History of Tenrikyo
[1] From the 1870s, Miki Nakayama and her followers were constantly being persecuted by local government authorities and from members of established religions for expressing their beliefs and performing the Service.
Tenrikyo could not apply as a completely independent religion because Japanese law during the Meiji period did not grant civil authorization to churches outside of the established traditions, which at the time were Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity.
[6] The first attempt to obtain civil authorization happened on April 29, 1885, when the followers filed a petition to the governor of Osaka for permission to form the Tenrikyo Church.
However, in 1892, Tenrikyo followers, led by Nakayama Shinnosuke, constructed a new cemetery on Mount Toyoda, and the ceremony for her reburial was held on December 13.
[11] The legal authorization removed the threat of suppression and allowed followers to seek permission to establish branch churches and to gain official recognition for missionary work.
12," which ordered strict and secretive surveillance over Tenrikyo Church Headquarters under the pretense of maintaining and strengthening the state polity of Japan.
Issues raised by authorities were the congregation of both men and women together (which could potentially lead to disgrace), the obstruction of medical treatment, and the alleged policy of enforced donations.
In 1902, Tenrikyo arranged its mission administration system in Japan, which divided the country into ten dioceses and appointed superintendents to supervise regional missionary activities.
This conference initiated a program of national edification, and with the support of the government, Tenrikyo was able to hold lectures at 2,074 places through Japan, drawing nearly a quarter million listeners.
[23] Due to the relative relaxation of state control on Tenrikyo rituals, the performance of section one of the Mikagura-uta was restored in 1916, after two decades of prohibition under the Home Ministry's directive.
One week later, on December 16, 1935, around four hundred policemen were sent to investigate Tenrikyo Church Headquarters on suspicion of tax evasion, even though there were no grounds for that accusation.
Under the reformation, copies of the Ofudesaki and Osashizu were recalled, certain chapters were deleted from the Mikagura-uta,[26] and the Kagura Service, an important Tenrikyo ritual, was not allowed to be performed.
In its own historical account, Tenrikyo refers to the years following the surrender of Japan and the conclusion of World War II as fukugen, or "restoration.
In addition, the doctrine, which for decades had been colored by State Shinto ideology, was revised to reflect the teachings conveyed in the main scriptures and authorized in 1949.
While Shōzen Nakayama and a few Tenrikyo church members were flying from Europe to South Africa during a world tour, their plane broke down at Maya-Maya Airport in Brazzaville on September 24, 1960, briefly after the country's independence on August 13, 1960.
In 1961, Shōzen Nakayama sent a new delegation to search for Nsonga, and in 1962, he and his younger brother Antoine Mayouma received plane tickets to Japan.
Today, the Église Tenrikyo au Congo (コンゴブラザビール教会) continues to host an active community of practitioners in Brazzaville despite having been closed down a few times during its history due to civil conflicts, shortage of religious personnel, among other issues.
