The following is a translation of an excerpt from Ishizue: Kashihara Genjiro no shinko to shogai (Cornerstone: The Faith and Life of Genjiro Kashihara) by Teruo Nishiyama. Note: This translation is a provisional one and may need to undergo further revision.
One day Oyasama was gazing out of the south window of Her room in the Nakaminami-Gatehouse and looking at the vast expanse of bamboo thickets and rice fields. Suddenly She said to the attendants:
“Someday this neighborhood will be filled with houses. Houses will line the street for seven ri** between Nara and Hase. One ri square will be filled with inns. The divine Residence will become eight cho square.”
* Eight cho equals 872 meters.
** One ri equals about four kilometers.
Note: It is taught in the Osashizu:
“It will not do to think of small things. You do not understand that when the years accumulate step by step, this place will become eight cho square.”
November 17, 1894
“I have said, ‘It is necessary to go through many years, many years.’ I said, ‘One ri square must become inns.’ I also said, ‘One ri square is still too narrow.'”
Timely Direction: February 6, 1893.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 78–79.
Once when a construction was being planned at Church Headquarters, the ministers of a certain branch church expressed their wish to be allowed to undertake and complete the construction solely on their own. They also promised to supply the lumber for the project. In response, the Honseki warned:
“To undertake a construction on your own is against the spirit of the path. It is to be done by everyone coming together.”
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.
Continue reading The Life of the Honseki Izo Iburi, Part Six
As a result of the Oyamato Shrine Incident, debts were incurred with the lumber dealer Shinbei Shoji (Daishin) and the roof tile dealer Ikuzo Fukui during the construction of the Place for the Service. While Izo was able to pay off the lumber dealer after New Year’s in 1865, he was unable to pay off the debt to Ikuzo for some time. A bill would come to Izo and he paid it off little by little.
Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 11
The offer by the Iburis of donating an altar shrine in appreciation of Sato’s recovery from post-delivery complications transformed into a plan to build a place of worship. The plan was enthusiastically received and the followers quickly acted to bring the plan into reality.
The leading followers at the time met and made a list of tasks to be assigned. The list went as follows: Chushichi Yamanaka, construction expenses; Izo Iburi, labor; Chuyemon (Chusaku) Tsuji, roof tiles; Saemon (Gisaburo) Nakata, six tatami mats; Isaburo Nishida, eight tatami mats.
Continue reading The Life of the Honseki Izo Iburi, Part Three