Tenrikyō

A Japanese faith of a loving parent-God calling humanity to the Joyous Life.

1838 CE · Japan · East Asian

Tenrikyō arose from the revelations of Nakayama Miki, revered as Oyasama, who taught that God the Parent desires all people to live the "Joyous Life" by clearing the mind of selfish "dust." Emerging from a Shintō and Buddhist background, it centers on joyful service (hinokishin), a sacred dance, and pilgrimage to the Jiba, held to be humanity's point of origin.

Key figures

• Nakayama Miki (Oyasama)
• God the Parent (Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto)

Texts

• Ofudesaki
• Mikagura-uta

Beliefs

• God the Parent created and sustains all
• The "Joyous Life" as human purpose
• Sweeping away the "dust" of the mind

Rituals

• The sacred Service dance
• Pilgrimage to the Jiba
• Healing through hinokishin service

Grew from

• Shintō
• Buddhism

Connections in the atlas

• The Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush)
• Nakayama Miki
• The Japanese (Yamato)