Reikai Monogatari (Japanese: 霊界物語; English translation: Tales of the Spirit World or Tales from the Spirit World) is a religious text in the form of a novel,『「みろくの世」－出口王仁三郎の世界－』p7 dictated by Onisaburo Deguchi (Japanese: 出口王仁三郎), the co-founder of the Japanese religious organization Oomoto.
The work consists of 81 volumes contained in 83 books,『「みろくの世」－出口王仁三郎の世界－』p57 the discrepancy being due to Volume 64 being contained in two books, plus the inclusion of a special edition book about Onisaburo Deguchi's expedition to Mongolia. The first 72 volumes were written between 1921 and 1926, and the remaining 9 volumes between 1933 and 1934.
Some devout Oomoto followers will read through the entire work, often taking a year to do so. Reading the text out aloud is believed to confer spiritual benefits.
Background to creation In the 1910s, some high-ranking military officers became Oomoto followers, creating apprehension in the government of the Empire of Japan.『大本襲撃－出口すみとその時代－』p141 Then in 1920 Oomoto bought a daily newspaper company and publicized a prophecy and warning of war, calamity, and social reform.『大本襲撃－出口すみとその時代－』p142 As a result, Onisaburo and two executives of Oomoto were arrested and charged with lèse-majesté and violation of the Newspaper Law, and were jailed in February 1921.『大本襲撃－出口すみとその時代－』p151 After being detained for 126 days, Onisaburo was released from prison in June 1921 and returned to Oomoto's headquarter in Ayabe.『出口なお王仁三郎の予言・確言』p230 These events are called the First Oomoto Incident.
Subsequently, on 8 October 1921, Onisaburo stated that he had been given a divine direction to "make public the state of the Spirit World which the God had revealed in the lunar calendar February of the 31st year of the Meiji Era."本書、第2巻、序 (This was 1898 in the Christian Era calendar, a year in which Onisaburo had practised seven-days of spiritual asceticism.) Furthermore, the divine spirit of Nao Deguchi – the co-founder of Oomoto who had died three years previously – had also given him a stern demand about this publication. The next day, Onisaburo started dictating Reikai Monogatari.本書、第8巻、総説
Dictation and publishing Onisaburo's dictation of Reikai Monogatari started in October 1921 and two days later the demolition of Oomoto's central shrine ordered by the authorities started. Hearing the noise, Onisaburo continued hise dictation.『出口なお王仁三郎の予言・確言』p233
Onisaburo dictated most parts of Reikai Monogatari lying on a futon (a Japanese-style mattress), without consulting any references, and without any faltering or restatement.『大本七十年史 上巻』p648-649. Selected followers transcribed his dictation, made a clean copy, read it out to Onisaburo, and then corrected any errors.『大本七十年史 上巻』p648 In the beginning it took about ten days to dictate a volume, but as the speed of dictation and transcription increased it took only about three days. When the story took place in a cold climate, Onisaburo used a kotatsu (Japanese foot warmer), even in summer. When the story took place in a tropical climate he used a fan, even in winter. And when the character suffered pain, he suffered likewise.『大本七十年史 上巻』p649 Tired from dictating day after day, Onisaburo sometimes started snoring in the middle of dictation. On awaking he asked the transcriber how far he had dictated. As the transcriber read back a few sentences, he resumed dictation from the last sentence.
The first 72 volumes were dictated within the five years up to June 1926, with the last nine volumes dictated from October 1933 to December 1934. But in December 1935 the publication of the completed Reikai Monogatari was prohibited by the authorities on the grounds that it desecrated the Imperial dignity.『大本七十年史 下巻』p423 Onisaburo was imprisoned for six years and eight months in what came to be known as the Second Oomoto Incident, a thorough suppression lasting from 1935 to 1945 and unparalleled in Japan's modern history.『「みろくの世」－出口王仁三郎の世界－』p6
Since the fall of the Empire of Japan and its authorities who suppressed Oomoto in 1945, Reikai Monogatari has been republished in several editions for both Oomoto followers and for the public. The edition published from 1967 to 1971 is held in the libraries of major foreign universities, including Boston University, Moscow State University, and the University of Cambridge.『予言と神話・出口王仁三郎と霊界物語の謎』p30
Summary of contents Onisaburo stated that in order to introduce the divine teachings widely it was necessary to use the form of a novel rather than an academic text,本書、第32巻、序文 making Reikai Monogatari unlike other religious scriptures『出口なお王仁三郎の予言・確言』p232 as it mostly consists of rhythmical tanka (a Japanese poetry of 31 syllables) and theatrical dialogues between characters. The dialogues are often comical and sprinkled with puns, wordplay, and sometimes metafictional jokes that characters in the ancient era refer to, or quote from other sections of Reikai Monogatari. Onisaburo wanted his story to be narrated with plain and simple words so that the ordinary people, rather than intellectuals, would comprehend the God's will.本書、第58巻、総説
In summary, Reikai Monogatari tells of how all things were created and evolved by the God of Great Origin, a Spirit that has been permeating the universe. However, as this Spirit's evolution is incomplete, evilness generated in various forms has caused disturbance to the order of both the Spirit and the Present World. Therefore, in order to accomplish the divine work of saving the Worlds and of bringing Heaven on Earth, the God named Kan-susanoo-no-ookami made public the divine teachings and dispatched its promoters to all over the Worlds in order to let the power and spirit of the words induce evil ones to repent.『大本七十年史 上巻』p672 (Onisaburo defined Kan-susanoo-no-ookami as the God of Salvation which has devoted itself, with infinite mercy, to save all things both in the Spirit and Present World.本書、第47巻、総説)
Reikai Monogatari contains a wide range of themes: the creation of the universe; the divinity of the supreme God; the status, relations, and activities of Gods; the origin of the emergence of Oomoto; the relationship between gods and human beings; the true state of the Spirit World; the theory of life, of philosophy, of religion, of politics, of economics, of ideology, of education, and of art; the imperishability of spirit; and accounts of incidents in both the past of 350,000 years ago and in the modern times of the 1920s, as well as prophecies about the future in the 50th century. It also contains myths concerning the histories of continents and parts of the world corresponding to the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan, as well as modern-day Iran, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, South America, and Australia.
