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Shintō Tenkōkyo
神道天行居
Shintō Tenkōkyo's headquarters in Tabuse
ScriptureTomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū (友清歓真全集) (6 volumes)
TheologyWorship of Amaterasu, along with various other kami
LanguageJapanese
HeadquartersTabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture
FounderTomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真)
Origin1920
Shizuoka
Separated fromOomoto
SeparationsKo-Shintō Senpōkyō (古神道仙法教)
Official websitetenkoukyo.jp

Shinto Tenkokyo (神道天行居, Shintō Tenkōkyo, Shindō Tenkōkyo), also simply known as Tenkokyo (Tenkōkyo) is a Shinto-based Japanese new religion founded by Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真) in 1920. Shinto Tenkokyo has several shrines (jinja 神社) on Mount Iwaki or Iwaki-yama (石城山) in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture.[1] Its headquarters is located at the southern base of the mountain in Tabuse.[2]

History

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In 1920, the predecessor of the current organization was founded as Kakushin-kai (格神会) in Shizuoka by Tomokiyo Yoshisane, who had been a magazine editor for Oomoto from 1918 and 1919. The organization, later renamed Shintō Tenkōkyo, was registered in 1922. In 1928, Tomokiyo moved Shintō Tenkōkyo from Shizuoka to Tabuse and constructed several shrines on Mount Iwaki around 1930.[3][4]

Leadership

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Shintō Tenkōkyo's leader is called the sōshu (宗主). Tomokiyo Yoshisane was the first leader but resigned in 1931. Afterwards, three different men, none of whom were his blood relatives, became the religious organization's leaders, since Tomokiyo had originally prohibited hereditary succession for the religious organization. In 1952, after Tomokiyo Yoshisane died, the ban on hereditary succession was lifted, and his wife Tomokiyo Misao (友清操; 1899–1990, born Akahori Misao 赤堀操) became the 5th leader of Shintō Tenkōkyo. After Misao's death in 1990, her third daughter Tomokiyo Suzuyo (友清鈴世, born 1932) became the 6th leader of Shintō Tenkōkyo.[5][6]: 292 

Rituals

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Shintō Tenkōkyo considers its rituals to be a continuation of Ko-Shintō.[6]

Every November 11 on Mount Iwaki, Shintō Tenkōkyo organizes a nighttime ritual ceremony (山上夜間特別修法) for "universal harmony and world spiritualization" (万有和合・世界霊化). Followers recite the "Ten Prayers" (十言神咒) in dedication to Amaterasu.[7] The first mountain peak ritual was carried out in 1931. Henceforth, this ritual became an annual event performed for the protection of the nation.[5]

A key focus of its activities is "spiritual national defense" (霊的国防, reiteki kokubō), which was practiced extensively during World War II in order to pray for the protection of the Empire of Japan. The religion also practices chinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神) (lit. 'calming the soul and returning to the divine'), a spirit possession technique devised by Honda Chikaatsu (本田親徳) and subsequently transmitted by his disciple Nagasawa Katsutate (長澤雄楯), that is also practiced in Oomoto and Ananaikyo.[8] Shintō Tenkōkyo's practice of chinkon kishin still adheres closely to the original form as taught by Honda Chikaatsu during the 19th century. Today, chinkon kishin is strictly reserved for Shintō Tenkōkyo members and is not open to the general public.[6]

During the early and mid 20th century, Shintō Tenkōkyo priests buried sacred objects (i.e., sacred seals) in the following locations.[5]

Another ritual in Shintō Tenkōkyo is mikiyome tamashizume (浄身鎮魂法) (lit. 'body purification and soul strengthening'). According to Tomokiyo, he received this ritual on October 28, 1920 during a kishin session with the kami, Ame no Uzume.[6]

The sun goddess Amaterasu is the main deity worshipped. Tokoto no kajiri (十言の神呪) is a prayer in which the ten syllables of Amaterasu Ōmikami (天照大御神) are pronounced as "A-ma-te-ra-su O-ho-mi-ka-mi" (アマテラス オホミカミ) many times.[6]

A large wartime night religious ritual ceremony (shūhō 修法) performed by Shintō Tenkōkyo (神道天行居) priests and followers on Mount Iwaki during the Pacific War (c. 1942), to pray for the protection of the Empire of Japan

Texts

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Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū

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Shintō Tenkōkyo's main religious text is Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū (友清歓真全集) (lit. 'The Complete Works of Tomokiyo Yoshisane'), a multiple-volume anthology of writings by Tomokiyo Yoshisane (友清歓真), the religion's founder.[9] There are three editions:[6]

