Upon our arrival in Tenri, we were greeted by a large gold bus from Tenri University, our guide for the day.
We began with lunch.
After lunch we drove to the mother church of the Tenrikyo religion.
Our escort around the large complex was a young man who explained the basic tenets of his faith.
Tenrikyo was founded by Oyasama on 26 October, 1838. She wrote the Ofudesaki, scripture containing 1711 verses explaining how to bring joyous life to realization. Tenrikyo followers believe that you own your spirit, but your body is on loan from God the parent. People thank god by giving back to their church and community through acts of service. And by spreading the word throughout the world.
The church building itself contains four large worship areas centered around the pillar marking Jiba, the place where humanity was first conceived, the home of all mankind. Though Oyasama withdrew from physical life at age 90, her spirit remains at Founder's Hall, where she continues to work to save mankind.
We headed to a museum to see a short propaganda film promoting the religion.
Our last stop was the Tenri University Library which is a dual University and Tenrikyo library. Their collection includes many national treasuresecurity and important cultural properties. The library only collects original editions and makes replicas so their materialsite are available for public use. We were able to visit the original reading rooms and closed stacks. I really enjoyed that, and chatting with the librarian about the library.
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