • Manfred Pohl: Japan. K. Thienemanns Verlag, Stuttgart / Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-522-64150-7 .
  • Roth, Wilhelm; Konkōkyō: The teaching of Konkō; M OAG , Suppl. A, 1932
  • Delwin B. Schneider: Konkokyo. A Japanese Religion. A Study in the Continuities of Native Faiths. The International Institute for the Study of Religion, Tokyo 1968.
  • Willis Stoesz: The Universal Attitude of Konko Daijin. In: The Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 1986, Vol. 13, pp. 3-29.
  • Harry Thomsen: The New Religions of Japan. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1963.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ McFarland, p. 106.
  2. ↑ a b Chronology of Konkokyo ( memento of October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) accessed September 22, 2006
  3. ↑ Chronology in Appendix (B) of the Konkokyo Guidebook ( Memento of October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) accessed September 22, 2006
  4. ↑ Section 3 in the Konkokyo Guidebook
  5. ↑ Konkokyo Homepage, Facts ( Memento from October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Shinshukyo chosa kenkyu handobukku (1981), quoted in Laube, p. 249.
  7. ↑ Shinshukyo jiten (1990), quoted in Laube, p. 249.
  8. ↑ Chronology of Konkokyo ( Memento of October 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) accessed September 22, 2006
  9. ↑ Organization of Konkokyo ( Memento of 9 October 2006 at the Internet Archive ) accessed September 22, 2006
  10. ^ Directory of Japanese NGOs Concerned with International Cooperation
  11. ↑ Thomsen, pp. 73-75.