Perspectives on the Japanese new religion Tenrikyō: From global expansion to the development of a distinct “Tenri culture”

Abstract

Tenrikyō, one of Japan's oldest “new religions,” remains one of the archipelago's most fascinating, yet most understudied religious organizations within English-language scholarship. Since its founding in 1838, the group has undergone multiple radical transformations as it has negotiated its place within Japanese society and the fluctuating place of religion therein. Once a rural group of relative outcasts drawn by the healing powers of its foundress, the group became a vital arm of Japanese colonial expansion through missionary work as a Shinto sect in the decades after her death. Since the promulgation of the country's postwar constitution, the movement once again asserted its independence, refocused itself on public service and the teachings of its foundress, and has grown into a complex, transnational religious organization with multiple generations of followers across no fewer than 15 countries. This essay provides a brief overview of the movement's development with particular focus on its history of global expansion and the growth of its cultural institutions. It aims to provide a balanced introduction to the movement by critically reviewing sources and materials produced by non-members, members, scholars from Tenri University (part of Tenrikyō’s secular mission), and the movement's own institutions alike. It offers avenues for potential future research on the movement, paying special attention to diaspora, the formalization of its cultural identity, and its development beyond Japan's borders.