Ōnishi Aijirō

Ōnishi Aijirō
大西 愛治郎
Ōnishi Aijirō with his wife To'o in October 1904 while he was a Tenrikyo missionary in Yamaguchi Prefecture
TitleKanrodai-sama (甘露台様), Kanrodainin no Ri (甘露台人の理)
Personal life
Born(1881-08-26)August 26, 1881
Uda, Nara
DiedNovember 29, 1958(1958-11-29) (aged 77)
Takaishi, Osaka
Resting placeTake-no-uchi (竹之内), Taima (當麻), Katsuragi, Nara
34°30′37.5″N 135°41′57″E / 34.510417°N 135.69917°E / 34.510417; 135.69917
SpouseŌnishi To'o (大西 トヲ)
ChildrenŌnishi Tama (大西 玉), Ōnishi Masanori (大西 正憲)
Parents
  • Kishioka Kichijirō (岸岡 吉次郎) (father)
  • Kishioka Kisa (岸岡 キサ) (mother)
Known forFounding the Honmichi religion
OccupationReligious leader
RelativesŌnishi Yasuhiko (大西 泰彦) (grandson)
Religious life
ReligionHonmichi
The Ōnishi family in May 1926 (Taishō 15) shortly after the 1925 establishment of the Tenri Study Association (天理研究会, Tenri Kenkyūkai), from right to left: eldest daughter Aiko アイ子 (claimed to be the reincarnation of Nakayama Kokan), third daughter Kiyoko 清子, wife To'o トヲ, second daughter Tama 玉 (reincarnation of Nakayama Miki), Ōnishi Aijirō 甘露台大西愛治郎 (the Human Kanrodai), second son Masanori 正憲 (reincarnation of Iburi Izō), and eldest son Yoshinobu 愛信 (reincarnation of Nakayama Shūji).

Ōnishi Aijirō (大西 愛治郎, August 26, 1881 – November 29, 1958) was a Japanese religious leader known as the founder of Honmichi, a Tenrikyo-based Shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion).[1][2] Honmichi followers also refer to him as the Tenkeisha (天啓者, The Divine Revelator)[3] or Kanrodainin no Ri (甘露台人の理, The Principle of the Living Kanrodai).

Life

Ōnishi Aijirō was born on August 26, 1881 in Uda, Nara as the youngest child of Kishioka Kichijirō (岸岡吉次郎) and Kisa (キサ).[4] His grandfather was Eijirō. He later adopted his wife's surname Ōnishi (大西).[5]

Prior to his divine revelation in 1913, Aijirō served a Tenrikyo missionary. From 1907 to 1914, he was the head minister of the Yamaguchi Missionary Center (山口宣教所, Yamaguchi Senkyōsho) in Yamaguchi. He was poorly funded and suffered from many financial difficulties, including crippling debts.[4]

On July 15, 1913, Ōnishi Aijirō, who was in Yamaguchi at the time, went into trance with his family. He proclaimed himself as the living kanrodai with the words, "This is where the Kanrodai stands" (此処は甘露台や).[4]: 128 

Ōnishi then returned to Nara Prefecture and became a worker at a temporary hospital (set up to care for patients of the World War I typhoid fever and influenza pandemics) in Uda in 1917, a tax officer in Nara Prefecture in 1919, and an elementary school teacher in 1920. In June 1920, Aijirō gained his first follower, Tsutsumi Torakichi, an official (役員, yakuin) of the Biwa Branch Church (琵琶支教会, Biwa Shikyōkai) who had read Aijirō's letters. He attracted more followers in 1923, many of whom were impoverished Tenrikyo ministers and officials. This was seen as a threat to Tenrikyo church authority, which excommunicated Aijirō with the revocation of his religious instructor's license on February 2, 1924. In January 1925, Ōnishi Aijirō officially established the Tenri Study Association (天理研究会, Tenri Kenkyūkai), which was later renamed Honmichi in 1950.[4]

In 1928, he was arrested and charged with lèse-majesté but was acquitted by reason of insanity in 1930 after a psychiatric evaluation. In 1936, he renamed his religious organization as Tenri Honmichi (天理本道). In 1938, he was arrested again for lèse-majesté and for violating the Peace Preservation Law, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was acquitted of all charges after World War II. In 1950, he renamed his organization as Honmichi.[4]

