13 - The Management and Marketing of Tenrikyō in its Strategy of Global Expansion: The Case of Brazil

Summary

Abstract

Tenrikyō was founded in 1838 in a farming village in contemporary Nara Prefecture and expanded its religious activities even after the Foundress ‘withdrew from physical life’ in 1887. After government recognition in 1908, it institutionalized into a religious organization with numerous branch churches. Tenrikyō is regarded as a representative Japanese NRM in terms of its scale and historical importance. Tenrikyō's global expansion has led to the establishment of overseas bases in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. In the Americas, Tenrikyō took root in the countries and regions where Japanese farming immigrants resided. The Japanese ethnic communities on Brazil are known for their large size, and the number of Tenrikyō adherents and churches are comparatively larger there than in other regions.

Keywords: Tenrikyō, Foundress, management philosophy, centripetal principle, lineage, spiritual parents

Introduction

Tenrikyō was founded in 1838 in a farming village in Yamato Province (currently Nara Prefecture) and expanded its religious activities even after Miki Nakayama, the Foundress of Tenrikyō, withdrew from physical life in 1887. After about 50 years, the number of its adherents reached three million. Tenrikyō attained government recognition of its sectarian independence from the Shinto Honkyoku in 1908 after it had institutionalized into a religious organization with numerous branch churches. In ten years, the number of branch churches increased rapidly and reached approximately 1300 in Japan. In Japan and abroad, Tenrikyō altogether has approximately 16,000 branch churches at present and is viewed as a representative Japanese new religion in terms of its scale and historical importance.

Tenrikyō's global expansion has led to the establishment of overseas bases in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Its first overseas post, the Kankoku Fukyō Kanrisho (Tenrikyō Mission Administration Office in Korea) was established in the year it attained sectarian independence, and was renamed the Chōsen Fukyō Kanrisho the year after Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910. It is possible to interpret that Tenrikyō's overseas expansion occurred as a result of the historical context of the Japanese government's colonial occupation of Asian countries, for Tenrikyō's next overseas missions were established in Taiwan and the South Pacific