This is an excerpt from the 2006 September Monthly Service Sermon by Honbu-in Toshimi Imamura (All have I done here is post the excerpt here. I have no knowledge of who did the actual translation of this sermon.)

73. Moving Into the Residence

From early on, Oyasama had been urging the Honseki to quit his work as a carpenter and move into the Residence with his family to start their devotion at the Residence. After receiving divine guidance through his three children’s illnesses, Sato and the children moved in first in 1881. Then Izo moved into the Residence in the following year, and his entire family thus started their devotion at the Residence. By then, the pressures exerted by the police had gradually increased and Oyasama was repeatedly summoned and imprisoned by police, thus undergoing hardships. The living circumstances at the Residence were hardly easy. The Honseki had stopped working entirely; therefore, he had no means of earning money. He occasionally built shrines which had been ordered by followers, doing so only at night so that it would not hinder his dedication at the Residence, and he used the meager gratuities he received to make ends meet. One day, Oyasama instructed him, “Izo, I see that life is very hard at present; however, this will only last a short time. Soon, everything will be well. Doing such things only delays the path.” After hearing Her comment, Izo gave up his side job at night.

• Next installment in this series: 74. Source of an Abdominal Pain

*Note: This post has been revised since its original publication.