First published: November 3, 2006
Last updated: April 25, 2024



Onisaburo on papier-mache elephant pulled by local children
disguised as Indians at the foot of Mount Daisen in Hiezu
Village, Tottori Prefecture (Taisho 12, or 1923)

This is where Onisaburo dictated Volumes 57 through 60
to his scribes during his stay at Hamaya Hot Springs Inn.




Table of Contents
  1. The kata (model)-based correlation between India and Japan

  2. Who is the Oh Kuro Nushi (Great Black Master)?

  3. Over a Third of the Monogatari's Volumes Are Set in India

  4. The Three Major Religions in the Monogatari



The kata (model)-based correlation between India and Japan

The religious group Omoto (literally "Great Source" or "Great Origin") was a divine theatrical troupe that implemented the Kami's programs based on the concept of kata, or models. For details on the kata principles, see The Dragon-Shaped Japanese Islands.
Webmaster's note: The Kami here is interchangeable with the One, God, the Providence, the Supreme Being and the like.)

Omoto's teachings maintain that Omoto serves as a model of Japan, which in turn serves as a model of the world. In other words, what happens to Omoto will happen to Japan in a similar manner, and what happens to Japan will happen to the rest of the world on a larger, more dramatic scale.
Webmaster's note: Onisaburo further says that the solar system is a microcosm of the great universe, that the Earth is a microcosm of the solar system, that the Japanese archipelago is a microcosm of the Earth, and that the Amami islands (part of the Ryukyu islands) is a microcosm of the apanese archipelago.

With Onisaburo as head of the divine theatrical company, Omoto believers often unknowingly sowed seeds (i.e. models) through their actions in the hope that those seeds would grow to let divine power shine through the world to eliminate social evils and corrupt institutions.

Just like any drama, Omoto's divine drama also required villains. Some of those villains were Omoto believers with ulterior motives while others were members of the Deguchi family. The Omoto Shin'yu, a holy text of Omoto, indicates that the Kami often needs to make some members of the Deguchi family play villains because He cannot let other non-Deguchi believers play such roles.

Taka-hime, a character appearing in the Reikai Monogatari, is a case in point. One of the real-life models of Taka-hime is known to be Hisa Fukushima, the third daughter of Nao Deguchi, one of the Omoto founders. Possessed by the evil spirit Yamata no Orochi (Eight-Forked Serpent), Hisa rebelled against Onisaburo with a vengiance by founding her own religious group. She played the role of evil force in Omoto's divine drama, and the seed of her being brought to her knees was planted so that evil force would be beaten into submission in real life going forward. When Hisa passed away, Onisaburo complimented her on playing the role no one else could, thereby contributing to the divine work.


Hisa Fukushima

Omoto has undergone two unlawful government-sponsored persecutions: The First Omoto Incident of 1921, and the Second Omoto Incident of 1935. The Second Omoto Incident in particular is believed to have served as a model of the downfall of the Imperial Japanese Empire.

Basically, there are two types of kata: geographical kata, and provincial-soul kata.

Geographical kata are models based on geographical locations. Provincial-soul kata are models based on the tutelary deities of local provinces.

For example, the Omaezaki Peninsula corresponds to India from a geographical-kata perspective, with the Fuji Mountains, the Fuji River, and the Tenryu River also corresponding to the Himalayas, the Ganges River, and the Indus River, respectively. (See below for details)

The Omaezaki Peninsula = India


Omaezaki Peninsula



India


The Fuji Mountains = the Himalayas


Fuji Mountains



Himalayas


The Fuji River = the Ganges River


Fuji River



Ganges River
Image by courtesy of Maps of India.com


The Tenryu River = the Indus River


Tenryu River



Indus River
Image by courtesy of The Better India


From a provincial-soul-kata perspective, however, the Indus River corresponds to the Tone River in the greater Tokyo area.


Type of Kata Japanese River Corresponding Indian River
Geographical Kata Tenryu River in
central Japan		 Indus River
Provincial-Soul Kata Tone River in
eastern Japan		 Indus River


For that matter, kata models are flexible and can vary depending on circumstances. The following is a list of place names in the Reikai Monogatari and their corresponding place names in real life, as indicated by Onisaburo.



Place names in Monogatari and their corresponding place names in real life






Who is the Oh Kuro Nushi (Great Black Master)?

Onisaburo's Reikai Monogatari describes the Oh Kuro Nushi (Great Black Master) as head of the Brahman faith with its headquarters in Haruna (present-day Mumbai). He is manipulated by Yamata no Orochi (Eight-Forked Serpent), one of the three major evil forces that have plunged the world into chaos since its creation. The Great Black Master pulls strings behind his myriad devils to commit all kinds of sins and crimes.
The webmaster's note: The Brahman faith mentioned in the Monogatari probably has little to do with modern-day Brahmanism because it is defined as any religion that:
  • Operates on the principle of "the strong preying on the weak,"

  • Controls people through ideology and authoritarianism, and

  • Disproportionately puts "power over spirit or body."
The Great Black Master is the ultimate antagonist who flees from the Indian City of Haruna to Mount Daisen as he is driven out by righteous Ananai faith deities, and who ends up slain by the Great Kami Kamususanowo, the ultimate protagonist, accompanied by his myriad messengers.



