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| Ananaikyo | |
|---|---|
| 三五教 | |
 Yonosuke Nakano (中野與之助), the founder of Ananaikyō, during the early 1950s | |
| Type | Japanese new religion |
| Scripture | Reikai-de Mita Uchū (霊界で観た宇宙) (13 volumes) |
| Headquarters | Kakegawa, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Founder | Yonosuke Nakano (中野與之助) |
| Origin | April 4, 1949 Shimizu, Shizuoka |
| Branched from | Oomoto |
| Tax status | Religious corporation |
| Official website | ananaikyo.jp |
| Slogan | Astronomy is religion (天文即宗教,Tenmon Soku Shūkyō) |
Ananaikyo (Japanese:三五教,Hepburn:Ananai-kyō;lit. 'Three-Five Religion') is a Shinto-basedshinshūkyō (Japanese new religion) derived fromOomoto. Ananaikyo was established byYonosuke Nakano (中野與之助) on April 1949 inShimizu, Shizuoka. It is currently headquartered in Yokosuka inKakegawa, Shizuoka.
The religion's founder wasYonosuke Nakano (中野與之助) 1887–1974), who was originally anOomoto practitioner. Nakano was influenced byShinto priest andspirit mediumHonda Chikaatsu (本田親徳) (1822–1889) and Honda's discipleNagasawa Katsutate (長澤雄楯) (1858–1940).[1] Honda and Nagasawa taught a type of meditation (and/or spirit possession) practice known aschinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神) (lit. 'calming the soul and returning to the divine'), which is also practiced inShintō Tenkōkyo andOomoto.[2]
On April 4, 1949, Nakano founded Ananaikyo inShimizu, Shizuoka.[3] Ananaikyo's original headquarters in Shimizu was located less than 100 meters from Yamanashi Kasamori Inari Jinja (月見里笠森稲荷神社) (note that月見里 has the reading "Yamanashi"), the Shinto shrine where Nagasawa Katsutate had spent most of life practicing at.[4]
During the mid-1950s, Ananaikyo held a series of World Religion Congress meetings at its headquarters inShimizu, Shizuoka. Reports were published for each of the eight congresses from 1954 to 1956.[5][6]
Shin Negami (根上 信; 1897–1969) was the president of the Ananaikyo International Headquarters (三五教国際総本部) during the mid-1950s when the congresses were held.[7]
Beginning in the 1960s, Nakano started to focus more on the international development NGO that he had founded,OISCA International [ja].[8] After his death in 1974, his adopted daughter Nakano Yoshiko (中野良子, born 1933) became the religious leader of Ananaikyo. Nakano Yoshiko resigned in 1982 to focus on being President of OISCA International. In May 1983, Nakano Masamiya (中野正宫, born 1950) became Ananaikyo's third religious leader. Since the 1980s, Ananaikyo has not regained the international prominence that it had once enjoyed during the 1950s and 1960s,[4] partly because the religion's leaders, who had become highly involved with the non-religious NGO OISCA International, did not want OISCA to be publicly associated with a religion and thereby potentially harming the NGO's reputation.[8] As a result, Ananaikyo leaders stopped organizing international events and restrictedchinkon kishin for experienced members only, whereas in the past the general public could openly participate in Ananaikyo'schinkon kishin.[4]
During the 21st century, Ananaikyo moved its headquarters fromShimizu, Shizuoka to the Yokosuka area ofKakegawa, Shizuoka.[9]
Ananaikyo's Spirit Studies (霊学,Reigaku) (or "Honda spiritualist studies" (本田霊学,Honda reigaku)) lineage is as follows. Each successor would continue the teachings of his or her teacher after the teacher's death or resignation.[4]
Ananaikyo's teachings, practices, and texts closely resemble those ofOomoto. The supreme God of the universe in Ananaikyo is known as the Great Spirit of the Universe (宇宙大精神,uchū daiseishin), oruchū tairei (宇宙大霊).[4]
The nameAnanaikyo, along with its correspondingkanji gloss三五教, originates from Oomoto. Numerous passages in theReikai Monogatari, written during the 1920s and 1930s byOnisaburo Deguchi, useAnanaikyo (三五教) to refer to the Oomoto religion. The termananai refers to a thick rope that is attached to the bell of ahaiden (worship hall of a Shinto shrine).[4]
The kanji characters used to represent the nameAnanaikyo (三五教) literally mean "three [and] five religion", with "three" representing the triad of the sun, moon, and stars, and "five" representing thefive elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Thus, "three and five" represent the teachings of both heaven and earth.[10] The "three" (三) in Ananaikyo (三五教) can also symbolize the three new religions that Ananaikyo was influenced by, namelyOomoto,Guiyidao, and theBaháʼí Faith, while "five" (五) refers to five established world religions, namely Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.[11] Nakano's familiarity with Guiyidao and the Baháʼí Faith comes from his time as an Oomoto follower before World War II, when Oomoto leader Onisaburo Deguchi had frequent contact with the two religions during the 1920s and 1930s.
LikeOomoto, Ananaikyo considers allworld religions to be of the same divine origin. Young (1988) reported that Ananaikyo's main worship hall in Shizuoka gave recognition to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Shinto.[12]
Ananaikyo does not preach any worldly benefits, but rather places an emphasis on harmony with nature. The main scripture of Ananaikyo isReikai-de Mita Uchū (霊界で観た宇宙; "The universe viewed from the world of spirit"), which consists of 13 volumes.
The main deities revered are:[10]
In Ananaikyo, a type of meditation calledchinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神), also known simply aschinkon (鎮魂), is practiced.[4]Chinkon kishin was originally practiced inOomoto,[13][14] and is restricted to Ananaikyo followers who have been members for at least three years.[4]
Achinkon stone is required to performchinkon kishin in Ananaikyo. Thechinkon stone must be a small, spherical black stone collected atShimizu's Miho Pine Forest (三保松原,Miho no Matsubara), from which a forestedsandō leads to Miho Shrine (御穗神社,Miho jinja) where Nagasawa had been a head priest at. Finding a suitable stone can often take several hours, and the search is supervised by an Ananaikyo senior member.[4]
Unusually for a Shinto-derived religion, Ananaikyo is known for building several astronomical observatories in Japan, since Ananaikyo states that "astronomy is religion" (天文即宗教,Tenmon Soku Shūkyō). In 1957, an observatory was built on Kanukiyama (香貫山) inNumazu,Shizuoka Prefecture but was later demolished in 1973 due to opposition against the new religion from locals.[15] Other observatories built by Ananaikyo, many of which are now defunct, include:[16]
Japanese-language publications by Yonosuke Nakano include:[17][18]
TheReikai-de Mita Uchū (霊界で観た宇宙) is a series of 13 volumes published by Yonosuke Nakano from 1965 to 1967. The first few volumes were also published in the 1950s. Occasionally, some volumes in the series are also titledReikai-kara Mita Uchū (霊界から見た宇宙). The volumes in the series are:
A few of Nakano's books have been translated into English:
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