Category Archives: Footsteps of Our Predecessors

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 35

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 35 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the November 2005 (No. 443) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 35: The Faith of Yoshi Nakagawa (3 of 3)

Yoshi, who just gave birth to her third child Mitsunosuke, had made a promise to take a blind old lady to Jiba. The day that Yoshi made this appointment happened to be three days after she gave birth. In normal circumstances, a person would have either been forced to postpone or cancel the appointment altogether on the premise of having just given birth. But Yoshi was different. She had not only made a promise to this old lady; she had made a promise to God as well. The people around her tried to persuade Yoshi from doing so but she paid no attention to their pleas.

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 34

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

This is a translation of Part 34 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the October 2005 (No. 442) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 34: The Faith of Yoshi Nakagawa (2 of 3)

The following is an account of the birth of Yakichi and Yoshi Nakagawa’s third child Mitsunosuke. By this time Yoshi had gained the reputation in her area as a miracle worker through her salvation work. Yoshi was so busy that she nearly had no time to sleep as she devoted herself toward saving others up to her expected date of delivery. However, once she gave birth, Yoshi would no longer be able to engage in salvation work. So Yoshi offered the following prayer: “God, while I apologize for making such a selfish request, I ask that you somehow allow me to give birth after I am finished with helping this particular person.”

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 33

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations,

The following is a translation of Part 33 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the September 2005 (No. 441) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 33: The Faith of Yoshi Nakagawa (1 of 3)

A woman, obviously from the countryside, walks the streets of Tokyo in shabby clothes. She carries a baby on her back who, weakened from an empty stomach, is only able to occasionally whimper at best. She walks while tightly gripping the handle of a faded umbrella. She walks briskly under the bright sun with the baby’s diapers placed out to dry on top of her umbrella.

Here we see a glimpse of the youthful missionary days of Yoshi Nakagawa, the first head minister of Tohon.

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 32

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 32 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the August 2005 (No. 440) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 32: Vivid Instances of Divine Protection

In 1888, Yone Suzuki began to listen to the teachings of Tenrikyo after her child succumbed to illness. While her faith grew, her child’s condition did not completely improve. She was then encouraged to have faith together with her husband, so her husband Hanjiro also lent his attention to the teachings, six months after the fragrance was transmitted to her.

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 31

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The following is a translation of Part 31 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the July 2005 (No. 439) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 31: A Sake Cup with Mirin

Circa 1881, Ito Masuno became afflicted with sokohi,1 an eye disease. She completely lost her sight three years later. She regularly went to a hospital that went by the name of Taylor but showed no signs of a recovery.

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  1. Refer to the endnote from the previous Footsteps (Part 30: “I Accept the Mind You Have Settled”) for my discussion on sokohi. ↩

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 30

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 30 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the June 2005 (No. 438) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 30: “I Accept the Mind You Have Settled”

Rin Masui was raised as the only child of prestigious household in Kawachi. She married a man who was adopted into her family and was blessed with children. She lived a happy life free from worries and misfortune. However, in the year she turned 30, she was at a loss of having to look after her three children alone after both her father and husband suddenly passed away. She herself succumbed to an eye disease known as sokohi1 and completely lost her vision.

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  1. Sokohi appears to have been used to refer to a number of eye ailments, leading to a lack of consensus in the translations from Anecdotes of Oyasama (whose 200 selections were divided and translated by several people). Sokohi has been variously rendered in the English Anecdotes as “amaurosis” (24, p. 17); “glaucoma” (36, p. 29); “cataracts” (115, p. 96); and simply “eye disease” (145 , p. 117). ↩

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 29

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, , ,

The following is a translation of Part 29 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the May 2005 (No. 437) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 29: Utmost Efforts

Sei Imagawa went to China in 1930 to engage in missionary work. Her sister Fusa followed her the next year. The two sisters devoted their days engaging in nioigake (spreading the fragrance of the teachings) and o-tasuke (salvation work or administering the Sazuke, the Divine Grant). Continue reading The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 29 →

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 28

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 28 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the April 2005 (No. 436) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 28: “I Resolve to Implement the Spirit of Single-Hearted Salvation”

Kichitaro Matsumura of Byodoji Village, Osaka, loathed anything that defied reason. He found the rough, uncultured behavior of the followers around him distasteful and secretly ridiculed those who had faith. While his parents and younger brother were devout followers of Tenrikyo, Kichitaro’s attitude grew colder as their devotion grew deeper. His mother Saku told him over and over: “When you were younger, you always played near Oyasama each time we returned to Jiba. She even held and carried you on one occasion.” Nevertheless, Kichitaro could not bring himself to accept the faith. Continue reading The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 28 →

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 27

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The following is a translation of Part 27 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the March 2005 (No. 435) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 27: Applause in a Prison Cell

Chujiro Otake immigrated to Brazil in 1929 and settled in Tietê, São Paulo state, where he labored to clear virgin forests and cultivate coffee. After much adversity and hardship, he began to concentrate on missionary work in the city of Bauru. He returned to Jiba with a large number of followers for the 50th Anniversary of Oyasama in 1936. Bauru Kyokai (church) was established in February of the same year and Chujiro was installed as the first head minister.

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 26

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations,

The following is a translation of Part 26 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the February 2005 (No. 434) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 26: Like Sliding On Water

In 1879, Umejiro Izutsu, a cotton salesman from Honden 本田, Osaka, converted from Omine Shugendo to become a fervent devotee of the path when his newborn daughter Tane was blessed with a recovery from illness. Oyasama bestowed his confraternity with the name “Shinmei-gumi” and many followers would gather at the confraternity assembly hall located in Honden.

Between 30 to 50 followers would gather every night to worship and dance the Twelve Songs. Their devotion was so great that the tatami mats wore out and needed to be replaced in three months.

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