  • The Iwakiyama edition (石城山版) was published from 1955 to 1974, as well as in 2002 (volume 6). 2 more volumes containing letters and other materials had been planned, but were never published. From volumes 1 to 5, the publication dates are, respectively, 1955, 1963, 1971, 1968, and 1974.
  • The Sangensha (参玄社) edition was published from 1972 to 1974 and consists of 6 volumes, with 4 more volumes planned before Sangensha went bankrupt. This is the smallest edition, with the least number of texts.
  • The Hachiman Shoten (八幡書店) edition was published from 1988 to 1989, with 8 volumes total. This is the most comprehensive edition and has the most number of texts, surpassing that of the Iwakiyama edition.[10]

For the Iwakiyama edition, each volume contains the following texts.[11]

  • Volume 1
  • Volume 2
  • Volume 3
  • Volume 4
  • Volume 5
    • 春風遍路 (also available as a separate book)
    • 続春風遍路 (also available as a separate book)
    • 山店抄
    • 草店家風
  • Volume 6
    • 神通雑記
    • 磐門真語
    • 無為三年
    • 座談筆記
    • 昌言集
    • 無方帖
    • 神无方
    • 霊界雑考
    • 老閑
    • 信白文艸藁 (also available as a separate book)
    • 山姥乃穴

For the Hachiman Shoten edition, each volume contains the following texts.[12]

For the Sangensha edition, the 6 volumes are as follows.[13]

  1. 霊学筌蹄
  2. 天行林
  3. 古神道祕説
  4. 神道古義 天之巻
  5. 神道古義 地之巻
  6. 神道古義 人之巻

The inclusion of texts in the Hachiman, Iwakiyama, and Sangensha editions can be compared as follows.

Title
(Japanese)		Title
(romaji)		Title
(English translation)		Hachiman
volume no.		Iwakiyama
volume no.		Sangensha
volume no.
霊学筌蹄Reigaku SenteiA Guide to Spiritual Studies111
神機鈎玄Shinki KōgenProbing the Depths of Divine Mysteries12
闢神霧HekishinmuClearing the Divine Mist14
特別資料Tokubetsu ShiryōSpecial Materials1
鎮魂帰神の極意Chinkon Kishin no GokuiThe Ultimate Secrets of Chinkon Kishin (Spirit Pacification and Invocation)1
天行林TengyōrinForest of Heavenly Action212
古神道祕説Koshintō HisetsuSecret Teachings of Ancient Shinto213
神道古義Shintō KogiAncient Meanings of Shinto324–6
古道神髄Kodō ShinzuiThe Essence of the Ancient Way43
霊の世界観Rei no SekaikanThe Spiritual Worldview53
戦争と古神道Sensō to KoshintōWar and Ancient Shinto54
春風遍路Shunpū HenroSpring Breeze Pilgrimage65
烏八臼UhakkyūCrow and Eight Mortars61
霊界雑考Reikai ZakkōMiscellaneous Thoughts on the Spirit World76
山店抄SantenshōNotes from the Mountain Hut75
草店家風Sōten KafūTraditions of the Thatched Hut75
座談筆記Zadan HikkiRecords of Discussions76
老閑RōkanLeisure in Old Age76
信白文艸藁Shinbaku BunsōkōRough Drafts of Shinbaku76
家醜雑記Kashū ZakkiMiscellaneous Notes on Private Family Matters7
神无方ShinmuhōThe Formless Divine76
友清磐山先生詩歌集Tomokiyo Banzan Sensei ShikashūAnthology of Poetry by Tomokiyo Banzan7
磐門胡餅Banmon KobeiFlatbreads of Banmon84
天剣秘帖Tenken HichōSecret Notes of the Heavenly Sword83
名霊通MeireitsūSpiritual Communication of Names8
一心伝IsshindenTransmission of the Single Mind82
山姥乃穴Yamanba no AnaCave of the Old Woman in the Mountain86
無為三年Mui SannenThree Years of Non-Action86
神通雑記Jintsū ZakkiMiscellaneous Notes on Divine Powers86
無方帖MuhōchōThe Formless Book86
珠玉篇雑載Shugyokuhen ZassaiMiscellaneous Entries from the Precious Volume8
磐門真語Banmon ShingoTrue Words of Banmon86
瓦釜雷鳴Gafu RaimeiThe Thunderous Noise of Earthen Pots8
音霊の法についてOtodama no Hō ni TsuiteOn the Method of Otodama (Spirit of Sound)8
これならKorenaraIf That Is the Case8
昌言集ShōgenshūCollection of Excellent Sayings6

