Category: Japan
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Japan New Religions 3: The Religious City of Tenri
3,434 words, 18 minutes read time. Foreword On the boundary of the Nara Basin (奈良盆地) and the mountain ranges of Kasagisanchi (笠置山地), lies Tenri-shi (天理市), the town founded by and headquarters one of the oldest and most prominent New Religions: Tenrikyo (天理教, Official Website), drawing influences from the traditional Japanese Shinto and Buddhism. With a…
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Japan New Religions 2: Perfect Liberty
2,280 words, 12 minutes read time. PL Kyodan Like many other New Religions, the Perfect Liberty Kyodan (パーフェクト リバティー教団) aka PL Kyodan in the recent decades has had its number of believers dwindled. This may have to do with their main creed –“Life is Art” (人生は芸術である), which sets them apart from all the still relevant…
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Japan New Religions 1: Buddhism, UFO and Jimmy Carter
1,808 words, 10 minutes read time. Foreword Osaka and the broader Kansai region have been fertile ground for the emergence of many New Religions (新宗教) following WWII. Throughout my life, as if guided by invisible forces, these religions have somehow always had an unexplained presence… I shall talk about this some other time, if such…