The doctrine preached in Reikai Monogatari highlights the fallacies of existing philosophies, religions, and ideologies, and denounces the despotism generated from egoism and the oppression and exploitation of a certain race. It also admonishes people's depravity and indolence, and aims to inspire all human beings to be restored as "Child of God, Shrine of God" and to co-exist in mutual prosperity, in a world reconstructed under an order based upon the Supreme God's will.
Outline of volumes The volumes of the Reikai Monogatari focus on particular topics and stories, as follows:
Volumes 1–36 Volume 1 (1st half): Onisaburo's training at Mount Takakuma and exploration of the spirit world Volume 1 (2nd half) to Volume 4: The founder's seclusion Volume 5 and Volume 6 (1st half): The great flood, the creation of the country Volume 6 (2nd half) to Volume 12: The birth of the gods, the Battle of Yomihirasaka 黄泉比良坂のい, Princess Oki 大気津姫, and the opening of the Heavenly Rock Cave 天の岩戸開き Volume 13 to Volume 15: In the country of Persia/"Fusa" フサの国 (modern Iran), the first appearance of characters who will be important in future volumes Volume 16 to Volume 35: The story of the governance of Nishikinomiya 錦の宮, the story of Takahime 高姫, the story of Tanba 丹波 Volume 24 to Volume 25: The story of Ryūgū-jima 竜宮島 (modern Australia) Volume 27 (2nd half): The story of the Ryukyu Islands Volume 28: The story of Taiwan Volume 29 to Volume 33: The story of Takasago-jima 高砂島 (modern South America) Volume 34 to Volume 35: The story of Tsukushi-jima 筑紫島 (modern Africa) Volume 36: Set in Shiro-jima シロの島 (modern Ceylon) Volumes 37–72 (Journey to Mongolia 入蒙記) Volume 37 to Volume 38: Autobiography of Onisaburo from his youth Volume 39 to Volume 72: The story of the governance of Iso's mansion, the story of the subjugation of the Great Black Lord 大黒主. Set in the country of Persia フサの国 to the country of Tsuki [Moon] 月の国 (modern Iran to India). Volume 60 (2nd half): The Three Beautiful Songs 三美歌, various prayers 祝詞, and the Three / Five Divine Revelations 三五神諭 Volume 61 to Volume 62: Oomoto Hymn 大本讃美歌 Volume 64 (parts 1 and 2): Set in modern-day Jerusalem Volume 69: Story of the political reforms in the country of Uzu ウヅの国 (modern-day Argentina) Volume 70 to Volume 72: Set in the country of Tsuki [Moon] 月の国 (modern India) Special Volume: Journey to Mongolia 入蒙記 – an autobiography of Onisaburo's entry into Mongolia in 1924 Volumes 73–81 (The Prosperity of Heaven and Earth 天祥地瑞) Volume 73 to Volume 75: Story of the god Taigen Akitsuo 太元顕津男 Volume 76 to Volume 78: Story of the god Asakahime 朝香比女 Volume 79 to Volume 80: Story of the land of Kayahara 葭原の国土 Volume 81: Story of Isako's island 伊佐子の島
Special volumes
Volume 1 The first half of Volume 1 is an account of the Spirit World which Onisaburo asserted to have witnessed and experienced during a seven-day spiritual asceticism in 1898.
Volumes 37 and 38 Volumes 37 and 38 are Onisaburo's autobiography from 1898 to 1916, i.e. from his middle 20s to his middle 40s, in which he recounts the following.
In 1898, 26-year-old Kisaburo Ueda – Onisaburo's birth name – managed to make a living on a small dairy farm founded with his friends in his home village Anao,『大地の母 第1巻』p363 now in present-day Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture. The eldest son of an extremely poor farm family, since childhood Onisaburo had disgust for the oppression of the strong and sympathy for the weak.本書、第37巻、第二章 This led to him intervening in troubles and fights caused by local hoodlums, resulting, in March 1898, in him being severely injured. The next night Kisaburo had a mystical experience in which a strange fellow in western clothes and with a black pocketbook visited him.『大地の母 第1巻』p196 This fellow introduced himself as Matsuoka, an angel sent by the Goddess of Mount Fuji. Matsuoka led Kisaburo to nearby Mount Takakuma, and there, sitting upright on a rock with only an undergarment and no food or drink, Kisaburo underwent a seven-day asceticism consisting of periods of one hour in the Spirit World followed by two hours in the Present World. During this seven-day asceticism, it is said that Kisaburo reached the state of being spiritually connected with the God; had his spirit explore in Heaven, Hell, and the Present World; comprehended the truth of the universe; and perceived that he was commissioned to save the world.『大本七十年史 上巻』p146 Onisaburo claimed that he grasped the essence of various divine capabilities including that of seeing all things at any time and any place, of knowing others' destinies, of penetrating into others' minds, and of uttering divine voices.本書、第1巻、発端