In October 1919, Tomokiyo published The origin and practice of chinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神の原理及応用, Chinkon kishin no genri oyobi ōyō), a monograph about chinkon kishin. After it quickly sold out, it was revised as The essence of chinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神の極意, Chinkon kishin no gokui) in May 1920. This revised version is included in the first volume of Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū as published by Hachiman in 2004.[6] The full text of Shintō montai (真道問対) by Honda Chikaatsu is attached at the end of Chinkon kishin no gokui (鎮魂帰神の極意). The text consists of 114 questions from Soejima Taneomi, along with answers from Honda, in literary Chinese.[14]

A Guide to Spirit Studies (霊学筌蹄, Reigaku sentei) is a synopsis of Tomokiyo's main teachings and contains two chapters about chinkon kishin. The text also has three chapters on the "sound spirit method" (音霊法, otodamahō), "name spirit method" (名霊法, nadamahō), and "divine divination method" (神卜法, shinbokuhō). Originally published in August 1921, it is included in the first volume of all editions of Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū (友清歓真全集).[6]

Other texts

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Shintō Tenkōkyo's publication catalog in 2026

Other than the 6 volumes of Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū (友清歓真全集), the Iwakiyama (石城山) publishing house in Tabuse, which is the publishing arm of Shintō Tenkōkyo, currently publishes the following books as of 2026. Some of the books are also duplicated in various volumes of Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū (友清歓真全集).

  • 春風遍路 (also in Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū)
  • 続春風遍路 (also in Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū)
  • 霊学筌蹄 (also in Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū)
  • 古神道秘説 (also in Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū)
  • 音霊の話
  • 信白文艸藁 (also in Tomokiyo Yoshisane zenshū)
  • 異境備忘録
  • 幽冥界研究資料
  • 神仙の存在について
  • 口語 神判記実
  • 天行居雑祭式集成
  • 同志必携
  • しきしま霊界訪問記
  • 友清歓真先生御書跡集 (1997) (collection of calligraphic works by Tomokiyo Yoshisane; accompanied by an explanation guide titled 先師御書跡抄解)

Other texts by Tomokiyo Yoshisane include:

Tenkōkyo pamphlet series (天行居パンフレット叢書), mostly published from 1934 to around 1940:[16]

  1. 石城山と天行居
  2. 十言の神咒
  3. 神仙の存在に就て
  4. 国家起源論の根本誤謬
  5. 正眞の古神道: 立體史觀の再現
  6. 天意と現下の大戦
  7. ?
  8. しきしま霊界訪問記 (1994)

Parts of the religion's secret lore are contained in a book called the Book of Transmissions (格神講伝書|伝書, Densho), which is only available for members who have completed the initial training seminar.[6]: 294  The 1937 version contains some texts by Honda Chikaatsu, Ubusuna hyakushu 産土百首 and Reikon hyakushu 霊魂百首.

Newspaper

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Shintō Tenkōkyo's newspaper, typically published monthly, is titled Kodō (古道) (lit. 'Ancient Way'). The newspaper was founded in 1924 and was renamed during the following dates.[6]: 288 

  • 1924: Tenkō jihō 天行時報
  • 1925: Tenkō shinbun 天行新聞
  • 1927: Kodō 古道
  • August 1934: Tenkōdō 天行道
  • December 1934: Kodō 古道

After World War II, it was renamed a few more times, listed below in order of renaming:[6]: 288 

  • Tenkō shinbun 天行新聞
  • Michi no hikari みちの光
  • Daidō / Ōmichi 大道
  • Kodō 古道 (current name)

Kodō no. 820 (October 1988) contains a detailed biography of Tomokiyo Yoshisane and a chronology of Shintō Tenkōkyo.[6]: 288 

Some of the newspaper issue numbers and the years during which they were published include:

  • No. 225 (1933)
  • No. 322 (1941)
  • No. 409 (January 1950)
  • No. 882 (December 1993)
  • No. 966 (2000)
  • No. 1249 (2023)

Shrines

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The summit of Mount Iwaki has several jinja (神社) affiliated with Shintō Tenkōkyo.
A photograph of Mount Iwaki taken on November 22, 1927

Shintō Tenkōkyo's shrines are located on Mount Iwaki (石城山), located to the north of the town of Tabuse in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The religion pronounces the name of the mountain as Iwaki-yama, but outside the religion the conventional pronunciation is Iwaki-san. It is the most sacred mountain of Shintō Tenkōkyo and is considered to be the earthly representation of the heavenly gathering place of the gods, similar to Oomoto's treatment of Mount Hongū in Ayabe.[6] For a complete list of shrines on Mount Iwaki, see Mount Iwaki (Yamaguchi) § Shrines.

