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The Church of World Messianity (), abbreviated COWM, is a
Japanese new religion Japanese new religions are new religious movements established in Japan. In Japanese, they are called or . Japanese scholars classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as "new religions"; thus, the term refe ...
founded in 1935 by
Mokichi Okada Mokichi Okada (岡田茂吉 ''Okada Mokichi''; 23 December 1882 – 10 February 1955) was the founder of the World Church of Messiah, that later became the Church of World Меssianity. He also acted as the spiritual leader of Shumei and the Johr ...
. Its headquarters in
Atami, Shizuoka is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households
is called the ().


History

In 1926, Okada claimed to have received a divine
revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
that empowered him to be a channel of God's Healing Light (''
johrei , spelled by Shumei groups'','' is a type of energy healing. It was introduced in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi Okada, Meishu-sama. Practitioners channel light towards patients by holding up the palms of their hands towards the recipient's b ...
'') to purify the spiritual realm to remove the spiritual causes of illness, poverty, and strife from the world and inaugurate a new
Messianic Age In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age () is the future eternal period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil (through mankind's own terms). Many believe that there will be s ...
. He went on to teach Johrei to his followers to allow them to achieve Messianity and spread the teachings across the world. Members are given permission to channel Johrei by wearing an O-Hikari pendant containing a copy of one of Mokichi Okada's calligraphies. He is often referred to as "Meishu-Sama" (Lord of Light) by his followers. Okada's teaching is represented by a number of his works, such as Foundation of Paradise and ''Johrei: Divine Light of Salvation'', which has been edited and translated by the Society of Johrei, an offshoot of COWM.
Yoshikazu Okada Yoshikazu is a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name. Written forms Yoshikazu can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義一, "justice, 1" *義和, "justice, harmony" *吉一, "good luck ...
, the founder of the Mahikari religion, was originally a follower of Sekai Kyūsei Kyō (Church of World Messianity).


Beliefs and practices

There are three pillars of the religion, of which the key concept is
Johrei , spelled by Shumei groups'','' is a type of energy healing. It was introduced in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi Okada, Meishu-sama. Practitioners channel light towards patients by holding up the palms of their hands towards the recipient's b ...
, claimed to be a method of channeling divine light into the body of another for the purposes of
healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells ...
. Other formal practices include the Art of Nature which includes nature farming, and the Art of Beauty which includes practices such as
Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The origin of ikebana can be traced back to the ancient Japanese custom of erecting Evergreen, evergreen trees and decorating them with flowers as yorishiro () to invite the go ...
(Japanese flower arranging). The name for God Sekai Kyūseikyō is . According to anthropologist of religion Winston Davis, Mahikari groups are comparable to the Church of World Messianity and follow basically the same healing ritual.


Demographics

The movement currently claims 800,000 followers, including many in Brazil. , also known as ''Shumei'', also follows the teachings of Okada and is considered a descendant of the church by CFAR.


In Brazil

Japanese Brazilians are Brazilians, Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese people, Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry. Japanese immigration to Brazil peaked between 1908 and 1960 ...
are the largest concentration of people of Japanese descent outside Japan. According to Hideaki Matsuoka of the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, in a presentation at the Summer 2000 Asian Studies Conference Japan entitled "Messianity Makes the Person Useful: Describing Differences in a Japanese Religion in Brazil," Japanese new religions have propagated in Brazil since the 1930s and now have at least a million non-Japanese Brazilian followers. Four major religions ranked by the number of followers are
Seicho-no-Ie is a syncretic, monotheistic, New Thought Japanese new religion that has spread since the end of World War II in Asia. It emphasizes gratitude for nature, the family, ancestors and, above all, religious faith in one universal God. Seichō ...
, Messianity,
Sukyo Mahikari Sukyo Mahikari (Japanese: 崇教眞光, ''Sūkyō Mahikari''; "Sukyo" means universal principles and " Mahikari" means True Light) is a Japanese new religion (''shinshūkyō''). It is one of the Mahikari movement religions and has centers in more ...
, and
PL Kyodan , is a Japanese (new religious movement) founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki (:ja:御木徳一, 御木徳一; 1871–1938), who was a priest in the Ōbaku sect of Zen Buddhism. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world ...
. In Brazil, Guarapiranga is the sacred place of the Church of World Messianity ().


