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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 71

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71. In Such a Heavy Rain

On April 14, 1880, Umejiro Izutsu and his wife, accompanied by their daughter Tane, returned to Jiba for the first time. It had been raining hard when they left Osaka the previous morning but the weather cleared up toward noon. They stayed overnight on the way and arrived at the Residence around four o’clock in the afternoon on the following day. They were granted an audience at once by Oyasama, who patted Tane on the head, saying:

“It is very good of you to have come in such a heavy rain.”

Oyasama added:

“You’re from Osaka, aren’t you? You are drawn here by the marvelous God. God is letting the roots of a great tree take firm hold in Osaka. You need not worry about the child’s illness.”

Afterward She placed a sheet of sacred paper on the affected area of Tane’s body which had not yet been completely cured. Needless to say, she was very soon completely cured.

The deep emotion which Umejiro felt when he met Oyasama and the marvelous cure kindled in him a passion for the faith and inspired him to spread the teachings and save others with single-hearted devotion.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 61–62

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 70

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama

70. Threshing Wheat

During the busy harvest seasons of spring and fall at the Residence, Oyasama used to come out and say:

“I’ll help you.”

There are two kinds of flails, large and small. The larger one has a handle and stick of almost the same length. It is so large and heavy that only a strong person can use it. However, Oyasama in Her advanced age used this kind and did the work of threshing as well as any young person.

It was a hot day in the early summer of 1879 or 1880. Takai, Miyamori and others were threshing, wet with sweat under the blazing sun, when Oyasama came out and joined them with a towel wrapped around Her head. When they saw Her working energetically, it was hard to believe that Oyasama was a woman over eighty years old. They all admired Oyasama for being as full of vitality as any young person.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 60–61

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 69

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69. Prefer the Younger Brother

About 1879 or 1880 when he was drawn to the Residence, Yosaburo Miyamori received Oyasama’s words:

“A superfluous man with a pure heart is wanted.”

Yosaburo was the third son among nine children in his family. It did not matter whether he was at home or not. As far as the family was concerned, he was a “superfluous” man. He was by nature very obedient, honest, not greedy, and especially, was said to be a kind of person who could always accept any situation with joy. It is believed that for these reasons he was called a man with a pure heart by Oyasama.

Again, in about 1881, when Tamezo Yamazawa was sitting beside Oyasama, She said:

“Tamezo, you are the younger brother. God is saying, ‘Even more do I desire the younger brother.'”

Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 60

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 68

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68. The Way Ahead Is Long 

In 1874, at the age of nineteen, Tatsujiro Hirano of Sakai became sickly and for the following six years, he was on a diet of wafers. Then in 1879, when he was twenty-four years old, the fragrance of the teachings was spread to him by Risaburo Yamamoto. He listened to the teachings of God and received such marvelous divine providence that he discontinued the wafer diet and on that day he ate thirty small fish for one meal.

He returned to Jiba in his great joy for being saved. There he enjoyed a steam bath, and later he listened to the words of God related by intermediaries. After he returned home, Tatsujiro promptly enshrined God in his own home and began to strive fervently to spread the fragrance of the words of God and to save others. Thus, he often returned to Jiba.

On one such day, he had an audience with Oyasama, and She said:

“One who is called Tatsujiro Hirano of Sakai, is that you?”

Then She extended Her hand and said:

“Hold My hand.”

When Tatsujiro reverently held Her hand, She said:

“Is that all the strength you have? Put forth more.”

So he gripped Her hand with all his might. Oyasama gripped back with much greater strength. Tatsujiro was utterly awestruck and deeply impressed by the greatness of Oyasama. At that time he received the following words from Oyasama:

“How old are you? It is remarkable that you have followed the path this far. The path ahead of you is long. No matter what you may encounter, do not become discouraged in faith. The future is all well.”

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 59–60

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 67

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67. Poor Fellow

Tsurumatsu Nukuto was frail from childhood. In 1879, when he was sixteen years old, his chronic stomach ailment grew worse and soon reached the critical stage. His doctor gave him up as hopeless.

At this time, the fragrance of the teachings was spread to Tsurumatsu by Kiichi Asano through Higashio, a distant relative. At the recommendation of Kiichi, Tsurumatsu firmly resolved to follow the path. So, accompanied by his parents, he returned to Jiba for the first time, carried on a stretcher, over forty-eight kilometers of mountainous road. He rested overnight and the next morning, through the arrangements made by Jyukichi Nakayama, Tsurumatsu was received in audience by Oyasama with special permission to remain on the stretcher. Thereupon, Oyasama said:

“Poor fellow.”

She took off the red kimono-undergarment She was wearing and put it on Tsurumatsu, slipping it over his head.

At that moment Tsurumatsu felt the warmth of the red kimono under-garment and at the same time he felt as if dawn had come. Though his illness had been critical, from that moment he began to recover. He stayed one week; he received marvelous salvation and was soon cured completely.

It is said that all through his life Tsurumatsu recalled that moment and said, “Even now I cannot forget that warmth.”

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 58–59

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 66

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama

66. Safe Childbirth

When Take, wife of Kisaburo Maegawa, was pregnant with her first daughter Kimi, she returned to the Residence to receive the Grant for Safe Childbirth. Oyasama said:

“Welcome home!”

and She further taught Take:

“At the time of delivery there will be no need for help from others.”

