Tenrikyō

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Tenrikyo main temple in Tenri . The city of Tenri was a village called Shoyashiki before Tenrikyo.

Tenrikyō ( Japanese 天理教 ) is a monotheistic neo-religious movement that emerged from Japanese Shintoism . Miki Nakayama , who is said to have experienced an enlightenment in the middle of the 19th century , is considered to be the founder of faith. The "Parental God" ( 親 神 , oyagami ) is also called Tenri-ō-no-mikoto ( 天理 王命 , "Lord of divine wisdom"). Tenrikyō now has over 4 million followers worldwide; 1.5 million of them in the country of origin Japan .

history

The story of Tenrikyō begins on October 26, 1838 , when the then 40-year-old Miki Nakayama experienced a revelation from a god she had never known before. The “parental god” penetrates Miki's body, thinks, feels and acts from her from now on. She begins to hand out all of her family's possessions as alms to the poor, which leads to the total impoverishment of her family.

When people experience that Miki has psychic abilities, they begin to gather around her and worship her as a living deity. Over time, a cult building emerges and a church service develops, which is celebrated with gestures, songs and dances.

In 1875, Miki discovered Jiba Square , according to the Tenrikyō belief the center of the world, where people were once created by God and where they will return to their original home. The Jiba is characterized by the Kanrodai , a sacred wooden stand with a bowl on it for the dew of heaven, the nectar that gives eternal life and which falls from the sky when the Merry Life is established worldwide. The main church of the Tenrikyō will later be built there.

Miki is arrested several times and her followers are followed by the police. On January 26, 1887, she calls on her followers to perform the service against the orders of the police at the Jiba and dies during the ceremony. In the faith of her followers she has only hidden her visible body and continues to live in her sanctuary to convey the grace of God to people.

After her death, Tenrikyō Miki's confidante Izo Iburi is responsible for the spiritual guidance , while the legal management of the community is in the hands of the first Shimbashira ("mainstay") Shinjiro Nakayama. Tenrikyō was recognized by the government for the first time in 1908 and was included under the umbrella organization of the sectarian Shintō , from which he only broke away in 1970 in order to emphasize his independence. Miki's hometown, the village of Shoyashiki , develops into a town that is named Tenri after a community merger in 1954 .

Basis of teaching

The tenrikyō's teaching is based on the belief in the "Parental God", Oyagami , also called Tenri-ō-no-mikoto ("Lord of divine wisdom"), Tsukihi ("Moon-Sun"), "True God" and " Original God ”. Through Miki Nakayama, the Parental God revealed himself to people as the real parents, that is, their real origin and their real goal, without whom they wander homeless and need redemption. Parental God created the world to enjoy the harmonious life of people. The human body is a loan from God, but the spirit is freely available to man. Man removes himself from God through selfish thinking and acting, and only through purification of the heart does he find his way back to him. This return to God takes place, among other things, through hinokishin (selfless deeds). The gain is the yokigurashi , the merry life that Parental God intended for all people.

Another step towards salvation is performing the kagura zuome , a dance in which the act of creation is symbolically represented by ten dancers. However, this is only done on the Jiba around the Kanrodai. The sazuke (“gift”) is given as the healing power of the Parental God , originally by the founder, today by the Shimbashira. Whoever receives it becomes a yoboku, a “timber” in the hand of God, and as a missionary passes on the effects of the sazuke to suffering people. The belief of the Tenrikyō also includes the thought of the eternal rebirth of the soul according to a principle called inside (“ karma ”). However, one does not hope for an “extinction” as in Buddhism or a heavenly paradise such as B. in Christianity , but strives for an earthly paradise in which all people have achieved the happy life. The most important canonical texts of Tenrikyō are the Ofudesaki ("The tip of the writing brush"), the Mikagurauta ("Songs for the sacred dance") and the Osashizu ("Divine instructions"), the first two written by Miki Nakayama, the last of Izo Iburi and other students.

The city of Tenri and Marburg have been on friendly terms for years, also supported by a month-long exhibition on the subject of Tenrikyō, which was held in 1975 in the Marburg University Library .

Tenrikyō Temple in Tenri

The main church of the Tenrikyō stands at the place where, according to the believers, the Parental God created man. Its four prayer halls face the Kanrodai . They are open to the faithful day and night, and daily services are held there.

Also on the temple grounds is the donor's sanctuary, the home of the eternal living and working soul of Miki Nakayama. There the Shimbashira believers are given the "Sazuke" in their name. Twice a year, on March 27 and September 27, a celebration is held in the sanctuary for the ancestors to commemorate all deceased Tenrikyō followers.

Church services

Music, chants and dance characterize the Tenrikyō services. During the daily morning and evening worship is accompanied by four musical instruments, to include kagura zutome and teodori nine instruments (next to the Gong various stringed and plucked instruments , drums , mallets, cymbals and flute ). These two special services are on the 26th of each month as well as the three solemn festivals of Tenrikyō (the autumn festival on October 26th to commemorate the revelation by the Parental God, the spring festival on January 26th to commemorate the death of the founder and the The founder’s birthday party on April 18) is reserved. The kagura zuome is performed by ten people, five men and five women, only on the jiba around the kanrodai and represents the creative activity of God in the creation of man, while in all other sacred buildings the teodori by four men and four women the joy Symbolizes life.

Today's community

The Tenrikyō community now operates various social and cultural institutions, including a publishing house, library , museum, university, hospital and orphanage. The followers are now also missionary outside of Japan; Missions exist u. a. in the USA , South America , Taiwan , Korea , China and Europe . There is no reliable information about the number of followers today.

Foster children

Since the media discourse and subsequently the policy against "child abuse" in Japan has changed significantly since 1999 and therefore many more children are taken into state care (which is subordinate to the municipalities), around a tenth of those affected nationwide (around 4000 in 2012) are in the care of Tenrikyō families given, who declare themselves particularly ready for this.

Known followers

literature

  • Henry van Straelen : The Religion of Divine Wisdom. Japan's Most Powerful Religious Movement. In: Asian Folklore Studies , vol. 13, 1954. pp. 1–192. PDF (12.1 MB)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Omori Hisako; Creating Families: Tenrikyō Foster Homes in Japan; Japanese Studies, Vol. 36 (2016), pp. 213-29; doi : 10.1080 / 10371397.2016.1213620

Web links

Commons : Tenrikyō  - collection of images, videos and audio files