The New Religions of Japan

Abstract

(Way of Man), which was begun in Osaka in 1925 by Miki Tokuhara, father of the originator and present leader of PL Kyodan. Hitono-Michi was dispersed by the wartime cabinet, and most of the members disbanded. However, a few of the most ardent devotees maintained the ideals of the movement underground until the granting of religious freedom after the war made possible their open proclamation again. The movement was reborn in PL Kyodan in 1946. The reorganizer of the sect in its present form is Miki Tokuchika who continues to serve the Order as its Master Teacher or Oshie-oya, an office which is comparable to that of the Shimbashira in Tenrikyo, except that it is not necessarily hereditary. The object of worship in the PL Order is Mioya-O-Kami (Parent God), who has no connection with any of the traditional deities of Japanese mythology. Indeed, the PL Kyodan is a monotheistic religion, though a very tolerant one. The Order teaches that other religions worship the one God according to different understandings of him. The distinctive creed of this sect is set forth in twenty-one Precepts