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Iburi Izō (Japanese:飯降伊蔵, 1833 – 1907) was the second spiritual leader of theTenrikyo religion. He is also known as theHonseki (本席,lit. 'Main Seat'). After the death ofNakayama Miki (Oyasama) in 1887, he was the spiritual leader while Oyasama's sonNakayama Shinnosuke became the administrative leader, theShinbashira. Having received the "grant of speech" from Oyasama, Iburi dictated theOsashizu, additional divinely inspired instructions on the creation and maintenance of a Tenrikyo community.

Iburi was born inMurō, Nara in 1833, but was forced to leave when his family became despondent. He moved to modern-day Tenri, and sought out a wife. His first wife died in childbirth, while the second arranged marriage to agambling addict was quickly annulled. His third wife became gravely ill after childbirth which led him to seek Tenrikyo. He became a member after his wife was healed and went to see Oyasama every day, supporting her during times of religious persecution.^[1]

Iburi presided over a period of rapid expansion for Tenrikyo, which saw it reach villages throughout Japan. In 1896, eight percent of all Japanese citizens were dues-paying adherents of Tenrikyo.^[2] Iburi petitioned the government to be separated from theSect Shinto groupShinto Honkyoku; this petition was granted in 1908.

It was Iburi's intention to continue theHonseki position by passing on spiritual leadership to a worthy successor, while theShinbashira position was passed on in the Nakayama family. He chose a woman, Naraito Ueda, for this position. But she became ill, and in 1918 a rumor was spread that she was insane, so theHonseki position ended with Iburi, and the Nakayama family took the reins as central leadership.^[3]

Izō's last words were reportedly "How thankful, what a delicious meal" (おおきに ごちそうさん,ōkini, gochisō-san). He was said to have died sitting up with his hands on his lap.^[4]

His three children Nagao Yoshie (永尾よしみ), Iburi Masae (飯降政甚), and Iburi Masajin (飯降まさ忍) are referred to in Tenrikyo asSanken Mimune (三軒三棟).^[4]

Wikiquote has quotations related toIburi Izō.

• Nakayama, S. (1936).Hitokotohanashi. Tenri, Japan: Tenrikyō Dōyūsha.
• Okutani, B. (1949).Honseki Iburi Izō. Tenri, Japan: Tenrikyō Dōyūsha.
• Tenrikyo Doyusha Publishing Company (2012).The Measure of Heaven: The Life of Izo Iburi, the Honseki (Tenrikyo Overseas Department, Trans.). Tenri, Japan: Tenrikyo Overseas Department. (Original work published 1997)
• Ueda, E. (1995).Shinpan Iburi Izō den 『新版 飯降伊蔵伝』. Tokyo, Japan: Zenponsha.

• Tenrikyo leaders
• 1833 births
• 1907 deaths
• 19th-century Japanese people
• People from Uda, Nara

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text
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