Konkokyo

Konkokyo (金光教), also Konkō-kyō, is a new religion of Japanese origin also regarded as a type of Sect Shinto. It is a syncretic, henotheistic and panentheistic religion, which worships God under the name of "Tenchi Kane No Kami", the Golden God of Heaven and Earth. Tenchi Kane No Kami is also referred to as Kami, or the Parent God.

The Founder

Bunjiro Kawate (1814-1883) founded Konkō-kyō in 1859. His childhood name was Genshichi, and he is also known as Akazawa Bunji. Born in the village of Urami in Bicchū Province (in present-day Okayama Prefecture) as the second son of the Kandori farming family. At age twelve, he was adopted into the Kawate household of the neighboring village of Ōtani, at which time he took the name Bunjirō. He worked assiduously for the prosperity and welfare of his family, and though he gained the respect of those around him, his family suffered a series of accidental deaths during house construction, and he feared that the deaths were the work of an evil spirit called Konjin. Bunjirō himself suffered a severe illness at the age of forty-two (in 1855), but while receiving magico-religious healing rituals, he experienced the sensation of divine healing, a religious experience that deepened his faith.

Further, Bunjirō's younger brother by birth, Kandori Shige'emon, became a Konjin-cult medium and faith healer in 1857, and Bunjirō took that as his own impetus to devote himself to Konjin. While now understanding the reasons for the Konjin deity's violence, Bunjirō also experienced the deity's compassion and began expounding on that theme. In response to a revelation from Konjin, Bunjirō gave up farming and devoted himself to proselytizing on the twenty-first day of the tenth month of 1859. He stated that Konjin was not an evil kami but the deity Tenchikane no Kami, the "world's parent kami and savior of humankind." Before long, the number of his converts grew, centered on a group of disciples called the deyashiro.

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, religious policies of the new government temporarily placed limits on the movement's proselytizing activities, but this provided an opportunity to develop the doctrinal aspects of Konkō faith in works such as the autobiographical Konkō Daijin oboegaki (Memoirs of Konkō Daijin). In his later years he compiled the Oshirasegoto oboechō (Record of Revelations). Konkō Daijin died October 10, 1883, at the age of seventy

Beliefs

In Konkokyo, everything is seen as being in profound interrelation with each other. God is not seen as distant or residing in heaven, but present within this world. The universe is perceived to be the body of the Parent God. Suffering is seen as being caused by individual disregard of the relationship between all things. Konkokyo's beliefs center around the betterment of human life in this world by gratitude, apologising, mutual help and prayer. In this way, everybody can join their hearts with God to become Ikigami, a living God. It is believed that after death, all beings return to God. The spirits of the deceased do not pass on to a heaven or a hell, but remain in this world, in unity with Tenchi Kane No Kami.

Konkō Daijin taught that one could receive the help of Konjin by "having faith in the kami out of a sincere mind" (jitsui teinei shinjin).

One of the characteristics of this religion is that its followers are not obligated nor required to pay any dues nor to make any donations.

There are about 1,700 Konkokyo churches in Japan, and there are about 450,000 adherents. There are Konkokyo churches or missions in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, and South Korea, but outside of Japan, the religion has only a limited number of followers.

Relationship to Shinto

As it was created based on Kojin, the itinerant kami of Onmyōdō (Yin-Yang divination), Konkokyo started deeply rooted in Shinto traditions. Unlike Tenrikyo, Konkokyo has never renounced this classification even after it was free to do so at the end of World War II. Today, Konko groups and followers rarely give much thought (if any) to Konkokyo's technical status as a Shinto Sect—indeed, many regard it more as an independent religion than a type of Shinto. However, the philosophy, practices, and beliefs of Konkokyo are noticeably similar to modern Shrine Shinto; therefore, there are many Konko followers who consider themselves Shinto.

References

* D.C.Holtom, "Konko Kyo: A Modern Japanese Monotheism", The Journal of Religion, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Jul., 1933), pp. 279-300
* JM Kitagawa, "On Understanding Japanese Religion", Princeton University Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0691102290

External links

* [http://www.konkokyo.or.jp/eng/index.html Konkokyo's web site in English]
* [http://www.konkofaith.org/index.html Konko Church of North America]
* [http://www.hawaii.edu/amst/textonly/grad_program.htm Graduate Program for American Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa] —Note that they are listed as a place to contact because they list a doctoral dissertation called "Konkokyo: A Japanese Religion in Hawai'i". Outside of that title there is no actual Konkokyo information on the site itself.
* [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/konkokyo.html Konkokyo at Religious Movements, University of Virginia]