Tag Archives: missionary work narrative

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 29

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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 25

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations,

The following is a translation of Part 25 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the January 2005 (No. 433) issue of Taimo, p. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 25: Under the Same Roof; On the Same Dirt Floor

Circa 1894, five Tenrikyo missionaries in their late 20s found a place in Hirosaki from where they went out to sprinkle the fragrance of the teachings day and night. In time, they sprinkled the fragrance of the teachings to Iwanosuke Jin 神石之助, who they had met at the entrance of Hirosaki Hospital. Continue reading The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 25 →

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 23

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

The following is a translation of Part 23 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the November 2004 (No. 431) issue of Taimo 大望, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 23: Praying on a Streetcorner in Beijing

Gunki Sato 佐藤軍紀 was part of the first graduating class of Tenri Foreign Language School in 1925.1 In 1928 he went to Beijing and began propagating the teachings of Tenrikyo.

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  1. Tenri Foreign Language School is the precursor of the present Tenri University. ↩

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 11

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, ,

*The following is a translation of Part 11 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the November 2003 (No. 419) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is tentative and may require further revision.

Part 11: Repaying God’s Blessings

In August 1889, the heavens shook and the earth split as a raging catastrophe ravaged the countryside. Torrential rains devastated Yoshino County in Nara Prefecture. A hundred and 68 people perished in the six hamlets in village Totsukawa alone. Conditions descended to that of a living hell.
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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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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 6

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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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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 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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