Category Archives: Translations

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 7

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, , ,

The following is a translation of Part 7 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the July 2003 (No. 415) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. Note: This is a tentative translation may require further polishing and revision.

Part 7: An Apology

Kikutaro Shimamura ran a marine products business in Osaka. He converted to the faith in 1888 after being saved from two major illnesses. He resolved to save a thousand persons as his expression of gratitude for being saved by God the Parent from certain death.
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Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 13

Honseki: Anecdotes, Translations

13. Fire at the Iburi Residence

One night in 1866, a disaster occurred at the Iburi residence where Izo was born. A fire had broke out at a place that was not normally considered a fire hazard and the house completely burned to the ground. Izo was informed the next day of the news and promptly returned to Mukoji.

Upon arrival, Izo found his family and the neighbors deliberating on the cause of the fire. Izo sat silently in a corner and allowed the discussion to runs its course. Someone then suggested that the cause had to be arson.

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“Please Allow Me”

Tenrikyo Fundamentals, Translations, ,

The following is an excerpt from Omichi no joshiki [Tenrikyo Fundamentals] (pp. 15–18) by Koji Sato 佐藤浩司, assistant professor at Tenri University and instructor at Tenri Seminary. Note: This translation is tentative and may require further revision.

“Please Allow Me”

Yosaburo Miyamori 宮森与三郎 joined the faith because of a pain in his arm. Because the pain would recur when he went home and would mysteriously disappear whenever he visited Oyasama, he began to live at the Residence when he was 23 years old. When Yosaburo returned to the Residence for the first time, Oyasama said, “I want a superfluous person with a good heart.”1
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  1. Compare this quote from a similar one from Anecdotes of Oyasama 69: “A superfluous man with a pure heart is wanted.” ↩

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 6

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, , , ,

The following is a translation of Part 6 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the June 2003 (No. 414) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. Note: This translation may require further polishing and revision.

Part 6: “Suit Yourself!”

There was a great cholera epidemic in the Kinki Region of Japan in the early autumn of 1886. It was a contagious disease that was deeply feared by the populace since there was no appropriate treatment for it at the time.
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No Distinction Between Female Pine or Male Pine

Tenrikyo Fundamentals, Translations, ,

The following is an excerpt from Omichi no joshiki [Tenrikyo Fundamentals] (pp. 11–14) by Koji Sato 佐藤浩司, assistant professor at Tenri University and instructor at Tenri Seminary. Note: This translation is tentative and may require further revision.

No Distinction Between Female Pine or Male Pine

In 1886, Eigoro Furuta 古田栄五郎 was a fishhook wholesaler who managed an extensive, prosperous business. His business was once considered the most successful of its kind in Tokyo. One day Eigoro visited the home of Sasuke Uehara 上原佐助, who would later become the first head minister of Azuma Grand Church 東大教会.
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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 5

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations,

The following is a translation of Part 5 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the May 2003 (No. 413) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35.

Part 5: The Conversion of Tokichi Izumita (2 of 2)

One day, Tokichi Izumita (also known as Kumakichi or “Lucky Bear”), who was staying at a cheap lodging house, went to the fields that were already buried in three meters of snow. He stripped off his clothes, sat facing Jiba with the snow still falling on him and prayed, “If I am not allowed to save anyone, please take this worthless life of mine in a week.”

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 4

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 4 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the April 2003 (No. 412) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35.

Part 4: The Conversion of Tokichi Izumita (1 of 2)

Tokichi Izumita (also known as Kumakichi, literally “Lucky Bear”) went to Jiba to worship in the 2nd lunar month of 1871 on his way home from seeing the water-drawing ceremony at Nigatsudo in Nara.

While he was impressed with the teachings as conveyed to him by Ryosuke Yamazawa, he did not make the faith a part of his daily life at the time. However, circa the summer of 1877, his son became sick and he himself was suffering from stomach cancer. Ihei Yamamoto came to visit and recommend him to have faith in God. Ihei also gave Tokichi Izumita the following instruction, before offering his prayer, “What you love is your enemy, you must quit what you love.”

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 3

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, , ,

The following is a translation of Part 3 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the March 2003 (No. 411) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35.

Part 3: “I Placed a Bridge That Leads Eight Hundred Kilometers Ahead”

In April 1880, Osaka Prefecture recruited Chuzaburo Koda and dispatched him to the Niigata Prefecture Agricultural Experiment Station and put him in charge to oversee its tilling and cultivation activities. He was 54 at the time. He left for Niigata on a one-year contract and returned to his home province of Yamato on his year-end vacation. During this time his second daughter Riki had contracted an eye disease and it was considered only a matter of time before she lost her eyesight.

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