The following is a translation of Part 65 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the May 2008 (No. 473) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
Yoshi Nakagawa spent her days and nights engaging in salvation work while living outdoors. Talk began among her devout followers to rent a place for her.
The following is a translation of Part 64 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the April 2008 (No. 472) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
On the alcove post in the room of Chujiro Okuma, the second head minister of Keijo Daikyokai, there was a strip of paper with the words “hito wa takara, hito wa taisetsu” — “People are treasures, people are important.” Rev. Okuma was a man who walked the path of a true person of faith and lived true to these words by wrapping his followers and those belonging to Keijo’s affiliate churches with unfathomable parental affection.
We would like to present an episode involving Rev. Okuma and a young live-in seinen named Shigeharu Yamamoto.
The following is a translation of Part 63 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the March 2008 (No. 471) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision
A Mankichi Miyoshi lived across the street from the home of Tokichi Ueda, the head of a Tenrikyo confraternity in the section of Imadezaike in Kobe. While Mankichi’s vision was incapacitated for 18 years, he regained vision in the corners of his eyes due to Zenkichi Tachibana’s salvation work (o-tasuke).
The following is a translation of Part 62 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the February 2008 (No. 470) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
The Shiwaku Islands in the Seto Inland Sea comprise 28 islands of various sizes. The islands are renowned for their panoramic, scenic beauty. The name “Shiwaku” is said to have derived from “shio-waku” (literally, “gushing current”), which describes the swift ocean currents that flow between these islands. One of the central islands of Shiwaku is Honjima. In 1896, the man who transmitted the path to this island was a missionary named Eisa Sato.
The following is a translation of Part 61 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the January 2008 (No. 469) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
Masayoshi and Fuku Ando were blessed with three children. However, they were gravely concerned over their children’s health: the two eldest were sickly since birth and their youngest suffered from seizures and from being underdeveloped, both caused by whooping cough.
The following is a translation of Part 60 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the December 2007 (No. 468) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
In autumn 1870, Risaburo Yamamoto of Kashiwara Village, Kawachi Province, injured his chest at a sumo wrestling match at the age of 21 and became bedridden for the next three years. Although he had various doctors treat him and healers pray for him, he failed to recover from his injury. Instead, his condition worsened to the point where his life was hanging in the balance. Such were the circumstances in summer 1873.
The following is a translation of Part 59 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the November 2007 (No. 467) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
In 1908, the year after Fujinosuke Tanabe became the second head minister of Konohana Shikyokai, the criteria of organizing churches was renewed in accordance with Tenrikyo’s attainment of sectarian independence. As a result, Yuasa, a subsidiary church of Konohana, now met the criteria to be promoted to a shikyokai.1 Konohana, which had been a shikyokai itself until then, now found itself being required to become a “bunkyokai“2 that befitted its position of being the supervising church of Yuasa by increasing its membership and going from leasing its building and property to owning it outright. Since Konohana had just recently relocated and there were a number of Konohana church officials (yaku-in) who were not happy with the fact that Fujinosuke, their new head minister, came from Yuasa (in Wakayama), the prospect of a relocation and construction appeared impossible. However, despite the fact that he was disowned by his family, Fujinosuke worked to persuade his mother to sell the home in Yuasa where she was born and raised and borrowed money from his in-laws (his younger sister’s family).
The following is a translation of Part 58 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the October 2007 (No. 466) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
Sakujiro and Tsushi Ueno left for Hawaii in 1929. They decided to dedicate themselves to the overseas mission when they were nearing their 50s. While a normal couple may have had trepidation about the future, Rev. and Mrs. Ueno had faith in the words of the Rev. Yoshizo Katayama, the head minister of Honjima Daikyokai, who told them that, “God the Parent will prepare everything for you beforehand,” and they left for Hawaii with only enough money to cover immediate accommodations on their arrival.
