Kanrodai
The kanrodai is a sacred entity in Tenrikyo and Tenrikyo-derived Japanese new religions, including Honmichi, Honbushin, Kami Ichijokyo, Tenri Sanrinkō, and Daehan Cheolligyo. Tenrikyo, as well as a few of its schisms such as Daidōkyō, considers the kanrodai to be a physical pillar. However, later Tenrikyo-derived schisms such as Honmichi, Kami Ichijokyo, and Tenri Sanrinkō give a new interpretation in which the kanrodai is embodied as a living person. Honbushin has installed a small stone kanrodai on Kamiyama, a mountain in Okayama, and also recognizes a human kanrodai who is the son of its founder Ōnishi Tama.
The first kanrodai was built in 1873 by Iburi Izō at Nakayama Miki's residence.
Origin
The concept of the kanrodai was first taught by Nakayama Miki, the foundress of Tenrikyo, in 1868. In 1873, she instructed her disciple Iburi Izō, who was a carpenter by trade, to make a wooden kanrodai. Before the location of the Jiba was identified in 1875, the wooden kanrodai was kept in the storehouse where Nakayama Miki resided. According to Nakayama Miki, the real kanrodai is to be made of stone. As a result, the current wooden kanrodai at the Jiba is sometimes known as a "model kanrodai".Tenrikyo
In Tenrikyo, the kanrodai is a hexagonal pillar in the Divine Residence of the Tenrikyo Church Headquarters in Tenri, Nara, Japan. It marks the Jiba. Adherents believe that when the hearts of human beings have been adequately purified through the Service, a sweet dew would fall from the heavens onto a vessel placed on top of the stand. Since 1875, there have been several different kanrodais installed at the Jiba.- June 1875: After Nakayama Miki identified the sacred spot of the Jiba on 26 May 1875, a two-metre high wooden kanrodai, which had been made two years ago in 1873 by Iburi Izō, was installed at the Jiba.
- 1881: Construction of a stone kanrodai began. Stones were quarried from a nearby village called Takimoto, located on the Furu River about two kilometers east of the Nakayama residence. However, construction stopped after only two tiers were made, and the police confiscated it in 1882. A pile of pebbles marked the Jiba afterwards.
- 1888: A wooden board kanrodai with two tiers was built and placed at the Jiba.
- 1934: A complete 13-tier hinagata kanrodai measuring approximately 2.5 metres high was built and placed at the Jiba. It has been regularly replaced on special occasions.
- July 2000: Most recent replacement of the kanrodai, as of 2005
In Tenrikyo, due to the sacrosanct nature of the kanrodai, photographing the kanrodai is prohibited.
The following verse from the Mikagura-uta is the most commonly sung verse that mentions the kanrodai.
Honmichi
In Honmichi, the kanrodai is a living person. The religion's first kanrodai was its founder Ōnishi Aijirō. After his death, his grandson Ōnishi Yasuhiko became the kanrodai.Every year, Honmichi followers celebrate "the establishment of the human kanrodai" to commemorate their founder.
Adherents of Tenri Sanrinkō, which split from Honmichi, also followed the tradition of Honmichi by revering their leader as the living kanrodai. Currently active religious organizations derived from it include Kanrodai Reiri Shidōkai and Ōkanmichi.
Honbushin
Honbushin recognizes both physical and human kanrodais. After Honbushin's founder Ōnishi Tama died on September 1, 1969, religious authority was passed onto her son Takeda Sōshin, who was proclaimed as the new Kanrodai-sama succeeding Ōnishi Aijirō.In Honbushin, the kanrodai is placed outdoors, rather than indoors in a building as in Tenrikyo. Other than the main stone kanrodai, multiple "model" kanrodais can be placed in different locations, unlike in Tenrikyo where only one kanrodai can be placed only at the headquarter's jiba. Honbushin's main kanrodai is located in a shrine on the summit of Kamiyama, located southeast of the city center of Okayama. It is a small outdoor hexagonal stone pillar, with a much larger vertically standing stone disk installed behind it, and a torii gate in front of it. The location of the kanrodai is known as kanrodai-no-ba. This is symbolically represented in Honbushin's official logo, the Peace Mark. The logo consists of a kanrodai inside a circle representing the blessings of God, who is known as Kami-sama.
There is also a large outdoor wooden kanrodai at the Honbushin International Center in Mililani, Hawaii, United States. The actual main kanrodai must be made of stone, whereas all of the other kanrodais are only considered to be models and are thus made of wood.
Honbushin followers chant the mantra Namu Kanrodai to honor the kanrodai.