OYASAMA

Oyasama: The First Parent

In the beginning, God looked over creation and declared, “Let there be joy.” To fulfill this wish, God began the creation of human beings. Around one billion years ago, God selected a fish (Izanami) and a serpent (Izanagi) from the muddy oceans to become the seed of the first human couple. Searching throughout the seas, God gathered traits (genes) from other creatures and, with the consent of the first couple, began the process of human creation. God promised that they would return one billion years later to the original place of creation. God also told the female fish that she would one day become the Shrine of God, entrusted with revealing God’s truths to the world.

Through the process of evolution, human beings came into existence.
Then, on April 18, 1798, Miki Nakayama was born in Shoyashiki Village in Japan.
On October 26, 1838, in fulfillment of the promise made at the beginning of human creation, God descended into the Nakayama residence and requested that Miki Nakayama become the Shrine of God. This marked the beginning of the Tenrikyo religion.

Oyasama (as she came to be known) began to teach people and heal those suffering from illness. She also granted the blessing of safe childbirth, promising expectant mothers an easy and peaceful delivery.

God communicated through Oyasama, and she recorded these revelations in her own hand, verse by verse. These sacred writings are compiled into the Ofudesaki, the central scripture of Tenrikyo. The Ofudesaki gives clear instruction on how to purify the mind and how to spread God’s truth to the world.

When the mind is pure, one is saved.
God promises that, in the end, all of humanity will live the Joyous Life.

What makes Tenrikyo unique is that Oyasama is regarded as the “First Parent” of humankind—her name itself means “Honored Parent.” She passed away on January 26, 1887, with her soul returning to the Origin of human creation. We believe this is the sacred place where both God and Oyasama now reside, working to save all humanity.

This is why Tenrikyo followers pray toward this original location, which is symbolized by a temporary wooden pillar called the Kanrodai. This pillar marks the original site of human creation. When all minds in the world are purified, the Kanrodai will be rebuilt in stone. At that time, God promises that divine nectar (Kanro) will flow from heaven into the sacred vessel at the top of the Kanrodai.

This will mark the arrival of paradise on Earth.