, also known as , is a religion founded in the 1890s by Deguchi Nao (1836–1918) and Deguchi Onisaburō (1871–1948). Oomoto is typically categorized as a Shinto-based Japanese new religion. The spiritual leaders of the movement have always been women within the Deguchi family, along with Onisaburō as its founding seishi (spiritual teacher). Since 2001, the movement has been guided by its fifth leader, Kurenai Deguchi.
Oomoto's administrative headquarters is in Kameoka, Kyoto (Onisaburo Deguchi's hometown), and its spiritual headquarters is in Ayabe, Kyoto (Nao Deguchi's hometown). Uniquely among Japanese religions, Oomoto makes extensive use of the constructed language Esperanto to promote itself as a world religion. Oomoto has historically engaged in extensive interfaith dialogue with religions such as the Baháʼí Faith, Christianity, and Islam, since a key tenet of Oomoto is that all religions come from the same source (in Japanese: ).
After World War II, Oomoto was fully legalized as a registered religious organization. Various other religions have also been founded by former followers of Oomoto, most notably Seicho-No-Ie and the Church of World Messianity.
History In 1892, Deguchi Nao, a housewife from the town of Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture, declared that she had a "spirit dream" during the Japanese New Year. She became possessed (kamigakari) by Ushitora no Konjin (艮の金神) and started to transmit the kami's words. According to the official Oomoto biography of Deguchi, she came from a family which had long been in poverty, and had pawned nearly all of her possessions to feed her children and invalid husband. After 1895, and with a growing number of followers, Deguchi Nao briefly affiliated herself with the Konkōkyō religion until 1897, since she did not yet have government approval for her religious movement.
In 1898, Deguchi Nao met Ueda Kisaburō, who had previous studies in kamigakari (spirit possession). In 1899, they established the Kinmeikai together, which became the Kinmei Reigakkai later in the same year. In 1900, Kisaburō married Nao's fifth daughter Sumiko and adopted the name Deguchi Onisaburō. Oomoto was thus established based on Nao's automatic writings (Ofudesaki) and Onisaburō's spiritual techniques.
Since 1908, the group has taken diverse names — Dai Nihon Shūseikai (大日本修齋會), Taihonkyō (1913), and Kōdō Ōmoto (皇道大本) (1916). Later, the movement changed from Kōdō Ōmoto ("great origin of the imperial way") to just Ōmoto (大本, "great origin") and formed the Shōwa Seinenkai in 1929 and the Shōwa Shinseikai (昭和神聖会) in 1934.
, a teacher at , attracted various intellectuals and high-ranking military officials to the movement in 1916. By 1920, the group had their own newspaper, the Taishō nichinichi shinbun (大正日日新聞), and started to expand overseas. Much of its popularity derived from a method of inducing spirit possession called chinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神), which was most widely practiced from 1916 to 1921. Following a police crackdown, Onisaburō banned chinkon kishin in 1923. Today, in present-day Oomoto, only the chinkon (鎮魂) aspect is practiced as a form of meditation, but not the kishin (帰神) aspect of spirit possession.
Alarmed by the popularity of Oomoto, the Imperial Japanese government, which promoted kokutai, State Shinto, and reverence for the emperor, condemned the sect for worshipping Ookunitokotachi above Amaterasu, the sun goddess from whom the Emperor of Japan claimed descent.James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 469 This led to two major incidents when Oomoto was persecuted under the lèse-majesté law, the , and the Public Security Preservation Law of 1925. In 1921, the first resulted in the Oomoto headquarters being destroyed, and Onisaburo and a few of his followers were imprisoned.
From 1925 until 1933, Oomoto maintained a mission in Paris. From there, missionaries travelled throughout Europe, spreading the word that Onisaburo Deguchi was a Messiah or Maitreya who would unify the world.