Family

Ōnishi Aijirō and his wife Ōnishi To'o (トヲ / とう; died September 14, 1943[3]: 19 ) had several children, including:[4]

  • Yoshinobu (愛信; born 1907), also known as Wakamiya-sama (若宮様),[2]: 188  considered to be the reincarnation of Nakayama Shūji (中山秀司).
  • Aiko (アイ子; born January 1910, died June 10, 1966), considered to be the reincarnation of Nakayama Kokan (中山こかん).
  • Masanori (正憲; born December 15, 1912,[5]: 16  died 1971), considered to be the reincarnation of Iburi Izō (飯降伊蔵). Masanori married Toshiko (登志子) and had 16 children: 9 sons and 7 daughters. Masanori's eldest son was Motooki (元興), and his second son was Masataka (正隆). The full list of Masanori's children is:[5]: 16 [a]
  1. Motooki (元興), considered to be the reincarnation of Nakayama Shinjirō (中山新治郎), the first Shinbashira of Tenrikyo
  2. Masataka (正隆), considered to be the reincarnation of Iburi Masajin (飯降政甚), Iburi Izō's eldest son
  3. Takako (孝子)
  4. Toyonori (豊憲)
  5. Mutsuko (睦子)
  6. Kimiko (喜實子)
  7. Seiji (or Nariharu/Shigeharu) (成治)
  8. Aiki (or Yoshiki/Itsuki) (愛輝)
  9. Kuniko (久仁子)
  10. Yasuhiko (泰彦)
  11. Sadakazu (or Sadao) (定和)
  12. Yoriko (頼子)
  13. Hiroyuki (宏之)
  14. Shinako (品子)
  15. Yūko (祐子)
  16. Nobuharu (信晴)
  • Tama (玉; born 1916, died 1969)
  • Kiyoko (清子; born 1922 in Takenouchi, died October 6, 1979 in Okayama)[6]: 95 

On March 8, 1946, Aiko was appointed as the spiritual leader (教主, kyōshu) until her death in 1966, while Masanori was appointed as the administrative leader (管主, kanshu).[5]: 253 

Ōnishi Masanori's son, Yasuhiko (泰彦), became the Honmichi kanrodai after Aijirō's death. Yasuhiko, who was Masanori's 7th son, was born on October 27, 1960 and was considered to be the reincarnation of Ōnishi Aijirō.[3]: 22 [7]: 258  During the 1960s and 1970s, Yasuhiko's elder brothers Motooki (元興) and Masataka (正隆) served as the temporary leaders of Honmichi while Yasuhiko was still a young boy. Yasuhiko had 15 siblings.[5]: 16 [4]: 165  Some of Masanori's sons, including Yasuhiko (泰彦), Yoriko (頼子), and others, are buried alongside Masanori, Aijirō, and To'o at the Takenouchi Mausoleum (竹之内廟所, Takenouchi Byōsho) in Katsuragi, Nara.

Aijirō claimed that his children Masanori (正憲), Yoshinobu (愛信), and Aiko (アイ子) were the reincarnations (再生, saisei) of Iburi Izō (飯降伊蔵) and Nakayama Miki's children Shūji (秀司) and Kokan (こかん), respectively. He also claimed that his second daughter Tama (玉) was the reincarnation of Nakayama Miki.[4]

Karimono no hyō

In a chart published by the Honmichi organization called the Karimono no hyō (借りものの表), the various aspects of God's providence are interpreted as being incarnated in Nakayama Miki and her family members / disciples, who are then reincarnated as members of the Ōnishi family:[8]

  • Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Kokan (中山こかん) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Aiko (大西アイ子) (大西愛[b]子.)
  • Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shuji (中山秀司) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Yoshinobu (大西愛信)
  • Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Tamae (中山たまへ), the granddaughter of Nakayama Miki and wife of Nakayama Shinnosuke
  • Kashikone-no-Mikoto = Iburi Masajin (飯降政甚), the eldest son of Iburi Izō[9] – reincarnated as Ōnishi Masataka (大西正隆)
  • Taishokuten-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Matsue (中山まつゑ)
  • Ōtonobe-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shinjirō (中山新治朗) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Motooki (大西元興)
  • Izanagi-no-Mikoto = Maegawa Kikutarō (前川菊太朗)
  • Izanami-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Miki – reincarnated as Ōnishi Tama (大西玉)