As soon as they arrived, they met a young Chinese sweets confectioner who sought relief from his debilitating asthma. Rev. and Mrs. Ueno immediately left to administer the Sazuke on this young man. Although they could not communicate with him because of a language barrier, with their diligent administering of the Sazuke, the young man could see how they were fervently praying for him and he clasped his hands in prayer together with them.
The following is a translation of Part 57 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the September 2007 (No. 465) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
Genjiro Kashihara, who became the head minister of Myodo Shikyokai, heeded the advice his older brother Eki’emon gave him, “Never forget your straw sandals.” While this was advice to Genjiro to always be mindful that he was merely a Tenrikyo missionary, he nevertheless wore straw sandals with his cotton kimono wherever he went on his travels and missionary visits so he could tend to his subsidiary churches. The streets he walked were not the paved streets we have today, but roads full of pebbles and stones. Further, since he preached the importance of rising early to others, he found it unfathomable to allow himself sleep in late. He would always wake an hour before morning service. Yet on his missionary visits, he would wake another 15 minutes earlier to give himself time to contemplate on his schedule for the day.
He would send notification beforehand to each church he visited with the following precautions, which did not change even when he was promoted to a Honbu-in (executive official of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters): “Only reserve trains seats in third class. I will not ride a vehicle with a hired driver, so do not prepare one. I only ask for a one-course meal with soup, there is no need to prepare or buy anything more. I do not drink alcohol.”
He would scold those who would prepare anything more than he asked. He would take it upon himself to walk distances under two kilometers, even in the twilight of his life. He would take the bus for any distances farther than this and insisted for no more than two people to welcome him at the bus stop.
He would preach without having dinner at one particular subsidiary church, a practice he continued for more than 10 years. After the monthly service was over, he would speak for two hours, take a 10-minute break, and night would fall while he spoke for another hour. When he stepped down from the dais to take his break, he would say: “I’ll be back and resume speaking in 15 minutes. Don’t eat dinner. If you eat dinner, you’ll get sleepy and miss my important talk. I won’t eat dinner either.”
Since Genjiro proved to have such an attitude, the seinen (young male staff) who accompanied him were different when it came to their mental preparedness. While Genjiro was strict when instructing and training seinen from Myodo’s subsidiary churches, he did so because of his desire to have them be grounded spiritually so in the future they could become Yoboku who served God by firmly dedicating themselves solely to the path. Genjiro felt there was nothing more unfortunate if these seinen were unable to serve God efficiently when they became head ministers or missionaries.
A particular seinen accompanied Genjiro to a church located in a farming village where the only three worshipers were senior citizens. While he thought the talk would probably be over in an hour, Genjiro passionately spoke for over two hours. Genjiro later said: “Yoboku ought not to pay attention to numbers or to who happens to be in attendance. There is no knowing what kind of large path will open through these three people. There is the precedence of what happened in Kyushu. Never be complacent. You cannot uphold the divine truth if you pay attention to numbers or to who is in your audience. It leads to unspiritedness.”
Reference: Nishiyama Teruo. Ishizue: Kashihara Genjiro no shinko to shogai.
*Note: This post has been revised since its original publication.
Rev. Genjiro Kashihara [柏原源次郎] (1875–1957) became the second head minister of Myodo Shikyokai [名東支教会] (branch church) in 1900. Now known as Tenrikyo Myodo Daikyokai [天理教名東大教会] (grand church), it currently oversees 131 bunkyokai (“branch churches”) and 109 fukyosho (“fellowships” or “mission stations”), including Brotherhood Church in Los Angeles.
The following is a translation of Part 56 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the August 2007 (No. 464) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.
After experiencing deep emotion upon hearing the teachings of God the Parent for the first time, Kikutaro Shimamura began to visit Takeji Tsuzuki on a daily basis. Yet Tsuzuki had just converted to the faith himself and had not received the truth of the Sazuke, so he could not elaborate any more beyond what he said the first time.