Zenrinkyō(善隣教), also known as Zenrinkai(善隣会), is a Shinto-based Shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion) founded in 1947. It was founded by Rikihisa Tatsusai as Tenchi Kōdō Zenrinkai, and is headquartered in Fukuoka Prefecture. Zenrinkyō was registered as a legal religious corporation under the Shūkyō Hōjinrei ordinance in 1948. In 1994, the group had a claimed nominal membership of 450,000 under the leader Rikihisa Ryūseki.

Its headquarters is located just to the east of Haruda Station in Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

History

Initially, Rikihisa Tatsusai proselytized the faith of the Jikkōkyō-affiliated Rikihisa Kyōkai(力久教会), the religious organization of his father, Rikihisa Tatsusaburo(力久辰三郎), who worked as a religious figure and a spiritual medium for police and government works, however died on 20 October 1926.

Rikihisa Tatsusai

Like in many shinshūkyō, the position of head of a religion organization passes on from a parent to his or her child who is related by blood. He settled in Seoul (then called Keijō in Japanese) from September 1929 to April 1938, for the purpose of proselytization such as running the aforementioned religious facility of his father's legacy in Asahi-machi(旭町), working as a spiritual medium for police and government works like his father, and especially his striving for personal spiritual improvement that became his most important experience, the four-year training in a cave situated deep in Bukhansan. Any landmarks for pilgrimage and religious holy grounds are called oyukiba(御行場) in the religious tradition. The cave in question is in the southwestern part of today's Bukhansan National Park and is called the Cave of Bats by today's Zenrinkyō followers. The other two oyukiba are Elephant Rock(象の岩, zō no iwa) and Dragon Rock(龍の岩, ryū no iwa) that are also located in the South Korean national park in question.

Spread to South Korea

The religion that is now Zenrinkyō began proselytizing in South Korea after Rikihisa Tatsusai's visit to Seoul on 20 May 1971. The current address of the South Korean branch church is 6, Segeomjeong-ro 4-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (Hongje-dong) on the third floor.

  • The building that houses the South Korean branch of Zenrinkyō
  • The nameplate of the South Korean branch of Zenrinkyō

List of religious scriptures

Most of the scriptures are listed in Japan's Religious Information Resource Center.

  • The Story of the Founder(教祖伝, Kyōsoden), first published on 20 October 1976 (Showa 51), written by Komiya Akira(小宮 章)
  • Holy Scripture: the Garden of Zenrin(［聖経］善隣の園, Seikyō Zenrin no Sono)
  • Holy Scripture: the Book of Heaven(［聖経］天の巻, Seikyō Ama no Maki), first published on 20 May 1965 (Showa 40).
  • Holy Scripture: the Way of being towards God(［神典］神への道, Shinden Kami e no Michi)
  • The Reality of Destiny(運命の実態, Unmei no Jittai)
  • Miuta Thousand Poems(みうた千首, Miuta Senshu)

Notes

Further reading

  • Anderson, Richard W. (1992). (PDF). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 19 (4). Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture: 307–324. doi:. ISSN . JSTOR . Archived from on 2011-07-20.
  • Lee (이), Won-beom (원범); Nam (남), Chun-mo (춘모); Cho (조), Seong-yun (성윤); Hwang (황), In-gyu (인규); Park (박), Seung-gil (승길) (2006-03-06). . [Study on mutual acceptance of religions between Korea and Japan] (Report). Korea Research Memory. pp. 526–551.

External links

  • (in Japanese)

33°26′56.7″N 130°33′5.1″E/33.449083°N 130.551417°E/ 33.449083; 130.551417