Kamususanowo no Oh Kami (right) working in tandem with Kunitokotachi no Mikoto (left) dubbed "Ushitora no Konjin."


Volume 59, Preface of Reika Monogatari dated April 3, Taisho 12 (1923)


Summary:
  • In the age of gods 350,000 years back from today, the Great Black Master possessed by Yamata no Orochi (Eight-Forked Serpent) wreaks havoc on the world from Haruna (present-day Mumbai).
    The webmaster's note: The number 350,000 should not be taken literally because it might be a figurative expression.
  • To reform the Master and build heaven on earth, the Great Kami Kamususanowo sends out numerous messengers of the Ananai faith to the Indian city.

  • Driven out by the righteous deities, the Great Black Master flees all the way to Mount Daisen in Japan, accompanied by his evil retainers, and lurks in the mountain.

    For Mount Daisen, see Wikipedia: Mount Daisen


    Mount Daisen (Big Mountain) with a height of 1,729 m above sea level


  • The Great Black Master causes violent storms and radiates evil energy to torment locals and native animals.

  • The Great Kami Kamususanowo leads his numerous angels and Ananai messengers to Mount Daisen, and destroys the Great Black Master with the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi (Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword).

  • After the showdown, the Great Kami Kamususanowo presents the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi Sword to the Goddess Amaterasu Oh Mikami, who dwells in the Taka-ama-hara (Plain of High Heaven), thereby showcasing his great achievement, his integrity, and his commitment to the divine work throughout the world.

While the above is an ancient saga that began in the age of the gods, it will affect the current physical world because, as Onisaburo says, the divine world and the material world are like two mirrors set against each other - namely, what happens in the divine world will happen in the material world, albeit with varying degrees or on different scales.




Over a Third of the Monogatari's Volumes Are Set in India

India appears in the Monogatari as the Tsuki no Kuni (Land of the Moon) and takes up nearly half of its volumes. This suggests the significance of present-day India from a divine perspective.

The following is a list of major settings for individual volumes of the Monogatari:


Volume Setting
1 Holy Land of Jerusalem

Note 1: In the age of the gods 350,000 years back from today, Jerusalem was located in Asia Minor, east of Turkey, near the border of Armenia.

Note 2: The number 350,000 should not be taken literally because it might be a figurative expression.
2
3
4
5 Mesopotamia, etc.
6 Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity; usually refers to North America), Mesopotamia, etc.
7 Tsukushi Jima (Tsukushi Island; present-day African Continent)
8 Takasago Jima (Takasago Island; present-day South American Continent)
9
10 Tokoyo no Kuni (present-day United States), Yomotsu Jima (Yomotsu Island; Continent of Mu), etc.
11 Present-day Central Asia
12 Present-day Egypt, Mediterranean Sea
13 Fusa no Kuni (Land of Fusa; present-day Iran)
14
15
16 Lands of Tamba and Tango on Onokoro Jima (Self-Tumbling Island; present-day Japan)
17
18
19
20
21 Tsu no Kuni (Land of Tsu; southern part of present-day Hyogo Prefecture in Japan)
22
23
24 Ryugu Jima (Dragon Palace Island; present-day Australian Continent)
25
26 Land of Tamba on Onokoro Jima (present-day Japan)
27 Ryukyu (present-day Okinama Islands in Japan)
28 Taiwan
29 Takasago Jima (present-day South American Continent)
30
31
32
33 Land of Tamba on Onokoro Jima (present-day Japan)
34 Tsukushi Jima (present-day African Continent)
35
36 Shiro no Kuni (Land of Shiro; present-day Island of Ceylon)
37 Autobiographies of Onisaburo Deguchi in present-day Kameoka, Ayabe, etc., Japan
38
39 Fusa no Kuni (present-day Iran) through Tsuki no Kuni (Land of the Moon; present-day India)
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61 Hymns
62
63 Tsuki no Kuni (present-day India)
64 Modern-day Jerusalem
65 Tsuki no Kuni (present-day India)
66
67
68
69 Land of Uzu (present-day Argentina) on Takasago Jima (present-day South American Continent)
70 Tsuki no Kuni (present-day India)
71
72
Special Mongolia (Special Volume: Onisaburo's Mission in Mongolia)
73 Primordial universe called Shibi Tenkai (Purple Forbidden Heaven), far way back from the age of the gods - namely, the world immediately after the birth of the universe
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81


As shown in the yellow areas, India accounts for a large number of the volumes. Volumes 39 through 60 in particular focus on reforming the Middle East. As such, major problems and conflicts are expected to arise in this region as the Kami launches a series of reforms there. The recent conflicts in the Middle East might be a harbinger of the divine work in action.

Volume 39 of the Monogatari indicates that the Great Kami Kamususanowo has decided to leave India on the backburner of his reform agenda, as cited below. This instead has allowed the Great Black Master to do whatever pleases him, bring chaos to the world, and attempt to invade the headquarters of the Ananai faith. However, he is eventually defeated, flees to Mount Daisen, and is destroyed by the Great Kami Kamususanowo on Mount Daisen.


