Ōnishi Tama

Ōnishi Tama (大西 玉, November 19, 1916 – September 1, 1969) was a Japanese religious leader known as the founder of Honbushin, a Tenrikyo-based (Japanese new religion). She was the daughter of Ōnishi Aijirō, who had founded the Honmichi religion in 1913. Honbushin followers believe that she is the reincarnation (再生, saisei) of Tenrikyo founder Nakayama Miki (1798–1887), a claim that Ōnishi Tama and her father Ōnishi Aijirō had maintained since her birth.

Life Birth Ōnishi Tama was born to Ōnishi Aijirō in 1916 in Uda, Nara Prefecture. Just three years earlier, Ōnishi Aijirō had received a divine revelation in which God, as , told Ōnishi Aijirō that he was the living kanrodai, or sacred pillar embodied in a human body. In 1916, when his wife To'o became pregnant with their fourth child, Ōnishi Aijirō claimed that it was revealed to him in a dream that the unborn child would be a daughter (Tama) who was the reincarnation of Nakayama Miki. Verses in the Doroumi Kōki (泥海古記) were also consulted by Ōnishi Aijirō to prophesize the reincarnation of various Nakayama family members, as explained in Forbes (2005):

Honmichi sources claim that Tama was born on the 24th day of the 10th lunar month, the same day that Nakayama Miki was born.

Establishment of Honbushin On April 26, 1961, Ōnishi Tama founded Tenri Miroku-kai (天理みろく会, "Tenri Miroku Association"), which would later be renamed as Honbushin. In 1962, after Aijirō's death in 1958, it officially seceded from the Honmichi and was formally incorporated as a religious organization in 1966. Originally, it was headquartered in Takaishi, Osaka near the Honmichi headquarters, but then moved to Shiojiri, Nagano. In 1969, Honbushin moved to Okayama, where it set up its kanrodai on the summit of Mount Kami, southeast of the Okayama city center. Ōnishi Tama died on September 1, 1969, and religious authority was passed onto her son Takeda Sōshin (武田 宗真), who was proclaimed as the new Kanrodai-sama (甘露台様) succeeding Ōnishi Aijirō.

After her death, the Miroku Memorial Hall (みろく記念館) was built on Mount Kami in her honor.

Writings In September 1965, Ōnishi Tama composed Tenkei Mikyōsho (天啓御教書, "Book of Divine Revelations"), a 100-line poem explaining the core doctrines of the Honbushin religion. The poem is published in Uchū Hontairon (宇宙本体論, "Origin of the Universe"), a 1994 book that gives an overview of Honbushin beliefs. The "Overview" (総序) section, which is the book's first section, was written by Ōnishi Tama in June 1961; the third section of the book (すくい綱) was written by her in July 1964.