Encyclopedia of Shinto

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カテゴリー1： 8. Schools, Groups, and Personalities
カテゴリー2： Modern Sectarian Groups
Title
Soshindō Kyōdan
Text
A Shinto-derived new religion established by Yoshioka Tajūrō (1905-87), who had worked earlier as a teacher in Izumo Taishakyō. In the early Showa era (ca. late 1920s-) Yoshioka visited and came under the religious tutelage of the Shinto spiritualist Matsushita Matsuzō, known as a "living kami" (ikigami). It is said that he subsequently developed confidence in his own spiritual powers upon the occasion of healing his own mother's illness.
Although Yoshioka received qualification as an "provisional great teacher" (gon daikōgi) in Izumo Taishakyō in 1935, he continued his secular employment operating a trading company, but in 1950 he decided to focus wholly on his religious activities. In March of the following year, he established the Soshindō Jikkō Kyōkai. Matsushita's influence can be readily seen in the activities of Yoshioka's group, which emphasized the importance of gratitude (corresponding to loyalty in Matsushita's thought), love (corresponding to filial piety), devotion (corresponding to venerating the kami), and faith (corresponding to reverence for ancestors). Other similarities include the way in which he invoked divine power in the act of tekazu ("the raising of the hand") to spiritually purify his followers. The movement has operated under its current name since 1942.
Headquarters: Ishikawa Prefecture
Nominal membership: approximately 64,000 (M)

—Yumiyama Tatsuya

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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