Connections with nationalism Then in 1920 Oomoto bought a daily newspaper company and publicized a prophecy and warning of war, calamity, and social reform. As a result, Onisaburo and two executives of Oomoto were arrested and charged with lèse-majesté and violation of the Newspaper Law, and were jailed in February 1921. After being detained for 126 days, Onisaburo was released from prison in June 1921 and returned to Oomoto's headquarter in Ayabe. These events are called the First Oomoto Incident.
In March 1920, the Ōmoto-affiliated magazine Shinrei published an edition of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Japanese for the first time.
In 1924, retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the Black Dragon Society invited Onisaburo to embark on a journey to Mongolia, to plant a utopian colony on the Mongolian steppe. Onisaburo led a group of Oomoto disciples, including Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. They were captured by the forces of Chinese warlord Zhang Zuolin, but were released upon realizing they were Japanese nationals. After returning to Japan, Onisaburo established the secular organization Jinrui Aizenkai (人類愛善会), also known as Universal Love and Brotherhood (ULBA), to promote universal brotherhood and world peace. Religious organizations from around the world, including the Baháʼí Faith, Cao Dai, Red Swastika Society, and Universal White Brotherhood, joined this movement.
In 1935, the Second Oomoto Incident again left its headquarters in ruins and its leaders in prison. This incident was carried out far more intensively than the previous one in 1921, as the Japanese government sought to completely eradicate all traces of Oomoto shrines and materials. Oomoto was effectively outlawed until the end of World War II. With the Second Oomoto Incident, Oomoto became the first religious organization to be prosecuted under the Public Security Preservation Law of 1925.
After 1945 After World War II, Oomoto reappeared as Aizen-en (愛善苑), a movement dedicated to achieve world peace which was led by Onisaburo Deguchi's eldest grandson Yasuaki Deguchi (出口和明). It was registered in 1946 under the Religious Corporations Ordinance. Yasuaki Deguchi considered Onisaburo rather than Nao to be the main founder of the religion, and thus used Onisaburo's Reikai Monogatari as its main scripture.
In 1949, Oomoto joined the World Federalist Movement and the World Peace campaign. In 1952, the group returned to its older name, becoming the religious corporation Oomoto under the Religious Corporations Law. Since then, Oomoto has opened various international branches, including Oomoto do Brasil (headquartered in Jandira, São Paulo, Brazil).
Spiritual leadership
Oomoto's spiritual leaders, all of whom belong to the Deguchi () family, are:
Main Founder (active 1892–1918): Nao Deguchi (; 1837–1918); also referred to as the Co-Founder (active 1898–1948): Onisaburo Deguchi (; 1871–1948); also referred to as the Second Spiritual Leader: Sumi Deguchi (出口すみ子; 1883–1952), Onisaburo's wife Third Spiritual Leader: Naohi Deguchi (出口直日; 1902–1990), Onisaburo's eldest daughter Alternate Spiritual Leader: Hidemaru Deguchi (出口日出麿) (1897–1991), husband of Naohi Deguchi; also referred to as the Fourth Spiritual Leader: Kiyoko Deguchi (出口聖子; 1935–2001), Naohi's third daughter Fifth Spiritual Leader: Kurenai Deguchi (; 1956–present), Kiyoko's niece, who has served as Fifth Spiritual Leader of Oomoto since 29 April 2001
Oomoto's spiritual headquarters, called Baishō-en (), is in Ayabe, Kyoto, due to its association with Nao Deguchi's founding of the religion in Ayabe. Baisho-en is known for the shintaizan Mount Hongū, as well as a garden centered around an artificial lake called (). However, its administrative headquarters, called Ten'on-kyō (), is in Kameoka, Kyoto. Oomoto also has a mission center, called Tōkō-en (), in Taitō, Tokyo.
Scriptures
The two main scriptures (basic kyōten 根本教典) used in Oomoto are: Oomoto Shin'yu (大本神諭, 277 sections), composed during 1892–1918 (originally dictated by Nao Deguchi as the Ofudesaki; reinterpreted and edited by Onisaburo Deguchi to become the Oomoto Shin'yu) Reikai Monogatari (霊界物語, 81 sections), composed during 1921–1934 (dictated by Onisaburo Deguchi)
Of the two, the Reikai Monogatari is by far the most commonly consulted and used scripture in present-day Oomoto.
