Ōnishi Aijirō (大西愛治郎, August 26, 1881 – November 29, 1958) was a Japanese religious leader known as the founder of

Honmichi (also 本道 or 天理本道, ) is a Tenrikyo-based ''shinshūkyō'' (Japanese new religion). Honmichi became formally independent in 1925 under its founder, Ōnishi Aijirō (大西愛治郎), also known by the title . Despite the religion being ...

, a

Tenrikyo is a Japanese new religion which is neither strictly monotheistic nor pantheistic, originating from the teachings of a 19th-century woman named Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as "Oyasama". Followers of Tenrikyo believe that God of Orig ...

-based ''

Shinshūkyō 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 ...

'' (Japanese new religion). Honmichi followers also refer to him as the .

Life

Ōnishi Aijirō was born on August 26, 1881 in

Uda, Nara 270px, Uda City Hall is a city located in northeastern Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 26,814 in 12647 households, and a population density of 110 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Uda i ...

as the youngest child of Kishioka Kichijirō (岸岡吉次郎) and Kisa (キサ). His grandfather was Eijirō. Prior to his divine revelation in 1913, Aijirō served a

missionary. From 1907 to 1914, he was the head minister of the in Yamaguchi. He was poorly funded and suffered from many financial difficulties, including crippling debts. On July 15, 1913, Ōnishi Aijirō, who was in Yamaguchi at the time, went into trance with his family. He proclaimed himself as the living ''

kanrodai The ('stand for the heavenly dew', or ) is a sacred entity in Tenrikyo and Tenrikyo-derived Japanese new religions, including (but not limited to) Honmichi, Honbushin, Kami Ichijokyo, Tenri Sanrinkō, and Daehan Cheolligyo. Tenrikyo, as well as a ...

'' with the words, "This is where the Kanrodai stands" (此処は甘露台や). Ōnishi then returned to Nara Prefecture and became a worker at a temporary hospital (set up to care for patients of the World War I typhoid fever and influenza pandemics) in Uda in 1917, a tax officer in Nara Prefecture in 1919, and an elementary school teacher in 1920. In June 1920, Aijirō gained his first follower, Tsutsumi Torakichi, an of the who had read Aijirō's letters. He attracted more followers in 1923, many of whom were impoverished Tenrikyo ministers and officials. This was seen as a threat to Tenrikyo church authority, which excommunicated Aijirō with the revocation of his religious instructor's license on February 2, 1924. In January 1925, Ōnishi Aijirō officially established the , which was later renamed ''Honmichi'' in 1950. In 1928, he was arrested and charged with ''

lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...

'' but was acquitted by reason of insanity in 1930 after a psychiatric evaluation. In 1936, he renamed his religious organization as . In 1938, he was arrested again for ''lèse-majesté'' and for violating the

Peace Preservation Law The was a Japanese law enacted on April 22, 1925, with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress alleged socialists and communists. In addition to criminalizing forming an association with the aim of altering the ...

, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was acquitted of all charges after World War II. In 1950, he renamed his organization as ''Honmichi''.

Family

Ōnishi Aijirō and his wife Ōnishi To'o (トヲ) had several children, including: *Yoshinobu (born 1907) *Aiko (アイ子; born January 1910) *Masanori (正憲; born December 1912). Masanori's eldest son was Motooki (元興), and his second son was Masataka (正隆). *Tama (玉; born 1916, died 1969) Ōnishi Aijirō's grandson, Yasuhiko (泰彦), became the Honmichi ''kanrodai'' after Aijirō's death. Yasuhiko has over 15 siblings. Aijirō claimed that his children Masanori (正憲), Yoshinobu (愛信), and Aiko (アイ子) were the reincarnations (再生, ''saisei'') of

Iburi Izō was the second spiritual leader of the Tenrikyo religion. He is also known as the ''Honseki'' (本席, ). After the death of Nakayama Miki (Oyasama) in 1887, he was the spiritual leader while Oyasama's son Nakayama Shinnosuke became the admini ...

and Nakayama Miki's children Shūji ( 秀司) and Kokan (こかん), respectively. He also claimed that his second daughter Tama (玉) was the reincarnation of

Nakayama Miki was a nineteenth-century Japanese farmer and religious leader. She is the primary figure of the Japanese new religion Tenrikyo. Tenrikyo followers, who refer to her as Oyasama (おやさま or 親様), believe that she was settled in the Shrine ...

''Karimono no hyō''

In a chart published by the Honmichi organization called the , the various aspects of God's providence are interpreted as being incarnated in Nakayama Miki and her family members / disciples, who are then reincarnated as members of the Ōnishi family: *Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Kokan (中山こかん) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Aiko (大西アイ子) (大西荍/受子) *Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shuji ( 中山秀司) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Yoshinobu (大西愛信) *Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Tamae ( 中山たまへ), the granddaughter of Nakayama Miki and wife of Nakayama Shinnosuke *Kashikone-no-Mikoto = Iburi Masae (飯降政甚), the second daughter of

– reincarnated as Ōnishi Masataka (大西正隆) *Taishokuten-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Matsue (中山まつゑ) *Ōtonobe-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shinjirō (中山新治朗) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Motooki (大西元興) *Izanagi-no-Mikoto = Maegawa Kikutarō (前川菊太朗) *Izanami-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Miki – reincarnated as Ōnishi Tama (大西玉) File:Onishi Yoshinobu - Showa 7.jpg, Ōnishi Yoshinobu (大西愛信) in 1932 File:Onishi Too - Showa 12.jpg, Ōnishi To'o (大西トヲ) in 1937

Death and legacy

In 1958, Ōnishi Aijirō died. Aijirō's grandson, , took over as the leader in 1960 and was viewed as Aijirō's reincarnation, and hence as the new ''

''. Ōnishi Aijirō was buried at Honmichi's Take-no-uchi Cemetery (竹ノ内墓地) in Taima (當麻),

Katsuragi, Nara file:Katsuragi city-office Taima.jpg, 280px, Katsuragi City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,809 in 15842 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. ...

. In 1962, , led by Aijirō's daughter

Ōnishi Tama Ōnishi Tama (大西玉, November 19, 1916 – September 1, 1969) was a Japanese religious leader known as the founder of Honbushin, a Tenrikyo-based (Japanese new religion). She was the daughter of Ōnishi Aijirō, who had founded the Ho ...

(大西玉; d. 1969) (whom Aijirō and Honbushin followers claim was the reincarnation of

), separated from Honmichi. Honmichi and Honbushin both consider themselves to be the legitimate successors to Ōnishi Aijirō's original religious movement.

Notes

References