WHERE WE WORSHIP
World Messianity has roots in Japan
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Faith Editor
 |
| The Church of World Messianity Hawaii on Nu'uanu Pali Drive is an affiliate of Sekai Kyusei Kyo in Hakone, Japan. Its members follow the practices of a healing art known as Jorei, and "nature farming" is encouraged.
Photo courtesy Church of World Messianity Hawaii |
Our affiliation: The mother church is Sekai Kyusei Kyo in Hakone, Japan.
Where we are: 3510 Nu'uanu Pali Drive.
Our numbers: About 300 attend the 10 a.m. Sunday service. Total membership in Hawai'i is about 2,000, said Steve Ichikawa, a church spokesman.
Our head minister: The Rev. Shinsaku Igarashi.
Our history: The Hawai'i church was founded in 1953 in Manoa and adheres to the philosophy of Mokichi Okada (1882-1955), said Ichikawa. Affiliated centers are on Maui; in Hilo and Kona on the Big Island; and on Kaua'i, Lana'i and Moloka'i.
During Okada's lifetime, the church expanded from Japan to the United States and Argentina. After Okada died in 1955, Teruaki Kawai, Okada's closest disciple, also instituted MOA, a nonprofit organization that provides diet, healing and art education based on the teachings of Okada.
What's special about us: The striking building in Nu'uanu was completed in 1968. Its French architecture is Le Corbusier style.
Okada also taught about the purification process. He said people can pass safely through illness, financial hardship or conflict with the help of a healing art he named Jorei. Jorei uses the energies of the elements that originate in the sun, moon and Earth. When focused on "key points," Jorei enhances the body's natural healing ability to liquefy and eliminate clouding of the spirit and toxins in the body, according to Okada's teachings.
Okada also taught "nature farming." Ichikawa explained that "the soil is regarded and built up as a living entity and the energies of the fire, water, and earth elements are also utilized to produce crops filled with vigor without the use of herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers."
Okada encouraged people to consume only "nature farming"-produced foods. Such foods are provided through AG 21 Natural Foods Store, on-site, and at other health-food stores.
What we believe: In 1931, Okada had a divine inspiration that a great transition had begun in the spiritual world — a change from night to day — that would be mirrored to the physical world, said Ichikawa. The transition was expected to bring about the creation of an ideal world, or "paradise on earth," he told his followers. That paradise will be filled with health, abundance and peace — a world in which illnesses, poverty and conflicts would no longer exist.
However, he said, attaining paradise on earth requires eliminating the stain of sin that has accumulated over thousands of years. The materialistic elements in contemporary living would be useless or unfit for the ideal world, he said. Okada said wrongful thoughts, words and acts cloud the human spirit.
Some basic beliefs are that spirit precedes body and the inseparableness of spirit and body. He also emphasized the importance of incorporating beauty into one's daily life to ennoble one's character.
What we're excited about: Since Okada recommended displaying flower arrangements, even single blossoms, to alleviate negativity in modern living, classes are offered through Pan-American MOA. The next two classes are 10 a.m. Aug. 26 and 28.
There also will be a class on nature farming, at 9 a.m. Wednesday, at the University of Hawai'i Experiment Station in Waimanalo.
Okada also promotes the Japanese tea ceremony as a comprehensive art form. Classes will be held in conjunction with the flower-arranging classes.
Contact: Roy Goshi-Otaguro, 595-6344; or online at www.pan-american-moa.org.
If you would like to recommend a faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8035 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.