Next in importance are two scriptures (kyōten 教典) composed by Onisaburo Deguchi during the first decade of the 20th century, namely () and ().
There are also various other less commonly used texts, such as Izunome Shin'yu (伊都能売神諭, 37 volumes, composed during 1918–1919), and the Three Mirrors or San Kagami (三鏡, 844 chapters total) by Onisaburo Deguchi, which consists of the Water Mirror (水鏡, 249 chapters), Moon Mirror (月鏡, 212 chapters), and Jade Mirror (玉鏡, 383 chapters).
Sacred sites
Oomoto has numerous sacred sites, some of which are:
Kutsujima (沓島; pronounced Meshima in Oomoto) and Kanmurijima (冠島; proounced Oshima in Oomoto) are the two islands considered sacred to Ushitora no Konjin (艮の金神). Kamishima (神島; also known outside of the Oomoto religion as Ueshima 上島) off the coast of Takasago, Hyogo Takakuma-yama (高熊山) (354.9 metres) in Anao (穴太), Kameoka, Kyoto; Onisaburo Deguchi performed spiritual training for one week in a cave on the mountain during March 1–7, 1898. Mount Hongū (本宮山) (92 metres) (also known as Tsuruyama 鶴山 or Maruyama 丸山) in Ayabe, located on the grounds of Baishō-en (梅松苑) Misen-zan (弥仙山) (664 metres) in Ayabe, where Nao Deguchi secluded herself in 1901 Hachibuse-yama (鉢伏山) (1,221 metres) in Kami, Mikata District, Hyōgo, climbed by Onisaburo Deguchi just after World War II Ashiwake-yama (芦別山) (1,727 metres) in the Yūbari Mountains in Hokkaido, where the kami Kuni-no-Tokotachi-no-Mikoto (国常立尊) resides. Miyabaru-yama (宮原山), a mountain on Kikaijima (or Kikaigashima) in Kagoshima Prefecture, where the kami Toyokumonu-no-Mikoto (豊雲野尊) resides. The Kumayama ruins on Kumayama (熊山) (508 metres), a mountain in eastern Okayama
Festivals Four major are held for each of the four seasons.
, February 3, Ayabe , May 5, Ayabe , August 7 (traditionally the 12th day of 7th lunar month), Kameoka , or the Foundress' Festival, November 6, Ayabe
Art Oomoto and its adherents promote Japanese arts and culture, such as Noh theater, calligraphy, ceramics, and the tea ceremony. According to Onisaburo Deguchi, . This perspective was also shared by Oomoto follower Mokichi Okada, who founded both the Church of World Messianity and the MOA Museum of Art in Atami.
Use of Esperanto
The constructed language Esperanto plays a major role in the Oomoto religion. Starting from the early 1920s, the religion has published a large amount of literature in Esperanto. Onisaburo Deguchi reportedly introduced Esperanto back when he had interfaith dialogues with the Baháʼí Faith in 1921. Many Oomoto facilities in Kameoka, Kyoto have multilingual signs in Japanese and Esperanto. Today, Oomoto continues to publish numerous books, periodicals, pamphlets, and websites in Esperanto; some materials (translation of Japanese texts, etc.) are actually more extensive in Esperanto than in English.
The creator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof, is revered in Oomoto as a kami. The Oomoto affirmation of Zamenhof's enshrinement as a kami is stated, in Esperanto, as follows:
The text above as translated into English is:
...[T]he spirit of Zamenhof even now continues to act as a missionary of the angelic kingdom; therefore, his spirit was deified in the Senrei-sha shrine.
Doctrine The , also known as the (), states that:
The original Japanese text of the is:
The fundamental ways to reach God are called the :
are:
. ('doctrine') is summarized in the 2018 book Oomoto no oshie ().
are:
A core Oomoto teaching is: