130:. The central object of worship within the church is the Universal Life Force, sometimes referred simply in English as God. According to the church, the Universal Life Force gives all things life, having a similar role as most central deities in some major religions. One of the most important teachings of Gedatsu-kai is maintaining reverence to God and one's ancestors. Gedatsu-kai emphasizes that an individual receives blessings from their country, parents, teachers, society, and everything that has been created by the Universal Life Force, and that individuals must give thanks to the givers of those blessings. Seiken Okano expressed that every part of life is integrated with religion, and that all of an individual's experiences and actions directly effect one's spirit, and one must take that into account when living their daily life to gain a "true peace of mind."
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167:), which means literally "Universal Buddha of Five Wisdoms." The Supreme Spirit of the Universe and Gochi Nyorai are intertwined, both representing the Universal Life Force. The difference lies in the specifics, with the Supreme Spirit of the Universe originating from Shinto, and Gochi Nyorai originating from Buddhism. The third object is Gedatsu Kongo Sonja, in respect to his role as the founder of the church.
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associating himself with practitioners of those faiths. In 1929, he was believed to have had a divine revelation, urging him to further his religious exploration; Okano founded
Gedatsu-kai later that year. He dedicated the rest of his life to guiding others to the same spiritual awakening he had received. In 1948, Okano died, and was given the title "Gedatsu
114:, or spiritual grounds, for the United States. In 1952, the church purchased a church building in Los Angeles, California, and founded its third U.S. branch. Kishida returned to his former position within Gedatsukai in Japan in 1964, and began alternating his service semiannually between Japan and the United States.
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After Okano's death in 1948, management of church affairs was passed to Bishop Takeo
Kishida. In 1950, Kishida moved to the United States, passing church operations to individual congregations in the Tokyo area. Kishida purchased 20 acres of farmland in Sacramento, California, founding the Sacramento
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Ine Kenyu Kiyota was a student of Seiken Okano, and was given the mission to spread
Gedatsu-kai to the United States. Kiyota brought Gedatsu-Kai to California during the late 1930s. Upon the beginning of World War II, Kiyota, along with the Japanese and Japanese American populace in the United
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Gedatsu-kai was established by Seiken Okano (born Eizo Okano) in 1929. Okano was born in what is now
Kitamoto, Saitama in 1881. Okano fell ill in 1925 with pneumonia, and upon recovering, expressed greater interest in religion. He visited Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples, eventually
149:(a wooden plaque inscribed with religious characters). The blessing is performed with intention for all spirits to receive, another part of giving thanks to ancestors. Seiken Okano's case of pneumonia in 1929 was supposedly healed by consumption of Amacha Tea.
106:. Kiyota spent her time in Tule Lake practicing Gedatsu-kai, and spreading the teachings of Seiken Okano. Upon being released from Tule Lake, Kiyota founded the first branch of the Gedatsu Church of America in San Francisco.
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In 1961, the original San
Francisco branch of the church dissolved, and the American headquarters moved to Los Angeles. In 1981, the Honolulu branch of the Gedatsu Church of America was founded in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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Gedatsu-kai is non-sectarian, which allows it to be practiced in conjunction with other religions. The church, especially in the United States, is open to members of other religions to partake in church services.
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Members of the church worship three objects, which represent different entities within the study. The first is the
Supreme Spirit of the Universe, and the second is Gochi Nyorai (
89:, and the chairman of the board of directors is Bishop Teruo Okano. Reverend Naoya Okano is affiliated with the Gedatsu Church of America.
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The church holds multiple festivals annually to celebrate and appreciate the blessings they receive from ancestors and guardian spirits.
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The ultimate objective of
Gedatsu-kai is for its sincere practitioners to achieve spiritual enlightenment, and to free one from negative
499:
Review: Gedatsukai: Its Theory and
Practice (A Study of a Shinto-Buddhist Syncretic School in Contemporary Japan) by Minoru Kiyota
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Sonja" within the Church. Church members refer to him as "Kongō Sama" or "Sonja," and pay homage to him regularly through prayer.
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His successor (referred to as Hoshu, or Dharma successor) is the late Abbot Seiho Okano, an affiliate of the revisionist lobby
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Tisdall-Yamada, Y.; Earhart, H. B. (1990). "Gedatsu-kai and
Religion in Contemporary Japan: Returning to the Center".
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102:. Kiyota refused to pledge loyalty to the United States in protest of the internment, and was sent to the
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Transformation of a
Japanese New Religion In American Society: A Case Study Of Gedatsu Church Of America
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Transformation of a Japanese New Religion In American Society: A Case Study Of Gedatsu Church Of America
69:. Gedatsu-kai is a non-sectarian study, having no firm affiliation with any existing religious groups.
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Review: Gedatsu-Kai and Religion in Contemporary Japan: Returning to the Center by H. Byron Earhart
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Gedatsu-kai has branches throughout Japan. The church's administrative headquarters are located in
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Gedatsukai: One life history and its significance for interpreting Japanese new religions
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founded in 1929. The number of adherents exceeded 200,000 in the 1990s. It is a
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501:, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 6 (1), 154–156
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Gedatsukai. A New Dictionary of Religions : Blackwell Reference Online
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of the United States is located on the church grounds in Sacramento.
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494:, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 7 (2–3), 227–257
322:, Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press
300:, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 9 (4), 316-318
437:"Gedatsu Church of America - Introduction to Gedatsu"
47:movement, with influences drawing from traditional
461:"Gedatsu Church of America - Festivals and Events"
133:An important part of Gedatsu-kai prayers is the
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16:Japanese new religious movement founded in 1929
351:" - Gedatsu-kai website, retrieved Nov 8, 2014
320:Gedatsu Kai and Religion in Contemporary Japan
141:. The Amacha Blessing is performed by pouring
55:teachings. Its central deity is Gochi Nyorai (
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508:, Journal of Japanese Studies 17 (1), 211-217
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202:, are located in the founder's home town in
362:"Gedatsu Church of America - Contact Us"
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39:, or Nirwana Association, is a Japanese
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210:". The largest branches are located in
110:Branch, and dedicating the land as the
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59:). Gedatsu is the Japanese term for
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198:, but its sacred grounds, or
245:The Journal of Asian Studies
497:Earhart, H. Byron. (1983).
342:Organization and Activities
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524:Gedatsu Church USA website
186:Tenjinchigi Shrine at the
296:Heisig, James W. (1982).
98:States, were forced into
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504:Hardacre, Helen (1991).
318:Earhart, H.Byron (1989)
309:Hardacre (1991), p. 212
212:Los Angeles, California
539:Japanese new religions
216:Sacramento, California
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156:, better known as the
41:new religious movement
400:Ishii, Kenji (1983).
385:Ishii, Kenji (1983).
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122:Beliefs and practices
331:Nippon Kaigi website
165:Mahavairocana Buddha
519:Gedatsu-kai website
465:www.gedatsu-usa.org
441:www.gedatsu-usa.org
416:"Gedatsukai Enkaku"
389:. pp. 164–166.
366:www.gedatsu-usa.org
347:2014-11-08 at the
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488:Earhart, H. Byron
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470:2019-08-13
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371:2019-08-13
230:References
143:Amacha tea
421:13 August
273:163879252
45:syncretic
533:Category
345:Archived
224:goreichi
200:goreichi
188:goreichi
178:Location
112:goreichi
265:2058479
147:Kuyo-To
93:History
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222:. The
218:, and
62:moksha
49:Shinto
269:S2CID
261:JSTOR
145:on a
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