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Honda Chikaatsu

(February 4, 1822 – April 9, 1889) was a Japanese Shinto writer, philosopher, religious teacher, and spiritualist. Honda is known for devising the meditation and spirit possession techniques chinkon (鎮魂) and kishin (帰神), respectively. He produced several writings in Japanese and literary Chinese at the start of the Meiji era during the 1870s and 1880s.

Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence of interest in Honda's writings as they were published and became widely available. The study of Honda's teachings is typically referred to in Japan as Honda reigaku (本田霊学, "Honda spiritualist studies"). Many books on Honda reigaku are published by Hachiman Shoten (八幡書店).

Today, the Japanese new religions Shinto Tenkokyo, Ananaikyo, and Oomoto are direct descendants of Honda's spiritual lineage, since the founders of these religions had all been dedicated disciples of Honda's student Nagasawa Katsutate. Honda's teachings and practices have also significantly influenced other Oomoto-derived religions.

Life

He was born Honda Kurō (本田九朗) on February 4, 1822 (old calendar date: January 13 of the year Bunsei 5) in present-day Kaseda (加世田), Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture. One of his other names was Zui'en (瑞園). He was the eldest son of Honda Shuzō (本田主蔵), who was either a physician or of samurai descent. As a child, he studied classic literature and martial arts.

From 1839 to 1841, Honda studied literature and philosophy with Aizawa Seishisai of the Mito School. At the time, he also often visited Hirata Atsutane. Other than Aizawa and Hirata, (1781–1849) also influenced Honda. Afterwards, Honda traveled widely through Japan, often venturing into the mountains to seek spiritual wisdom, and became a religious teacher. One of his best students was Nagasawa Katsutate (長澤雄楯, 1858–1940), who reputedly learned virtually all of Honda's teachings and practices. Nagasawa then passed them onto Onisaburo Deguchi (出口王仁三郎, the founder of Oomoto) beginning in 1898, Yoshisane Tomokiyo (, the founder of Shintō Tenkōkyo) around 1920, and finally Yonosuke Nakano (中野與之助, the founder of Ananaikyo) during the last few years of his life.

Honda's second wife was Chikako (知可子, born 1852 or 1853). His son, Setsu (節), was born in 1863 (September 13 of the year Bunkyū 3), and his eldest daughter Mika (ミカ) was born on March 15, 1879. Mika, also known as Kaoruko (薰子), often served as Honda's spirit medium (kannushi 神主) during kishin sessions, while his wife Chikako acted as the spirit mediator (saniwa 審神者).

Honda performed rituals at various Shinto shrines but may never have been appointed with a long-term position as a shrine's official priest. He is not mentioned in Meiji-era official records, partly because his views were considered to be heretical by mainstream Shintoists. In 1872, Honda may have been appointed head priest of in Hiroshima Prefecture, but left shortly after due to an argument with his superiors. His father also died in 1872, upon which he became the head of the family.

During the 1870s and 1880s, Honda produced many writings. In the early 1870s, Saigō Takamori introduced Honda to Soejima Taneomi, an influential politician and diplomat. Honda most likely first met Soejima in 1873 in Tokyo. Soejima became one of Honda's most erudite disciples.

Honda often stayed at Miwa Shrine (神神社) in present-day Okabe-cho (岡部町), Fujieda, Shizuoka from around 1884 to 1888, where he was hosted by Miwa Takeshi (三輪武, 1849–1912). During his time at Miwa Shrine, Nagasawa Katsutate became his disciple. Afterwards, Honda moved to his wife's hometown in Chichibu District, Saitama. He died in 1889 in Kawagoe, Saitama.

Teachings

Honda's philosophy is heavily influenced by Taoist philosophy, and to some extent Confucian philosophy as well.

Cosmology and deities

In Honda's worldview, , , etc. can be classified into visible/ (sometimes also written as ) versus invisible/ types. The one supreme god who created heaven and earth is Ame no Minakanushi (天御中主), the who is also referred to as the , , or . Ame no Minakanushi is the invisible deity of the imperceptible heaven, while the sun goddess Amaterasu is in the perceptible heaven.

According to Honda's Reigakushō (霊学抄), the universe can be divided into the and the , also known as the . Each of the two world consists of 181 levels, giving a total of 362 levels.

Spirit possession methods

There are 36 methods of spirit possession (kamigakari 神/神). Kishin (spirit possession) methods consist of 4 sets, each containing these 9 types (with deities classified into upper, middle, and lower grades):

  • (inspiration from self-cultivation): upper, middle, lower.
  • (inspiration from mediated spirit possession): upper, middle, lower
  • (direct inspiration from a deity without any human intervention): upper, middle, lower

The 4 sets, each of which has the 9 types listed above, are:

  1. in the
  2. in the
  3. in the
  4. in the

This gives a total of 36 spirit possession methods. Honda's classification system of 36 spirit possession methods is also described in some of Tomokiyo Yoshisane's works, such as and .

Theorems of the Great Three

In Reigakushō (霊学抄), the are , , and . These can be further analyzed to consist of the following.

1. Spirit

Human souls were created by Ame no Minakanushi from , which is the eternal spiritual fraction of the supreme creator deity (cf. anima mundi), and . Together, they are known as . The four essences, which are also mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, are:

  1. (associated with courage 勇)
  2. (associated with intimacy 親)
  3. (associated with wisdom 智)
  4. (associated with love 愛)
2. Body

As mentioned in Shintō montai (真道問対), the are:

3. Energy/power

Energy or power is made out of the .

Onisaburo Deguchi's divine elements in Michi no Shiori are derived from those of Honda's.

Kotodama and kazudama

Kotodama (言霊), the spiritual power of words, was an important part of Honda's beliefs. In Kinmon Hirayama daikyōsei kakka (謹問平山大教正閣下), Honda interprets chinkon as being centered around the kanji character 'to invite, summon'. Honda's writings also teach the use of kazudama (数霊), the spiritual power of numerals.

Writings

Honda Chikaatsu zenshū (本田親徳全集) by Suzuki (1976) is a complete anthology of texts written by Chikaatsu Honda, as well as notes by his disciples. Many of these texts are listed below. The editor, Shigemichi Suzuki (鈴木重道), is the grandson of Hiromichi Suzuki (鈴木広道, born 1850), one of Honda's disciples from February 1882 until Honda's death in 1889.

The full texts of Michi no taigen (道之大原) and Shintō montai (真道問対) in Literary Chinese can also be found at the end of , which was published by Shintō Tenkōkyo founder in 1920. Satō (1978) also has the original text of Michi no taigen along with his own extensive commentary, as well as a modern Japanese translation and his own commentary of Shintō montai. (In 1936, Satō Akihiko (佐藤卿彦, 1913–1986) founded the Kenshin Honkai 顕神本会, a society dedicated to "Honda spiritual studies", and was its executive until his death in 1986.)

A similar text is compiled by Sasaki Tetsutarō (佐佐木哲太朗) in 1898. It contains 98 questions and answers on Soejima Taneomi's explanations of Honda's spiritual studies and is also written in Literary Chinese. The text can be found at the end of , a book published by Tomokiyo Yoshisane in 1920.

The 100-poem collections Ubusuna hyakushu () and Reikon hyakushu () can be found at the end of , published by Shinto Tenkokyo in 1937.

Further reading

References

External links