Museums

The Church of World Messianity operates two art museums. * in Shinsenkyō ( 神仙郷), founded in 1952 * in Zuiunkyō (瑞雲郷), founded in 1982
Shinji Shumeikai (often abbreviated to Shumei) is an international spiritual fellowship and organization founded in 1970 by . Prior to founding the organization, she was president of the Shumei Church, the largest internal association of the , and founded the org ...
(also known simply as Shumei), a splinter organization of the Church of World Messianity, operates the
Miho Museum The Miho Museum () is located southeast of Kyoto, Japan, in the Shigaraki neighborhood of the city of Kōka, in Shiga Prefecture. It is also the headquarters of the Shinji Shumeikai, a new religious group founded by Mihoko Koyama. History ...
in
Kōka, Shiga Kōka "ninja house" Shigaraki ware ceramics is a city in southern Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 89,619 in 36708 households and a population density of 190 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...
. The museum also serves as the organization's headquarters.


Organizations

The Church of World Messianity consists of a coalition of three organizations: *Sekai Kyūseikyō Izunome Kyōdan 世界救世教いづのめ教団 (or "Izunome") *Sekai Kyūseikyō Tōhō no Hikari Kyōdan 世界救世教東方之光教団 (or "Tōhō no Hikari") *Sekai Kyūseikyō Su no Hikari Kyōdan 世界救世教主之光教団 (or "Su no Hikari") There are also various schisms and splinter organizations, such as Sukui no Hikari Kyōdan ( 救いの光教団), established in 1972.


Further reading

* Okada, Mokichi 岡田茂吉. 1987. ''Shinji no kenkō'' 神示の健康 ealth Demonstrated by God n/a: Sekai Kyūseikyō. * Okada, Mokichi 岡田茂吉. 1991. ''Tengoku no ishizue'' 天国の礎 oundation of Paradise n/a: Sekai Kyūseikyō. (6 volumes) ** Volumes 1 and 2: ''Religion'' 宗教 (2 volumes) ** Volumes 3 and 4: ''
Jōrei , spelled by Shinji Shumeikai, Shumei groups'','' is a type of energy healing. It was introduced in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi Okada, Meishu-sama. Practitioners channel light towards patients by holding up the palms of their hands towards t ...
'' 浄霊 (2 volumes) ** Volume 5: ''Medicine'' 芸術 ** Volume 6: ''Society and Nature Farming'' 社会・救世自然農法


References

* Matsuoka, Hideaki. University of California, Berkeley, "Messianity Makes the Person Useful: Describing Differences in a Japanese Religion in Brazil", presented at the Summer 2000 Asian Studies Conference Japan. * Wilson, Andrew, ed. (1991). ''World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts'' (). New York, NY: Paragon House Publishers. Contains over 4,000 scriptural passages from 268 sacred texts and 55 oral traditions gathered by Wilson, a follower of
Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Moon Yong-myeong; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the ...
. The material is organized under 145 themes common to the texts and traditions
This site
contains the complete text of the printed book.


External links


Sekai Kyusei Kyo IZUNOME

Miroku Association USA

Izunome Association Canada

Igreja Messianica Mundial do Brasil

Guarapiranga Sacred Grounds - Sao Paulo, Brazil

Shumei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of World Messianity Religious organizations based in Japan Japanese new religions Shinto new religious movements Religious organizations established in 1935 1935 establishments in Japan Organizations based in Shizuoka Prefecture Atami, Shizuoka Messianism Religions derived from Oomoto