Death and legacy

On November 29, 1958 at 3:45 p.m., Ōnishi Aijirō died. His funeral was held on December 2, 1958 at Honmichi's Hagoromo (Takaishi) headquarters.[3]: 21 [5]: 272  He was buried at Honmichi's Take-no-uchi Cemetery (竹ノ内墓地) in Taima (當麻), Katsuragi, Nara.[10]

Aijirō's grandson, Ōnishi Yasuhiko (大西泰彦), was born in 1960 as Ōnishi Masanori's seventh child and was viewed as Aijirō's reincarnation, and hence as the new kanrodai.[7][11] Nevertheless, Honmichi followers continue to view Ōnishi Aijirō as the one and only Tenkeisha (天啓者, The Divine Revelator).[3]

In 1962, Honbushin (ほんぶしん), led by Aijirō's second daughter Ōnishi Tama (大西玉; died 1969) (whom Aijirō and Honbushin followers claim was the reincarnation of Nakayama Miki), separated from Honmichi.[4] Aijirō's third daughter Ōnishi Kiyoko (大西清子) also joined Honbushin and followed Ōnishi Tama to Okayama.[6]: 95  Honmichi and Honbushin both consider themselves to be the legitimate successors to Ōnishi Aijirō's original religious movement. In the Honbushin religion, Ōnishi Aijirō is known as the Kariya Shinbashira (かりや真柱). ("Kariya かりや" literally means 'temporary residence' and can be written in kanji as 仮屋.)[7]: 260 

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The readings of the names are uncertain except for Motooki, Masataka, and Yasuhiko, since only kanji but not furigana/hiragana are provided in Umehara (1977).
  2. ↑ Also written by Umehara Masaki (梅原正紀) using a character that has 受 but with the 又 in lower half of the character replaced by 收. This character has the reading ai. Honbushin sources such as Jitaimu (自体無) (1993) use the character 愛.

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ōnishi Aijirō.
  1. ↑ Umehara, Masaki 梅原正紀 (1975). Honmichi: minshū shūkyō no genshō ほんみち:民衆宗教の原像 (in Japanese). Shirakawa Shoin 白川書院.
  2. 1 2 Honmichi Kyōgibu ほんみち教義部編 (1972). Honmichi gaikan ほんみち概観 (in Japanese). Takaishi, Osaka: Honmichi Kyōgibu ほんみち教義部.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hon-Michi (2010). The Book of Hon-Michi (3rd ed.). Sennan, Osaka: Hon-Michi Kohobu. (English edition; the first English edition published on October 26, 1987)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Forbes, Roy Tetsuo (2005). Schism, orthodoxy and heresy in the history of Tenrikyō : three case studies (Thesis). University of Hawai'i Department of Religion.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Umehara, Masaki 梅原正紀 (1977). Tenkeisha no shūkyō Honmichi: kanrodai sekai ni itaru dō 天啓者の宗教ほんみち:甘露台世界にいたる道 (in Japanese). Kōdōsha 耕土社.
  6. 1 2 Honbushin (1986). Michi no ugoki 道の動き. Vol. 1: May 1977 – April 1986. Okayama: Honbushin.
  7. 1 2 3 Takeda, Sōshin 武田 宗真 (1993-04-26). 自体無 二 宇宙本体論随筆記. Plus-One プラスワン出版社. ISBN 4-938753-80-4.
  8. ↑ Murakami, Shigeyoshi 村上重良 (1974). Honmichi fukei jiken: tennōsei o taiketsu shita minshū shūkyō ほんみち不敬事件 : 天皇制と対決した民衆宗教 (in Japanese). 講談社. pp. 258–9.
  9. ↑ Tenrikyo Overseas Department (2010). A Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms. Tenri, Japan: Tenrikyo Overseas Department. (Translated selections from the Japanese book Tenrikyō jiten 天理教事典)
  10. ↑ Murakami, Shigeyoshi 村上重良 (1974). Honmichi fukei jiken: tennōsei o taiketsu shita minshū shūkyō ほんみち不敬事件 : 天皇制と対決した民衆宗教 (in Japanese). 講談社. p. 249.
  11. ↑ "Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細". 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.