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Within five years, Oomoto had expanded from fewer than 1,000 believers in Ayabe to over 300,000 adherents nationwide. People from all walks of life were drawn to the faith: ordinary citizens, educators, government officials, naval officers wary of rising militarism, soldiers, and members of the imperial family. Such rapid expansion and broad appeal soon drew the attention – and concern – of the country’s right-wing and militarist circles. As Oomoto’s influence grew, the wary government prepared to suppress it. On February 12, 1921, about 200 police officers raided the Ayabe headquarters, marking the start of the First Oomoto Incident. On October 5, 1921, Seishi Onisaburō was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Shortly after, the government ordered the demolition of Oomoto’s main sanctuary, the Hongū-san Shrine. On October 18, two days before the destruction, a solemn farewell ceremony was held at the shrine. From that day onward, even as the sounds of the demolition echoed around Him, Seishi Onisaburō began orally dictating what would become His monumental work, “Reikai Monogatari” (“Tales of the Spirit World”). In a poignant convergence of destruction and creation, the physical sanctuary was torn down while the eternal scripture of the coming age was born. Throughout His life, Seishi made a large number of startling prophecies, many of which came true in His lifetime: the start of the Asia-Pacific War, the United States’ atomic bombings of two major Japanese cities, and the Soviet Union’s capture of the Kuril Islands, to name a few. True to His foretelling, the tide of the global conflict turned. Under General Douglas MacArthur’s direction, the Allied Occupation authorities (GHQ) swiftly repealed the laws that had repressed freedom of thought and religion. Consequently, on October 17, 1945, the lèse-majesté charges against Oomoto were officially pardoned, bringing the long ordeal of the Oomoto Incidents to a close. Beyond the monumental “Tales of the Spirit World” and the radiant Yōwan tea bowls, Seishi Onisaburō Deguchi left thousands of essays, poems, plays, and lectures on subjects ranging from pacifism and art to the unification of world religions. Throughout His life, He endured trials that words can hardly convey. Yet through every ordeal, He gifted humanity an enduring spiritual legacy and emerged as one of early 20th-century Japan’s most visionary spiritual figures.
