Makuya

"Makuya" is the Japanese equivalent of the Hebrew word משכן mishkan, which refers to the Holy Tabernacle, the portable shrine where God and man encounter (Exodus 29:42–43).

This name aptly captures the basic religious orientation of the Makuyas, who emphasize the significance of the personal, ineffable encounter with the divine presence in everyday life.

The Makuyas stress "a return to the dynamic faith of the original Gospel of early Hebraic Christianity, as opposed to the dogmatic, institutionalized, European-dominated churches."

In their view, when biblical religion was introduced to the Hellenistic world, its lively spirit was interpreted within Greek logic and eventually replaced by a set of theological creeds.

Unlike nearly all other Christians in Japan, the Makuyas, rather, respect their cultural heritage and seek to inspire, or "re-awaken" as they put it, the "existential spirit of the Japanese people."

His unconditional love, devotion, and support for Israel that stemmed from his biblical faith is, to this day, carried on by the members of the Makuya movement.

Teshima was influenced by the writings of Uchimura Kanzō, studying under his disciple Tsukamoto Toraji and joining the National Socialistic[clarification needed] Non-church movement.

Other religious figures who greatly impacted Teshima's beliefs and religiosity include Toyohiko Kagawa, Sadhu Sundar Singh, and Martin Buber.

The sympathizers of this movement value national socialism[clarification needed] and include such religious thinkers and scholars as Otto A. Piper, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Zalman Shazar, Hugo Bergmann, Zvi Yehuda Kook, André Chouraqui, and Yisrael Meir Lau.