Honmichi (ほんみち) is a Tenrikyo-based Shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion) that became formally independent in 1925 under its founder, Ōnishi Aijirō, with the title, Kanrodainin no Ri (甘露台人の理, The Princple of the Living Kanrodai). [1] [2] Despite to the religion being derived from Tenrikyo with different interpretation of the doctrine such as Sanken Mimune (三軒三棟), [3] the religious structure still maintains the basic overall atmosphere from Tenrikyo. It was reorganized from the earlier Tenri Kenkyūkai (天理研究会, Tenrikyo Research Group), in which it was of a fragamentary nature. [4] It had 319,031 followers in 2022 according to the Reiwa 4 (2022) Religion Almanac published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The main scriptures used in Honmichi are two of the three main scriptures from Terikyo: Ofudesaki and Mikagura-uta. [5] The only main Tenrikyo scripture that is not accepted by the establishment is Osashizu written by the second spiritual leader of the original establishment, Iburi Izō.
Honmichi was a noticeable Japanese religion before World War II for its leader's active defiance against the Emperor of Japan. [6] It quickly re-established itself during the US Occupation of Japan. It is currently based in Takaishi, Osaka. [2]
Practices
It utilizes gagaku in its service. [7]
Further reading
- Forbes, Roy Tetsuo (2005). Schism, orthodoxy and heresy in the history of Tenrikyō : three case studies (Thesis). University of Hawai'i Department of Religion.
References
- ^ Bocking, Brian (1996). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Milton Park: Routledge. p. 55. ISBN 978-1138979079.
- ^ a b Staemmler, Birgit; Dehn, Ulrich M., eds. (2011). Establishing the Revolutionary: An Introduction to New Religions in Japan. Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 323. ISBN 978-3643901521.
- ^ Schism, orthodoxy and heresy in the history of Tenrikyō : three case studies, Pg. 133
- ^ Schism, orthodoxy and heresy in the history of Tenrikyō : three case studies, Pg. 3
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin, eds. (2002). "Honmichi [Original Way]". Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. p. 606. ISBN 1-57607-223-1.
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^ Yamashita, Akiko (1998).
"Eschatology of Japanese New and New New Religions from Tenri-kyo to Kofuku no Kagaku". Inter-religio: a network of Christian organizations for interreligious encounter in East Asia. 33 (Summer): 10.
Nevertheless, as MURAKAMI Shigeyoshi points out, "Honmichi is the rare religious group that held a doctrine of denial of the Emperor despite arising from the indigenous Japanese spiritual climate."
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^ Buijs-Drăgușin, Cornelia (January 2013). "#6: Gagaku and Tenrikyo".
Liturgical Music in a New Japanese Religion : the Formation, Survival and Repositioning of Tenrikyo through Music (M. Mus. thesis). p. 193.
The new religion Honmichi, which splintered from Tenrikyō, also uses gagaku in its service; its followers attempted to incorporate gagaku into their paraliturgical festivities , but failed.