- Left to right: Ben Tadokoro, Rev. Zensuke Nakata (Shinbashira’s brother), and the GIANT himself, Rev. Jiro Morishita.
Rev. Jiro James Morishita, head minister of Tenrikyo Brotherhood Church in Los Angeles, passed away for rebirth at 9:45 p.m. P.S.T. on August 30.
To quote his peer Rev. Marlon Okazaki: “We have just lost a Giant, we have just lost a dear friend. We will miss him dearly. Let us keep his light alive in our mission. I know that’s what he would want.”
Even though in the last days it was sadly apparent that there would be no miraculous recovery for Jiro sensei, I still feel numb and am at a complete loss of words. Roughly 72 hours after we heard the news, I am still in the process of digesting the reality that he has gone into the embrace of our Divine Parent.
He was a man of enormous spiritual and physical strength. I allowed myself to become too awed by his presence and intensity to open myself fully to him, so I unfortunately have little stories to share here. And besides, I honestly cannot begin to give his memory due justice in a single website post.
I instead offer two links to his writings which we have the fortune of having on the web:
- PDF of Tenri Forum 2006 Unit 2-2 (Contains Rev. Morishita’s Plenary Address: “The Tenrikyo Church and the Community: Connecting with the Teachings, Connecting with the Community”)
I consider it to have been an honor of knowing him and basking in his presence on a number of occasions. I hope everyone who was inspired by his hot, bright flame of faith will keep it burning for generations to come.
I offer my deepest condolences to his family and the congregation of Brotherhood Church and pray that they will arise from this “knot” stronger than ever.
Update: I also include the following link to one of Rev. Jiro Morishita’s sermons: