Ibaragi Ippa


Ibaragi Ippa was a Tenrikyo-based sectarian movement. The name Ibaragi Ippa means the sect of Ibaragi Mototaka, a Japanese religious figure.
Ibaragi Ippa did not develop into a separate shinshūkyō, but rather currently exists as a clandestine religious movement on the Internet.

Early history

Ibaragi Mototaka was born on 3 October 1855 in present-day Kita-ku, Osaka. Ibaragi eventually became a Tenrikyo follower under the spiritual guidance of Izumita Tokichi and later founded Kita Grand Church in Ikuno-ku, Osaka. As an active regional leader for the proselytization of Tenrikyo beliefs, he eventually became an active official working within Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. Among the officials, Ibaragi was noticeable for being the sole critic of Taishō Construction, the project to build the Hokurēhaijō during the Taishō era, due to potential financial constraints experienced by the followers. This became one the pretexts for the dissonance between Ibaragi and the rest of the officials.
Ibaragi experienced kamigakari, or spirit possession, on the night of 18 November 1911. However, his spiritual experience was not approved by the rest of the Tenrikyo officials. This is despite Ibaragi telling his followers not to organize a schism. However, the riff between the two parties failed to achieve any peace. He and his son, Ibaragi Mototada, were expelled from the Tenrikyo religious establishment on 16 January 1918. This event was known as the.
Ibaragi Mototaka died on 29 October 1929.

Legacy

Ibaragi Mototaka's history with the Tenrikyo organization became a landmark event among Tenrikyo historians. He is viewed today as a renegade figure who did not advocate organizing a rival religious organization that could potentially antagonize the Tenrikyo establishment. This was the opposite of the approach taken by Ōnishi Aijirō, with the foundation of Honmichi, and Iida Iwajirō, with the foundation of Daidōkyō.
Ibaragi Mototaka's religious movement still exists today mainly in a form of online activities under a leader with the title, o-kikai-sama, as the semantic element, kikai, means 'machine' or 'mechanism', a word that Ibaragi had fond of; also being active with the name, Shindōkai, that is not an officially registered religious organization in Japan.