Ōmoto

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Ōmoto ( Japanese 大本 , dt. "Great foundation"), also known as Ōmoto-kyō ( 大本 教 ), is a Japanese religious community that is often viewed as Shinshūkyō (new Japanese religion) and offshoot of Shintō . The religion was founded in 1892 by Nao Deguchi ( 出口 な お , Deguchi Nao ). Since 1956 Ōmoto belongs to the "Association of Shinto Sects ".

The movement's spiritual leaders have always been women. Since 2001 it has been led by its fifth guide, Kurenai Deguchi ( 出口 紅 , Deguchi Kurenai ).

Since the times of its co-founder Onisaburō Deguchi , the planned language Esperanto has played an important role in the writings of the Ōmoto religion. Almost all of the 45,000 active members have learned a little Esperanto and around 1,000 are fluent in the language.

Ōmoto had a mission in Paris from 1925 to 1933 . From here missionaries traveled across Europe to spread the news that Ōnisaburō Deguchi was a Messiah or Maitreya who would unite the world. From 1935 to 1942 the movement experienced severe persecution in Japan and was banned. In 1950 the movement regrouped.

Ōmoto has two major centers near Kyoto . In Ayabe there is a temple, and in Kameoka is a mission in a large park (at the former site of the castle Kameoka), which includes offices, schools and a publishing house and shrines. Art plays an important role in Ōmoto. The members want to make the world more beautiful through art and believe that art brings people closer to the divine.

Mitgliedermoto members believe in several kami . The most important are Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto ( 国 常 立 尊 ), Ushitora and Hitsujisaru , but also the inventor of Esperanto, LL Zamenhof . However, all these "gods" including Zamenhof are believed to be aspects of a single god. As a rule, members also recognize important religious figures from other religions.

One of the better-known followers of Ōmoto is Ueshiba Morihei , the founder of Aikidō . It is widely believed that Ueshiba's increasing tendency towards pacifism in his later years and the view that aikido should be an "art of peace" were inspired by his relationship with religion. Ōmoto priests hold a ceremony in Ueshiba's honor on April 29 at the Aiki Shrine (合 気 神社Aiki Jinja ) in Iwama .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Description in the Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed July 30, 2016
  2. Tomasz Kamusella: The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe . Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, ISBN 978-0-230-55070-4 , pp. 338-339 .

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