When Take began to feel labor pains no one else was at home. Therefore, in accordance with the words of Oyasama, she boiled the water, prepared the bathing tub, cut the umbilical cord, took care of the afterbirth, gave the baby her first bath, and dressed her all by herself without any help from others. With the full divine protection of God the Parent she was able to deliver her child safely.

Note: The birth date of Kimi Maegawa was January 25, 1880. It is assumed that Take received the Grant for Safe Childbirth in the previous year.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 57–58

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 65

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65. Drawn Here to Be Used

The following incident happened around June 1879. Oyasama used to say every night:

“I need a personal attendant. I need one.”

The intermediaries, Gisaburo Nakata, Chusaku Tsuji and Rihachi Yamamoto, after discussing the matter, consulted Shuji. Whereupon he suggested, “Rin should be a suitable person.”

So promptly the next morning at ten o’clock, Shuji and Nakata, followed by Rin Masui, went to see Oyasama to receive her approval. Shuji explained. Oyasama immediately gave these words:

“At once, at once, at once, at once. Drawn here to be used. At once, at once, at once. Quickly, quickly. You are overdue. You are overdue. Sah, sah, be joyful, be joyful. Whatever you do, do it with the thought that you are serving God. Whatever you do God will accept ten thousandfold. Sah, sah, quickly, quickly, quickly. At once, at once, at once.”

In this way Rin served Oyasama as Her personal attendant from that night until Oyasama withdrew Her physical being1 in 1887.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 57

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  1. This is an old gloss for “on-mi (more frequently utsushimi) o kakusareru,” a phrase that is only used to refer to Oyasama’s passing. This phrase is currently translated as “withdrew from physical life” in most cases. “Hid her physical being” is an even older English gloss. ↩

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 64

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64. Smoothed out Gently 

Yearning for Jiba, Tokichi Izumita (nicknamed Kumakichi) returned one day and found Oyasama smoothing out small pieces of crumpled paper on Her knee. Oyasama said to him:

“These crumpled pieces, if smoothed out gently like this, become neat and can be used again. Nothing is useless.”

Receiving this instruction, Izumita cheerfully went back to Osaka to continue his work of saving others even more earnestly.

However, it was hard to save others and spread the teachings. Accordingly, whenever his confidence was shaken, he poured water over himself to encourage himself on to further efforts. At midnight, during the coldest season of the year, he would immerse himself in the Yodo River for as long as two hours, and climbing up on the bank, he would dry himself in the wind, as he thought drying with a towel would spoil the effect. It was not so cold in the water, but the blowing north wind would severely and coldly sting his wet body. However, he patiently continued these cold water ablutions for about thirty nights. He would also remain all night in the water holding onto a post of the Tenjin Bridge before walking about to save sick people, as he was once told that he must first torture himself.

One day he returned to Jiba and was received by Oyasama, who said to him:

“Kumakichi, on this path you must not torture yourself.”

Hearing these words filled with parental love, Izumita was able to fully understand the preciousness of the human body, a thing borrowed from God the Parent.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 56

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 63

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63. Merit That Is Not to Be Seen

Once Oyasama asked Koiso Yamanaka:

“Do you wish to have merit that is to be seen by the eye? Or do you wish to have merit that is not to be seen by the eye? Which do you wish to have?”

Koiso replied, “Anything with physical form can be lost or stolen. So I would prefer to have merit that cannot be seen by the eye.”

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 55–56

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Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 62

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62. East from Here

In December 1878, Togoro, father of Toshiro Yamamoto of Kasa Village in Yamato, came down with a serious eye disease. The father’s condition gradually grew more serious and became beyond the doctor’s help. Even incantations proved to be ineffective. Toshiro, having no other course opened to him, was in a state of deep despair when he heard from his friend, “In Shoyashiki there is a god who saves man from illness.” Toshiro’s only thought was to have his father get well at any cost. Because of weakness from the long illness and the eye disease, it was difficult for his father to walk. Therefore, Toshiro carried him on his back and walked about twelve kilometers of mountainous road. Thus he returned to Jiba for the first time.

They were received by Oyasama, who spoke these words:

“Welcome home ! Soon he will be saved. Out of respect for your devotion to your father, he will be saved.”

They lodged at the house called Inada in Shoyashiki Village and stayed at Jiba for a little over a month. During that time they worshiped day and night and listened to the teachings taught by the intermediaries. The father, even with such a serious illness, received the divine providence and began to recover slowly but steadily each day, and finally recovered completely.

In the summer of 1880, Toshiro’s wife, Shyu, was cured of a stomach ailment and then Kozaburo, his second son, from convulsions; Toshiro continued to follow the faith more fervently.

Also, one autumn when he returned to pray for the salvation of a sick person to whom he had taught the teachings for the first time, Oyasama said:

“Yamamoto from Kasa, how faithfully you always come to worship! About the illness there is no need to worry.”

Upon receiving these words of Oyasama he returned home and found that the sick person already had been cured.

As he continued his devotion in this way, he came to know Chuzaburo Koda quite well. Koda, who admired Yamamoto’s steadfast faith, spoke about it to Oyasama. The words of Oyasama were:

“East from here, at the remote village of Kasa, there shall be worshipers from all directions. Go at once.”

Thereupon Koda went to Kasa Village with Chusaku Tsuji and conveyed these words of Oyasama to Yamamoto. Thus Yamamoto became all the more ardent in spreading the fragrance of the word of God and saving others.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 54–55

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