Encyclopedia of Shinto

詳細表示 (Complete Article)

カテゴリー1: 8. Schools, Groups, and Personalities
カテゴリー2: Modern Sectarian Groups
Title
Chūshinkai
Text "
A religious movement focused on divination and onomancy and founded by Kumazaki Ken'ō (1881-1961). While working at primary schools and in the newspaper business, Kumazaki had developed a unique system of shorthand, and engaged in the study of divination, fortune telling, onomancy, and phrenology. In 1927 he established an onomancy centre called the Goseikaku (lit., "Five Sacred Pavilions") based on a philosophy of respect for the power of naming. After receiving requests from followers throughout Japan, Kumazaki established the movement called Chushindō in 1931. A comprehensive program of teaching was carried out at the Goseikaku through a department of instruction for the study of disciplines related to divining destinies and the philosophy of the movement; a department of practical training which provided guidance on using onomancy to overcome bad fate and acquire good fortune; and a publications office which issued works by Kumazaki himself, as well as various monthly magazines and newsletters. While dedicating his time to writing, Kumazaki also served as the administrative director of the incorporated foundation Takashima Eki Gakkai (the Takashima Divination Association), and for a period was affiliated to Shintō Taikyō, in which he held a position as senior teacher.
Following World War II, the movement made a new start in 1948 under the name Shinmei no Michi, and in 1952 it registered as an independent religious corporation under the Religious Corporations Law (Shūkyō Hōjinhō). It assumed its present name in 1964. It currently is not involved in specific proselytizing activity, but it does conduct teaching and research into preexisting or "congenital" destinies based on a form of astrological divination called shichū suimei ("four-pillars divination," referring to the technique's use of the year, month, day, and hour of birth), and "acquired" destinies based on onomancy.
Headquarters: Tokyo
Nominal membership: approximately 57,000 (M)
 
— Yumiyama Tatsuya
"

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

"The headquarters of the Chūshinkai share a building with a supermarket. The part of the building belonging to the Chūshinkai is now known as the Goseikaku and it has become a location where onomancy (name divination) as well as other forms of divination and fortune-telling are carried out here. The group advertises its presence at a nearby bus stop.Ōsawa Kōji 2007**月**日"