These men were in reality rationalists, who took the maxims
of Confucius and Mencius as the basis of their doctrines*
Any Shinto element which they may contain is quite
inappreciable. Their sermons, of which a good number
have been printed, are in the colloquial dialect. They are
very entertaining and, despite an occasional bit of
indecency, not unedifying.
Tenrikyo/ or the '' teaching of the Heavenly Reason,"
is a modern sect. The founder was a woman named
Omiki, who was born in the province of Yamato in 1798^
and died in 1887. Her religion owes much to the Shingaku
and Ryobu doctrines* While professing to worship
Kunitokotachi, Izanagi, Izanami^ and seven other Shinto
deities, practically Izanagi and Izanami are her only Gods*
The former (identified with the sun) is taken to represent
the male, and the latter the female principle, corresponding
in nature to Heaven and Earth, and in human society to
husband and wife. These Gods arc spiritual beings,
chiefly revealed in the heart of man, and are endowed with
personal attributes, Tenrikyd has high moral aims, and
has made rapid progress. In 1894 there were claimed for
it 10,000 priests and preachers^ and 1400,000 adherents.
Besojnonkyo.t — The name of this sect implies that,
like the spotless lotu^-flower, which has its roots in the
mud, it attains to purity in the midst of a wicked world.
It is stated to have originated with a certain Yanagita
Ichibelmon, but its real founder was his disciple, a woman
named Shimamura Mitsuko, who was still alive and preach-
ing in 1901.
