Kurozumi Munetada
Kurozumi Munetada was a Japanese Shintō priest and the founder of Kurozumikyō, one of the earliest Sect Shintō movements. After a period of illness and bereavement, he experienced a mystical union with the solar deity Amaterasu during the winter solstice of 1814. From 1815 onwards, he preached and performed divine healings throughout western Japan.
Biography
Kurozumi was born in Kaminakano in Mino District, Bizen Province. He was the third son of Shinto priest Kurozumi Muneshige of Imamura-gū and later used the stylistic name Sakyō. In 1812, both of his parents died, and on the winter solstice of 1814, he experienced tenmei jikiju, described as mystical union with Amaterasu Ōmikami. His health resumed, and he began preaching and performing divine healings. As a result, he gained many followers from various social classes. He died in 1850.
Teachings and practices
Kurozumi taught devotion to Amaterasu Ōmikami as the supreme source of life and light, expressed through gratitude, cheerful sincerity, and daily moral discipline. Practice centers on daily sunrise worship, called nippai, and on cultivating a "bright heart" of thankfulness in ordinary life, as summarized in the 7-article Nichinichi kanai shintoku no koto.
Disciples and early followers
Many of Kurozumi's early followers were from the samurai class. A cohort known as the "six high disciples" — Ishio Kansuke, Kawakami Tadaaki, Tokio Munemichi, Akagi Tadaharu, Hoshijima Ryōhei, and Morishita Keitan — played major roles in spreading the religion and helping to systematize the movement. After the Meiji Restoration, the religious group received official recognition as Kurozumi Kōsha in 1872 and as Shintō Kurozumi-ha in 1876. Kurozumi's grandson Kurozumi Muneatsu served as the organization's first kanchō.
Munetada Shrines and religious headquarters
Kurozumi Munetada is venerated at a few different major shrines. Munetada Shrine in Yoshida Kaguraoka-chō, Kyoto was established in 1862 by disciples such as Akagi Tadaharu. It was designated the sole imperial chokugansho by Emperor Kōmei in 1865. A second shrine, Ōmoto Munetada Shrine in the downtown area of Okayama, stands near the founder's birthplace. Today, the headquarters of Kurozumikyō, where Kurozumi Munetada is also venerated, are located on Mount Kibi no Nakayama in Okayama. At the headquarters on Mount Shintō, adherents continue to perform daily nippai observances led by the chief patriarch.