Makuya
Makuya is a religious movement from Japan , which was founded in 1948 by Ikurō Teshima (1910–1973). The term is a Japanese translation of the Hebrew word Mishkan or tented tent. The basic principles of the movement include support for Judaism and the State of Israel .
description
The headquarters of the Makuya movement is in Tokyo . The movement encompasses around 200 congregations, most of them in Japan. Some are also located in the United States, Canada , South Korea, and Taiwan . The number of members is estimated at tens of thousands, although no precise sources are available. In addition to Christian festivals such as Christmas , Easter and Pentecost , the Jewish Seder Eve and the Feast of Tabernacles are also celebrated, on which a pilgrimage to Jerusalem is made. Makuya knows neither religious authorities with decision-making powers nor fixed commandments .
The preachers usually do their job on the side and are called teachers . The prayers are partly taken from the Psalms and contain numerous songs, including Yerushalayim schel sahav . There is a Makuya theater that performs Anatevka , for example , and choirs and orchestras that perform both religious Jewish music ( Chasanut ) and klezmer music , sometimes with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra .
history
The Makuya movement was founded by the businessman Abraham Ikurō Teshima from Kumamoto in southern Japan. Teshima received the impetus to build up the religious movement through a revelation . After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II , he fled to the Aso volcano from advancing US soldiers and heard a verse from the Book of Amos there . During visits to Israel, Teshima met with Martin Buber and Hugo Bergmann , among others . Members of the group also maintained contact with rabbis and Jewish scholars such as Raw Kook and Abraham Joshua Heschel . Makuya was founded in May 1948, at the same time as the Israeli declaration of independence .
Relations with Israel
The most important pilgrimage of the Makuya takes place on the Feast of Tabernacles, to which representatives of the Makuya are sent to Jerusalem. The highlight of the event is a ceremony at the Western Wall .
Young Makuya members are coming to Israel for a limited time. They take a Hebrew name there and visit the Christian and Jewish holy places . They learn Ivrit in an ulpan so that they can read the original Bible . A Japanese garden was opened there in 1972 for the 50th anniversary of Kibbutz Chefziba , which has had relations with the Makuya since 1962 . There is also a Makuya center in Jerusalem.
The “Makuya Forest”, created by the Jewish National Fund in the 1970s , is located near Mitzpe Netofa, a religious community settlement in northern Israel. In memory of the founder Ikurō Teshima, another forest was created in Ramot, a suburb of Jerusalem. During the establishment of the nearby Israeli settlement of Ramat Shlomo in the West Bank , this forest was moved to Sha'ar HaGai .
In 2011, a Makuya delegation visited the Knesset and was welcomed by future President Reuven Rivlin .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Visiting the Makuya in the Knesset (Youtube)
Web links
- Organization website
- Meet the Makuya The Times of Israel , May 30, 2015