Nakayama Miki

Nakayama Miki (1798-1887) is a Japanese woman noted for founding Tenrikyo. Tenrikyo is, arguably, the largest current religion to have a woman founder. The official Tenrikyo biography essentially states she was a holy woman born to a wealthy farming family in what is now Nara prefecture. She was said to be a very devout who wished to be a nun, but was forced into a basically difficult marriage which she bore with what they deem admirable patience and virtue. In 1838, at the age of 40, the Tenrikyo believe she became a medium for God, the religion is essentially monotheist, as a result of a traditional ceremony. This being told her "I am the general of heaven. I am the true and original God. - I have descended from heaven to save all human beings, and I want Miki to be the shrine of God." She stated its name was Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, essentially "God the Parent."(this is what they sometimes call it in Englishhttp://www.tenrikyo.or.jp/en/welcom/welcom.html, but "Lord of Divine Wisdom" might be a more direct translation. However "God the Parent" will be used in this article to highlight certain aspects of her thinking.) After the death of her husband she was claimed to have miraculous healing and prophetic powers which served their mission. This led her to choose a life of poverty giving away what she could to the less fortunate and founding her own religion. From 1866-1882 she wrote what she deeemed the revelations of "God the Parent" and believed herself to be its mouthpiece and shrine. "God the Parent" was apparently deemed to be "in her", but she was apparently seen as separate from it. She was therefore maybe more claiming to have a special communion with "God the Parent" rather than of being God the Parent. She encouraged a life of charity and designed various spiritual dances.

Related Topics:
1798 - 1887 - Tenrikyo - Nara - 1838 - Tenri-O-no-Mikoto - 1866 - 1882

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Information on her from non-Tenri sources seems to be slightly difficult to find. Her early life being sketchy is perhaps not unusual for an early nineteenth century Japanese farmer's daughter. Still some of these details seem more or less accurate. Although some feel that rather then have any divine inspiration she took inspiration from an amalgam of Buddhism, Shinto, and Japanese shamanism to create a religion that could satisfy the emotional needs of a forty year old Japanese woman in a troubled marriage. Hence she stated God had the ungendered name "God the Parent", pronounced gender equality, and celebrated childbirth. Also that some of her lifestyle was simply like that of the Buddhist nun she had once wanted to become. Tenrikyo insists that her beliefs were totally original and her thinking uniquely inspired.

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In a sense it seems they both might be correct. Japan had not yet opened to the West in 1838 yet her religion emphasized monotheism and women's rights. At the same time it does have enough similarity to previous religions that it was deemed a sect of Shintoism in 1908. Therefore her ideas are kind of a mixture of old and unique. That uniqueness requiring a divine inspiration would perhaps be the main disagreement.

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