Statistics of the New Religions in Japan
This article provides statistics on the predominant New Religions in Japan .
The differentiation into four different periods was made by Shimazono, who compiled the data. The table is divided into five columns, which contain the following information: Common name of the New Religion or the New Religious Movement or the Buddhist / Shintistoist sect; Name of the founder and dates of birth; Founding year; Number of supporters or members in 1954, 1974 and 1990.
The numbers are e.g. T. rough guide values. In general, the figures should be treated with a certain degree of caution, as they come from different sources and were compiled using different survey methods. Some figures are based on the self-assessment of the respective organizations. It should be noted in particular that different interests collide here, which could possibly lead to a falsification of the figures.
| organization | founder | Establishment date | Number of members | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 1974 | 1990 | |||
| 1st period | |||||
| Nyorai-kyō | Isson-myorai cinema (1756–1826) | 1802 | 75,480 | 33,674 | 27,131 |
| Tenri-kyō | Nakayama Miki (1798-1887) | 1838 | 1.912.208 | 2,298,420 | 1,839,009 |
| Kurozumi-kyō | Kurozumi Munetada (1780-1850) | 1814 | 715,650 | 407,558 | 295.225 |
| Konkō-kyō | Konkō Daijin (1814-1883) | 1859 | 646.206 | 500,868 | 442,584 |
| Honmon Butsuryū-shū | Nagamatsu Nissen (1817–1890) | 1857 | 339,800 | 515.911 | 526.337 |
| Maruyama-kyō | Itō Rokurōbei (1829-1894) | 1870 | 92.011 | 3,200 | 10,725 |
| 2nd period | |||||
| Ōmoto-kyō | Deguchi Nao (1837-1918) Deguchi Onisaburō (1871-1948) |
1899 | 73,604 | 153.397 | 172,460 |
| Nakayama-Shingoshō-shū | Kihara Matsutarō (1870-1942) | 1912 | 282,650 | 467.910 | 382.040 |
| Honmichi | Ōnishi Aijirō (1881-1958) | 1913 | 225,386 | 288,700 | 316.825 |
| 3rd period | |||||
| Ennō-kyō | Fukada Chiyoko (1887-1925) | 1919 | 71,654 | 266,782 | 419.452 |
| Nenpō-shinkyō | Ogura Reigen (1886–1982) | 1925 | 153,846 | 751.214 | 807.486 |
| Reiyu-kai | Kubo Kakutarō (1892-1944) | 1924 | 2,284,172 | 2,477,907 | 3,202,172 |
| Perfect Liberty Kyōdan | Miki Tokuharu (1871–1938) Miki Tokuchika (1900–1983) |
(1925) 1946 |
500,950 | 2,520,430 | 1,259,064 |
| Seichō-no-Ie | Taniguchi Masaharu (1893–1985) | 1930 | 1,461,604 | 2,375,705 | 838.496 |
| Sōka Gakkai | Makiguchi Tsunesaburō (1871–1944) Toda Jōsei (1900–1956) |
1930 | 341.146 | 16,111,375 | 17,736,757 |
| Sekai Kyūsei-kyō | Okada Mokichi (1882–1955) | 1935 | 373.173 | 661.263 | 835.756 |
| Shinnyoes | Itō Shinjō (1906–1956) | 1936 | 155,500 | 296,514 | 679.414 |
| Kōdō Kyōdan | Okano Shōdō (1900–1978) | 1936 | 172,671 | 417,638 | 400,720 |
| Risshō Kōseikai | Naganuma Myōkō (1889–1957) Niwano Nikkyō (1906–1999) |
1938 | 1,041,124 | 4,562,304 | 6,348,120 |
| Bussho Gonenkai Kyōdan | Sekiguchi Kaichi (1897–1961) Sekiguchi Tomino (1905–1990) |
1950 | 352.170 | 1,210,227 | 2,196,813 |
| Tenshō Kōtai Jingū-kyō | Kitamura Sayo (1900-1967) | 1945 | 89,374 | 386,062 | 439.011 |
| Zenrin-kyō | Rikihisa Tatsusai (1906–1977) | 1947 | 404.157 | 483.239 | 513.321 |
| Myōchikai Kyōdan | Miyamoto Mitsu (1900-1984) | 1950 | 515.122 | 673.913 | 962.611 |
| 4th period (2nd post-war period, Shin-shin-shūkyō) | |||||
| Ōyama Nezunomikoto Shinji Kyōkai | Inaii Sadao (1906–1988) | 1948 | 59,493 | 826.022 | |
| Byakkō Shinkō-kai | Goi Masahisa (1916–1980) | 1951 | 500,000 | ||
| Agon-shu | Kiriyama Seiyū (1921-) | 1954 | 500 | 206.606 | |
| Reiha-no-Hikari Kyōkai | Yoshio the rabbit (1915–1984) | 1954 | 761.175 | ||
| Jōdoshinshū Shinran-kai | Takamori Kentetsu (1934-) | 1958 | 100,000 | ||
| Unification Church | Moon Sun Myung (1920-) | 1959 | |||
| Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyōdan | Okada Kōtama (1901–1974) | 1959 | 97,838 | ||
| Sūkyō Mahikari | 1978 | 501,328 | |||
| Honbushin | Ōnishi Tama (1916–1969) | 1961 | 900,000 | ||
| God Light Association Sōgō Honbu | Takahashi Shinji (1927-1976) | 1969 | 12,981 | ||
| Shinji Shūmei-kai | Koyama Mihoko (1910-) | 1970 | 1988: 440,000 | ||
| Nihon Seidō Kyōdan | Iwasaki Shōkō (1934-) | 1974 | 69,450 | ||
| Extra Sensory Perception Kagaku Kenkyūjo | Ishii Katao (1918-) | 1975 | 16,000 | ||
| Ho-no-Hana Sanpōgyō | Fukunaga Hōgen (1945-) | 1980 | 70,000 | ||
| Japanese Raelians | Claude Raël (1946-) | 1980 | 3,000 | ||
| Yamato-no-Miya | Ajiki Tenkei (1952-) | 1981 | 5,000 | ||
| Ōmu Shinri-kyō | Asahara Shōkō (1955-2018) | 1984 | |||
| Worldmate | Fukami Seizan (1951-) | 1986 | 30,000 | ||
| Kofuku no Kagaku | Ōkawa Ryūhō (1956-) | 1986 | 1989: 13,300 1991: 1,527,278 |
||
Individual evidence
- ↑ Susumu Shimazono: From Salvation to Spirituality: Popular Religious Movements in Modern Japan. Trans Pacific Press, Melbourne 2004, ISBN 1-876-843-136 , pp. 234-235.
- ↑ The date (1925) refers to Hito-no-Michi Kyōdan, the parent organization of Perfect Liberty Kyōdan
- ↑ Sōka Gakkai has given no figures for the years 1989 and 1990; this figure was given for the year 1988.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Most of the statistics in this table are from the 1991 edition of Shūkyō Nenkan (Religion Yearbook, Tokyo: Gyōsei). Numbers that are marked with this footnote come from other sources, from the self-assessment of the respective organizations, around 1990.