At the Shintō Tenkōkyo headquarters located at the southern base of Mount Iwaki in Tabuse, there is a small auxiliary shrine known as Ubusuna Sansha (産須那三社). Ubusuna Sansha represents three larger shrines in Tabuse, which are Shikishima Jinja (石城神社) at the top of Mount Iwaki, Yawata Hachiman Jinja (八和田八幡神社) located southeast of Mount Iwaki, and Ishinokuchi Hachimangu (石ノ口八幡宮) at the southwestern base of Mount Iwaki. The shinden (神殿) of the headquarters, known as the Shintō Tenkōkyo honbu shinden (神道天行居本部神殿), was founded on May 27, 1928.[17]

Iwakisan Kōgoishi (石城山神籠石), the ruins of an ancient castle, is located to the northeast of the Shinto Tenkokyo shrine cluster.[17]

Similar religions

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Ko-Shintō Senpōkyō (古神道仙法教), currently headquartered in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, is a splinter religion derived from Shintō Tenkōkyo. Masai Kieki (正井頎益, 1907–1970), who used to be a member of Shintō Tenkōkyo before the end of World War II, founded the organization in 1946 and officially registered it as Shintō Senpōkyō (神道仙法教) in 1949. After his death, the organization was renamed as Ko-Shintō Senpōkyō (古神道仙法教). The organization's teachings are based on the writings of Hirata Atsutane and Miyaji Suii (宮地水位, 1852–1904).[18]

Another related organization is Shinseidō (神仙道; also known as Miyaji Shinseidō 宮地神仙道), founded by Miyaji Suii (宮地水位, whom Shintō Tenkōkyo recognizes as having transmitted divine knowledge to Tomokiyo Yoshisane) and led by Shimizu Shūtoku (清水宗徳).[19] It is headquartered in Godaisan (五台山), Kōchi and is heavily influenced by Chinese Taoism.[20][21][22]

See also

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Further reading

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  • Ōmiya, Shirō (大宮司朗) (1997). Chinkonhō gokui 鎮魂法極意 (in Japanese). Hachiman Shoten 八幡書店. ISBN 9784893501929.
  • 小西雲鶴 (2024). 鎮魂帰神法伝習録 (in Japanese). Hachiman Shoten 八幡書店. ISBN 9784893509420.

References

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  1. ↑ "神道天行居とは". 神道天行居 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  2. ↑ "石城山への交通案内" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  3. ↑ 竹中 信常 (1984), 宗教文化の諸相 : 竹中信常博士頌寿記念論文集 (in Japanese), doi:10.11501/12218429, retrieved 2025-05-06
  4. ↑ 津城寛文 (1990-04-10). 鎮魂行法論 : 近代神道世界の霊魂論と身体論 (PDF) (in Japanese). 筑波大学附属図書館. ISBN 4-393-29104-2.
  5. 1 2 3 "Shindō Tenkōkyo". Encyclopedia of Shinto (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Staemmler, Birgit (2009). Chinkon kishin: Mediated Spirit Possession in Japanese New Religions. Bunka – Wenhua. Vol. 7. Berlin: LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-6899-4.
  7. ↑ "神道天行居の活動" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  8. ↑ Stalker, Nancy K. (2008). Prophet motive : Deguchi Onisaburō, Oomoto, and the rise of new religions in Imperial Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824831721.
  9. ↑ "信仰のご案内" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  10. ↑ "神道,友清歓真". 八幡書店 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  11. ↑ "友清歓真全集" (in Japanese). 神道天行居. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  12. ↑ "友清歓真全集" (in Japanese). 八幡書店. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  13. ↑ "友清歓真全集" (in Japanese). 参玄社. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  14. ↑ Tomokiyo, Yoshisane (友清歓真 / 友清九吾) (1920). The essence of chinkon kishin (鎮魂帰神の極意, Chinkon kishin no gokui). 汲古書屋.
  15. ↑ Shintō Tenkōkyo (1993). Ashihara Jinja ni tsuite (葦原神社について). Tabuse, Yamaguchi: Shintō Tenkōkyo.
  16. ↑ "天行居パンフレット叢書" (in Japanese). 神道天行居. Retrieved 2026-05-21.
  17. 1 2 石城山. 神殿大観. shinden.boo.jp.
  18. ↑ 井上順孝 (ed.) (1996). 新宗教教団・人物事典. 弘文堂.
  19. ↑ 黒田宗篤 (2016-03-28). 宮地嚴夫の異文化理解・異文化受容について (Ph.D. thesis). Osaka University. doi:10.18910/55707.
  20. ↑ "鎮魂法と胎息法". 神仙道 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-04-05.
  21. ↑ "鎮魂一法". 神仙道 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-04-05.
  22. ↑ "宮地神仙道玄義　清水宗徳　八幡書店". 古本 斑猫軒(はんみょうけん） (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-04-05.
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