Excerpts from Volume 39 (dictated in Taisho 11, or 1922)

The red line says that the Great Kami Kamususanowo has decided
to save India for last on his reform agenda. This implies
that his divine reform will shift to India in the future.


The Great Kami Kamususanowo sends five different kototama squads of Ananai faith messengers on a mission to lead the Great Black Master and his Brahman army into the right path with the power of kototama (divine words). They leave Kamususanowo's Iso Shrine in the Caucasus Mountains to head for Haruna, or present-day Mumbai, and along the way they mend the ways of many local Brahman soldiers (see below).


Map of Great Kami Kamususanowo vs. Great Black Master
By courtesy of Hachiman Shoten

Divine Ananai propagandists are dispached to Mumbai to
bring the Great Black Master to his knees.


The Great Black Master possessed by Yamata no Orochi (Eight-Forked Serpent) ends up slain by the Great Kami Kamususanowo with the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi (Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword) (cf. SECT. XVIII. - THE EIGHT-FORKED SERPENT of the Kojiki)


A scene from the Kojiki: Susanowo slaying the evil Serpent.
Illustrated by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi


Nevertheless, vengeful ghosts dispersing from the slain Serpent in the age of gods have been reborn in today's world and have committed various kinds of offenses again! Learning this lesson, the Great Kami Kamususanowo has resolved not to kill those reborn Serpent fragments but to get them to mend their ways with the power of kototama.

For this reason, it is an important underlying theme of the Monogatari to reform evil gods or spirits with divine words and guide them back on the right path. Simply killing bad guys won't solve anything fundamentally.





The Three Major Religions in the Monogatari

The Reikai Monogatari often provides tales related to the three major religions:
  • The Ananai faith

  • The Brahman faith, and

  • The Ural faith

The first one is a righteous religion founded by the Great Kami Kamususanowo, whereas the other two are initiated by deities possessed and manipulated by Yamata no Orochi the Great Serpent.

The Brahman faith was founded by Hirokuni-wake, the son of the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko, in the Egyptian town of Iho.

For the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko, Volume 2, General Remarks of the Monogatari says as follows:
The Great Kami Pangu Shionaga-hiko, a direct descendant of the Great Sun God, is a human-shaped deity who descended to the Earth from the Solar Kingdom. The Great Sun God, i.e the Kami Izanagi no Mikoto, was caught off guard so much that he let Shionaga-hiko slip through his fingers and descend to what is now a northern part of China. He is a mild-mannered righteous kami.

Meanwhile, the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko is a valiant human-shaped kami who descended to the Earth from the planet Uranus. Both Shionaga-hiko and Oh Kuni-hiko were originally honorable deities residing in the sphere of good gods, but as they settled on the Earth permanently over an extended period of time, they were unconsciously possessed by ghostly vibrations and evil spirits (e.g. evil dragons, foxes and ogres) emanating from the taishu-reiju evil energy that had filled the Earth since Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime disobeyed heavenly orders. As a result, Shionaga-hiko and Oh Kuni-hiko naturally started acting like evil deities. This further exacerbated the chaos on the Earth like turbid water, with foul and filty energy permeating it. Thus, the world degenerated into a vulgar pandemonium of rampant fiends and cannibals going on the rampage and doing whatever they pleased.








Great Kami Kamususanowo vs. Yamata no Orochi

Protagonist/
antagonist in Monogatari		 Kamususanowo
(Saviour Deity)		 Yamata no Orochi (Satan)
Type of religion  Ananai faith Brahman faith Ural faith
Ideological principles • Reishu taiju (flesh subordinated to spirit)

• Worship of the Divine and altruism 		• Ryokushu tairei (power overrides flesh or spirit)

• The stronger preying upon the weaker is right.		 • Taishu reiju (spirit subordinated to flesh)

• Egotism
Tone of language Kototama of love and goodness; words in 31-syllable poems Imperative ("You must ...") Assertive
Deity worshipped Deity of regeneration with the Maitreya Consciousness (utmost philanthropy and benevolence)  Deity that forces submission Deity as part of laws of nature
Society One of love and goodness where all the human race peacefully coexists One ruled by power - notably, political, military, economic, academic and physical power One dominated by rationality, such as laws and regulations, doctrines, science and technology, and productivity
Time orientation Expansion of space (conceptual realm) that contributes to the formation and development of heaven on earth Linear progression that fosters a vicious infinity of power and material pursuits; it is nihilistic and never makes society self-sufficient. Linear progression that fosters a vicious infinity of power and material pursuits; it is nihilistic and never makes society self-sufficient. (Same as Brahman faith)
Relationship to humanity Liberator  → joy and happiness → symbiosis and creation Master-servant relationship  → the discriminating vs. the discriminated, and command vs. submission → callous indifference → loneliness and nihilism Self-complacent absolutization → disharmony, egotism and conspiracy → callous indifference → loneliness and nihilism





Onisaburo in Omoto missionary robe and headgear





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