Anecdotes of Oyasama

Anecdotes of Oyasama, the Foundress of Tenrikyo is an anthology of anecdotes about Nakayama Miki, the foundress of Tenrikyo. This text is one of the official supplemental texts to the Tenrikyo scriptures, along with The Doctrine of Tenrikyo and The Life of Oyasama. Beginning with the 1976 edition, the text contains exactly 200 individual anecdotes.

Publication history

Anecdotes of Oyasama was first published in the original Japanese on January 26, 1976, commemorating the 90th Anniversary of Oyasama. An English translation was published the following year, on May 26, 1977.
The preface of the first 1956 publication of The Life of Oyasama mentions that a collection of anecdotes on Nakayama Miki would be put together in the near future. The "Kōki Committee," a subset of Tenrikyo reverends and scholars led by theologian Ueda Yoshinaru, compiled the anecdotes. The anecdotes were originally published in four volumes, each containing 50 stories. The first volume was released in January 1974, the second in September 1974, the third in May 1975, and the fourth in October 1975. The anecdotes went through further editing for content and wording before being published in one set of 200 stories on January 26, 1976.

Translations

Anecdotes of Oyasama has been translated into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, Indonesian, Thai, Chinese, and Korean.

List of anecdotes

Below is a list of the 200 stories in Anecdotes of Oyasama.

"Balls and Weights"
At Every Revelation Uttered
The Storehouse
I Will Return Ten Thousandfold
The Same as Flowing Water
Seeing His Heart
Offering with a Sincere Heart
By a Slight Illness
According to the Parents' Minds
The Long Way Around
God Has Drawn You to this Residence
The Sazuke of Fertilizer
Sow the Seed
Dyeing
These Seeds
The Child's Concern for the Parent
The Law of Nature
The Songs of Truth
Children Playing Shuttlecock
Birth of a Girl
That's All to the Good, That's All to the Good
Writing the Ofudesaki
Saving from Tachiyamai Disease
I Am Glad You Have Come Home
Seventy-Five Days of Fasting
The Story of Linen, Silk and Cotton
Happy Day
Clear the Path from the Bottom
Three Treasures
Ten Thousandfold
The Measure of Heaven
It Depends on the Wife's Word
The Bridge Between Countries
Tsukihi Has Granted It
The Red Garments
Firm Resolution
You Are Faithful in Your Work
From the Hills in the East
Much Better
Stay Here
To Eternity
By Saving Others
That Will Do
A Snowy Day
Wrinkles of the Mind
Everything from This to That
Be Joyful of the Future
Waiting, Waiting
Obedient Mind
Kosuke and Suma
Family Treasure
Learn the Koto
From This Residence
Play It with All Your Heart
Kokyu, Kokyu
Thank You for Your Trouble Last Night
A Boy Should Be Accompanied by His Father
Today from Kawachi
Festival
Sacred Sugar Candy
Beneath the Corridor
East from Here
Merit That Is Not to Be Seen
Smoothed out Gently
Drawn Here to Be Used
Safe Childbirth
Poor Fellow
The Way Ahead Is Long
Prefer the Younger Brother
Threshing Wheat
In Such a Heavy Rain
Destined to Be Saved
Holy Fire for Invocation
Following God's Path
This is Tenri
Peonies in Full Bloom
Chestnut Festival
A Rich Man's Residence
Children Who Return
The Two of You Together
Now, Help Yourself
Yoisho!
Many, Many Years
In the Southern Half of the Province
Too Heavy a Load for a Child
Great Salvation
Because People Like You
From a Dangerous Place
Leftover Sweet Sake
Deeper in the Second Generation than in the First
Dance All The Way Home
Husband and Wife Together
Eight Cho Square
Tea Is Ready
The Path of Eight Hundred Kilometers
Those Who have an Innen
Tobacco Field
For Eternity
Wedding in Osaka
You Are to Save Others
Do Not Stop on the Way
I Myself Will Call on Her
Without Erring
Faith in God
This Is a Place to Be Joyful
Symbolic Serving
Eczema is a Troublesome Condition
The Roads to the Summit Are Many
Yoshi, Yoshi
Souls Are Everliving
Being Awakened in the Morning
Amiability First of All
Lullabies
You Went Through Much Difficulty
Devote Yourself Single-Heartedly to Saving Others
Come Alone
With His Father and Mother
On the Side of God
Children Returning from Afar
One in One Thousand
New Kimono for Your Daughter
As Long as There Is Virtue
Is Man the Object?
A Drawstring Made of Wood Shavings
Cannot See Ahead
As the Symbol of Worship for the Fraternity
Tokyo, Tokyo and Nagasaki
Oyasama's Room
Healing of the Skin Disease
Fine Dust
On the Side of God
To Be Eaten Deliciously
Consider the Future Long
Recollections
With Round Minds
Now, Go Forth with This
A Single Word
You Must Treasure Things
With Flag Flying
Thank You Very Much
Buds Burst Forth from a Knot
Narrowness Holds the Promise of Joy
Children Are Dear
The Virtue Which Reaches Heaven
Always in a Comfortable Place to Live
Thank You for Your Work
True Salvation
To the Clear Place
When It Strikes Six This Morning
Persimmons
Grant for Safe Childbirth
Twice as Strong
The Day of Release
God Brings Them to the Residence
If You Are Saved
The End of a Relationship
These Are Good Hands
Monthly Period Is the Flower
The Residence: The Place for Single-Hearted Devotion to God
Selecting a Persimmon
To See Children's Enjoyment
In Her Children's Stead
Brothers Among Brothers
Deep Affection
Buy Dearly
A Mark on the Body
Through Saving Others
A Boat Ride
This Suits Me Very Well, Doesn't It?
Heaven is the Foundation
The Mountain of Treasure
Repentance for a Previous Life
All Days are Lucky Days
If You Let Go Your Strength
Seventeen Children
Person with a Pure Heart
At Least One Person
Our Body is of Prime Importance
God is Laughing
A Reluctant Offering of Rice Cakes
Oyasama's Rice Bowl
The Residence of Origin
A Stormy Wind
A Way of Perceiving
You Do Not Know Where I Work
Such a Fine Present
Solely to Jiba
Permanent Staff of the Residence
The Hearts of Husband and Wife
This Path
Welcome Home
A Kite Cries "Toh, Toh"
By Himself Soon
Her Favorite Dishes
Thank You for Your Trouble
Maturing of the Child
Hands that Work
With Any Flower
Just One
Cherish It