Tag Archives: red clothes

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 35

35. The Red Garments

It was on December 26, 1874, that Oyasama wore red garments for the first time. Oyasama had suddenly said:

“I will wear red garments.”

Then Matsue and daughter Kokan set out to Nara in the morning to buy cloth, and came back toward noon. When they returned, Naragiku Nishio (renamed Osame Masui), Masu Masui (renamed Suma Murata), Kaji Nakata and other women were doing chores in the Residence. Since Oyasama had said:

“I will wear them as soon as they are ready,”

they all helped, sewing in haste, and the red garments were completed by evening. Oyasama wore them for the first time that night. It is said that Oyasama, dressed in the red garments, sat on the dais; and the people in attendance enjoyed sweet rice wine in celebration of the occasion.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 28–29.

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Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 67

The following is a translation of an excerpt from the writings of Eitaro Imamura (1894–1969), who held several positions throughout his career as a Honbu-jun’in (senior official of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters), such as superintendent of Aomori, Akita, Iwate, and Wakayama dioceses, president of Doyusha, head of Publications Approval Office, and first head minister of Jibun Branch Church. Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 67

Festival

The following excerpt is from Omichi no joshiki [Tenrikyo Fundamentals] (pp. 88–91) by Koji Sato 佐藤浩司, assistant professor at Tenri University and instructor at Tenri Seminary. Note: This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Festival

In Jiba, “Grand Services” are held on January 26 and October 26. The “festivals” falling on 26th of the remaining months of the year are called “Monthly Services.”1

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  1. A note on translation: the same Chinese character is used to write “matsuri” (festival) and “sai,” in the Japanese words for “Grand Service” (tai-sai) and “Monthly Service” (tsukinami-sai)

Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 24

24. Oyasama’s Protection After the Service for Rain

Masanosuke Iburi once asked his grandmother Yoshie Nagao, daughter of Izo, the following question, “Please tell me about the time when the Service for Rain was conducted during Oyasama’s physical lifetime.”

And Yoshie explained the event as follows:

“It was in the summer of 1883, when I was 18. There was a great drought, so great that the wells of every household completely dried up and both humans and farm animals were being affected by it. The farmers were particularly in a desperate situation. Even though they usually never gave us the time of day, they sent the village head as their representative to ask if a prayer for rain could be conducted as a final resort.

Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 24

The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 10

The following is a translation of Part 10 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the October 2003 (No. 418) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is tentative and may require further revision.

Part 10: “I Accept One Day as A Thousand Days”

In 1883, plasterer and head of Meishin-gumi Confraternity, Shirobei Umetani, stayed several days at the Residence and poured his heart and soul into the final touchups during the construction of Oyasama’s Resting House. The Resting House was completed in mid-November.

Oyasama waited for the proper time before making Her move from the South Gatehouse into the newly built Resting House that still emitted the fragrance of fresh timber. At midnight on November 25 (or 10/26 according to the lunar calendar), followers of confraternities such as Meishin-gumi and Shinmei-gumi held paper lanterns bearing the names of their confraternities and welcomed Her when She made Her move. Shirobei received a set of Oyasama’s red clothes the following day.

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The Life of the Honseki Izo Iburi, Part Six

The Sazuke of Speech

In 1873, Izo followed Oyasama’s directions and made a model of the Kanrodai.

In the following year, Oyasama resumed writing the Ofudesaki after a break of four years. The beginning verses of part three gave instructions for another construction project, the building of the South (Nakaminami) Gatehouse:

At this time, set about quickly to clear away the structure from within the gate.

When you have completed the sweeping, please rope off the ground plan quickly.

Ofudesaki 3:1–2

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