みゅうにゃん　お散歩日記

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[Seeds of Law That Will Bloom in the Future] (1) — Let’s Work Together with God to Create a Happy World —

T: Okay?
Amalie: Yes.
T: About what just happened—
Amalie: Could you start from the beginning?
T: Well, then—
Amalie: Well, um, even if you say that, I don’t know anything about Tenrikyo. Where is Tenri City, anyway? Um, is it in Kansai?

T: Oh, it’s in Nara. It’s in Nara. There’s a city called Tenri in Nara. The town itself, you know.
Amalie: It sounds so soft. How should I put it? I’ve been hearing people speak in a way that sounds kind of like the Kyoto dialect ever since yesterday.

T: Oh, really? Well, you see, the Ten Deities are enshrined within the central deity known as Tenrin-ōson, and they were the ones who imparted the teachings.
And for that time, these were the names of deities that had never been heard before. The doctrine was also something completely unfamiliar—it’s called the *Dohkai Koki*, and it tells the story of the world from the very moment the earth was created. So, in that sense, he is the one who opened a new path.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you could share with us—for the sake of the future—what hardships you faced and how you went about establishing this path.

Also, regarding your current state of mind, and concerning the Third Plan that we are currently working on and assisting with, I hope you could offer your guidance from this new perspective. Thank you in advance.

Amalie: Um, didn’t you mention the other day that you wanted to express your gratitude?
T: Yes. Is it okay if I share something personal?
Amalie: Yes, go ahead and start with that.

T: Yes. My parents were actually Tenrikyo believers, and they even ran a church. So, when I was little, I experienced how they helped me in various ways. In that sense, even though I wasn’t able to continue practicing the faith myself, I thought my parents might have felt a little hurt about that. So, on their behalf, I’d like to express my gratitude and thanks. If you could come today, I’d like to take this opportunity to say hello to them, so I’d appreciate it if you could join us.

Amalie: You’ve been here the whole time.
T: Ah, yes. I’ve never actually met your parents myself, so I don’t really know what they were like.

Miki Nakayama: Thank you for inviting me to this gathering today. I was told to speak in modern Japanese as much as possible, but I intend to speak to the best of my ability using the language I know.

My name is Miki Nakayama.
As you may recall, I am the person who was known as the founder of what is called Tenrikyo.

Back then, it was the late Edo period—the end of the feudal era. Society was still bound by the class system known as “samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants.” People’s free will had no place in that system; trapped by class distinctions and gender discrimination, they often lacked even enough to eat and were never told the purpose of their lives. It was an era in which people lived in a suffocating sense of confinement, bound by that very system.

I was born in that era. I came from a modest farming family—though ours was somewhat larger than average—but still, a farming family is a farming family. As a wife and mother in my husband’s family, I worked hard to lead an ordinary, unremarkable life.

But deep in my heart, I always lived with the thought that, together with God, all people should let their individuality and unique brilliance shine, join hands, and work together to create a happy world that pleases God.

So, rather than simply finding happiness within my marriage, my heart was troubled by the fact that even in the world of farmers, there were village headmen and those who owned their own fields, while there were also many poor people—such as tenant farmers, known as “water-drinking peasants”—who spent their entire lives tilling other people’s fields, devoid of hope or purpose, driven solely by the need to eat, or worse, unable even to secure enough food, and living in constant hunger.

I believe it was around the time I turned forty when a terrible famine struck, and many tenant farmers—so many people—starved to death one after another. Even though I went there hoping to help them in some way, there was nothing I could do with the limited power I had.

Whenever I saw them, I would wonder why such natural disasters occur, and why—even though there was more than enough to eat in some places—these people had to starve to death. I felt such deep sorrow that tears would stream down my face.

I resolved to live alongside them rather than with the wealthy few. I believed that even if they possessed nothing, even if they were starving, as long as there were young children there, the lively laughter of women rippling through the air, and the energetic figures of men at work, people could live happily in this world no matter what.

So, I decided to convey to everyone the voice of God—a voice that only I could hear—into the hearts of the people. And even without material possessions, I would live with my heart set single-mindedly on God. By creating such a society—one that fosters feelings of happiness within people’s hearts—I believed, in my own way, that this was the path to transforming this earth into a wonderful earthly paradise, free from suffering and joy, and pleasing to God.

From Miki Nakayama, *The Spirit of a Female Opinion Leader*
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[Miki Nakayama (1798–1887)]
Born in a rural village in Nara Prefecture during the late Edo period. She led an ordinary life as a farmer’s wife, but one day she experienced a divine possession, during which a deity calling himself the “Heavenly General” declared, “This estate, along with the entire family, shall be bestowed upon Me as a shrine.” She subsequently distributed all her possessions to the poor, plunging herself into a life of abject poverty, yet she continued to convey the words of the deity, preaching her teachings in simple language that anyone could understand. As people who heard her teachings were healed of their illnesses one after another, the number of followers grew, and eventually this developed into Tenrikyo.
He is revered by his followers as “Oya-sama” (Parent). He referred to God as “Oyagami-sama” (Parent God) and taught the concept of “a cheerful life,” explaining that God created this world because He wished to see people living cheerfully in it.
He is said to be a spiritual being from the Brahma Realm.
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