Ōnishi Aijirō

Ōnishi Aijirō (大西 愛治郎, August 26, 1881 – November 29, 1958) was a Japanese religious leader known as the founder of Honmichi, a Tenrikyo-based Shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion).^[1][2] Honmichi followers also refer to him as the Kanrodainin no Ri (甘露台人の理, The Principle of the Living Kanrodai).

In this Japanese name, the surname is Ōnishi (大西).

Ōnishi Aijirō
大西 愛治郎
Ōnishi Aijirō with his wife To'o in October 1904 while he was a Tenrikyo missionary in Yamaguchi Prefecture
Title	Kanrodainin no Ri (甘露台人の理)
Personal life
Born	(1881-08-26)August 26, 1881 Uda, Nara
Died	November 29, 1958(1958-11-29) (aged 77) Takaishi, Osaka
Resting place	Take-no-uchi (竹ノ内), Taima (當麻), Katsuragi, Nara 34°30′37.5″N 135°41′57″E
Nationality	Japanese
Spouse	Ōnishi To'o (大西 トヲ)
Children	Ōnishi Tama (大西 玉)
Parents	Kishioka Kichijirō (岸岡 吉次郎) (father) Kishioka Kisa (岸岡 キサ) (mother)
Known for	Founding the Honmichi religion
Occupation	Religious leader
Relatives	Ōnishi Yasuhiko (大西 泰彦) (grandson)
Religious life
Religion	Honmichi

Life

Ōnishi Aijirō was born on August 26, 1881 in Uda, Nara as the youngest child of Kishioka Kichijirō (岸岡吉次郎) and Kisa (キサ).^[3] His grandfather was Eijirō.

Prior to his divine revelation in 1913, Aijirō served a Tenrikyo missionary. From 1907 to 1914, he was the head minister of the Yamaguchi Missionary Center (山口宣教所, Yamaguchi Senkyōsho) in Yamaguchi. He was poorly funded and suffered from many financial difficulties, including crippling debts.^[3]

On July 15, 1913, Ōnishi Aijirō, who was in Yamaguchi at the time, went into trance with his family. He proclaimed himself as the living kanrodai with the words, "This is where the Kanrodai stands" (此処は甘露台や).^[3]: 128

Ōnishi then returned to Nara Prefecture and became a worker at a temporary hospital (set up to care for patients of the World War I typhoid fever and influenza pandemics) in Uda in 1917, a tax officer in Nara Prefecture in 1919, and an elementary school teacher in 1920. In June 1920, Aijirō gained his first follower, Tsutsumi Torakichi, an official (役員, yakuin) of the Biwa Branch Church (琵琶支教会, Biwa Shikyōkai) who had read Aijirō's letters. He attracted more followers in 1923, many of whom were impoverished Tenrikyo ministers and officials. This was seen as a threat to Tenrikyo church authority, which excommunicated Aijirō with the revocation of his religious instructor's license on February 2, 1924. In January 1925, Ōnishi Aijirō officially established the Tenri Study Association (天理研究会, Tenri Kenkyūkai), which was later renamed Honmichi in 1950.^[3]

In 1928, he was arrested and charged with lèse-majesté but was acquitted by reason of insanity in 1930 after a psychiatric evaluation. In 1936, he renamed his religious organization as Tenri Honmichi (天理本道). In 1938, he was arrested again for lèse-majesté and for violating the Peace Preservation Law, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was acquitted of all charges after World War II. In 1950, he renamed his organization as Honmichi.^[3]

Family

The Ōnishi family in May 1926 (Taishō 15) shortly after the 1925 establishment of the Tenri Study Association (天理研究会, Tenri Kenkyūkai), from right to left: eldest daughter Aiko アイ子 (claimed to be the reincarnation of Nakayama Kokan), third daughter Kiyoko 清子, wife To'o トヲ, second daughter Tama 玉 (reincarnation of Nakayama Miki), Ōnishi Aijirō 甘露台大西愛治郎 (the Human Kanrodai), second son Masanori 正憲 (reincarnation of Iburi Izō), and eldest son Yoshinobu 愛信 (reincarnation of Nakayama Shūji).

Ōnishi Aijirō and his wife Ōnishi To'o (トヲ) had several children, including:^[3]

• Yoshinobu (born 1907)
• Aiko (アイ子; born January 1910)
• Masanori (正憲; born December 1912). Masanori's eldest son was Motooki (元興), and his second son was Masataka (正隆).
• Tama (玉; born 1916, died 1969)

Ōnishi Aijirō's grandson, Yasuhiko (泰彦), became the Honmichi kanrodai after Aijirō's death. Yasuhiko has over 15 siblings.^{[4][3]: 165}

Aijirō claimed that his children Masanori (正憲), Yoshinobu (愛信), and Aiko (アイ子) were the reincarnations (再生, saisei) of Iburi Izō and Nakayama Miki's children Shūji (秀司) and Kokan (こかん), respectively. He also claimed that his second daughter Tama (玉) was the reincarnation of Nakayama Miki.^[3]

Karimono no hyō

In a chart published by the Honmichi organization called the Karimono no hyō (借りものの表), the various aspects of God's providence are interpreted as being incarnated in Nakayama Miki and her family members / disciples, who are then reincarnated as members of the Ōnishi family:^[5]

• Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Kokan (中山こかん) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Aiko (大西アイ子) (大西荍/受^[a]子)
• Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shuji (中山秀司) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Yoshinobu (大西愛信)
• Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Tamae (中山たまへ), the granddaughter of Nakayama Miki and wife of Nakayama Shinnosuke
• Kashikone-no-Mikoto = Iburi Masae (飯降政甚), the second daughter of Iburi Izō^[6] – reincarnated as Ōnishi Masataka (大西正隆)
• Taishokuten-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Matsue (中山まつゑ)
• Ootonobe-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Shinjirō (中山新治朗) – reincarnated as Ōnishi Motooki (大西元興)
• Izanagi-no-Mikoto = Maegawa Kikutarō (前川菊太朗)
• Izanami-no-Mikoto = Nakayama Miki – reincarnated as Ōnishi Tama (大西玉)

• 
  Ōnishi Yoshinobu (大西愛信) in 1932
• 
  Ōnishi To'o (大西トヲ) in 1937

Death and legacy

In 1958, Ōnishi Aijirō died. Aijirō's grandson, Ōnishi Yasuhiko (大西泰彦), took over as the leader in 1960 and was viewed as Aijirō's reincarnation, and hence as the new kanrodai.^[7] Ōnishi Aijirō was buried at Honmichi's Take-no-uchi Cemetery (竹ノ内墓地) in Taima (當麻), Katsuragi, Nara.^[8]

In 1962, Honbushin (ほんぶしん), led by Aijirō's daughter Ōnishi Tama (大西玉; d. 1969) (whom Aijirō and Honbushin followers claim was the reincarnation of Nakayama Miki), separated from Honmichi.^[3] Honmichi and Honbushin both consider themselves to be the legitimate successors to Ōnishi Aijirō's original religious movement.

See also

• Ide Kuniko, a contemporaneous Tenrikyo heretic

Notes

1. 受 but with the 又 in lower half of the character replaced by 收