"Onisaburo Deguchi, The Enigmatic Leader Of The Omoto Kyo, A Shinto Based Religion"

Onisaburo Deguchi

Onisaburo Deguchi (1871-1948), was born named Kisaburo Ueda in Kameoka, Japan.

Although almost unknown in the West, he was an important religious leader of 20th century Japan.

He was a powerful force behind the Omoto Kyo faith, a 'new religion'. At its height, there were around 2 million followers and had a major impact on the political and religious affairs of prewar Japan.

Onisaburo's life and achievements were immense. He was a writer, poet, calligrapher, sculptor, and ceramist, He left a vast cultural and artistic legacy.

He was the spiritual master of Morihei Ueshiba, who took inspiration from Onisaburo’s teachings in the creation of his ethically-based Aikido, a martial art practiced by hundreds of thousands of students worldwide.

Onisaburo became a primary school teacher at the age of 12. He studied Honda Chikaatsu's 'Spirit Studies', he also learned chinkon kishin (spiritual practise) from Nagasawa Katsutate in Shizuoka.

In a cave, at the top of a mountain called Takakuma, in Kameoka Japan, he attained enlightenment in 1898.

He met Nao Deguchi, the founder of the Omoto religion in 1898 and quickly became a major figure in promoting the new sect. He married Nao's daughter Sumi in 1900 and was adopted into the family, taking the name Onisaburo Deguchi.

In 1908, with Nao Deguchi, he founded the Dai Nihon Shuseikai, which in 1913 became Taihonkyo, and in 1916 became Kodo Omoto. In 1923, he studied Esperanto, an international planned language, and introduced it to the Omoto Kyo religion.

After the death of Nao in 1918, he became the central figure of the religion.

Onisaburo Deguchi was imprisoned on several occasions when the Omoto sect was persecuted by the military government. He spent from 1935-1942 in prison, and later produced thousands of highly-regarded ceramic pieces.

He met Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido in 1919, while Morihei was travelling to Tanabe to his father's deathbed.

Morihei Ueshiba developed the martial art of Aikido from his combat studies of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu with Sokaku Takeda, and his spiritual studies with the Omoto Kyo and Onisaburi Deguchi. The art of peace focuses on harmony and non-resistance, leading to Aiki Success

Onisaburo said it was humanity's duty to move forward together to a new age of existence on Earth, and achieving enlightenment in this lifetime.

He authored the Reikai Monogatari (Tales of the Spirit World), an 81-volume work that covered his travels into the spiritual planes.

Onisaburo enjoyed wearing richly textured costumes that he designed. He posed as a wide variety of Buddhist or Shinto deities (gods). He also dressed as a shaman, and even appeared as female deities.

His outlook on life was often seen as outrageous, and he claimed to be an incarnation of Miroku Butsu (Maitreya Buddha), and would refer to himself as a remodeller of the world.

Like many Omoto followers, he believed that the original kami founders of Japan were driven away by the gods of the imperial line, which meant that he challenged authority, but had the ability to hide it.

Nao Deguchi, on the other hand, was more open and direct in her statements. Onisaburo was good at calming government officials, while leading their efforts, that he found distasteful or amoral.

Onisaburo Deguchi's legacy is mainly concerned with art, including a wealth of works on calligraphy and poetry. He also worked in cinema, sculpture, and pottery, leaving 1,000's of items, considered of great value.

For more info see Stanley Pranin's work at Aikido Journal.

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