Makoto no Michi (真の道) (lit. 'The Sincere Path') is a Shinto-based Japanese new religion. The headquarters of Makoto no Michi is located in Kasuya, Tokyo. Waterfall meditation, which is also a shugendo practice, is one of its main practices.[1]
History
In 1948, the religion was founded as Chidori-kai (千鳥会). Hagiwara Makoto (萩原真, 1910–1981), who had returned from China after World War II, registered it as a religious organization in 1949 and became its leader. In 1952, the organization's name was changed to Makoto no Michi.[2][3]
One of Hirohito's former aides claimed that Empress Nagako's lady-in-waiting Imaki Yoshiko (今城誼子) was a follower of Makoto no Michi, and that the empress herself may have been influenced by the religion as she was looking for a way to alleviate Hirohito's illness during his later years.[4]
Spiritual leaders
In order of succession, the spiritual leaders (教え主) of Makoto no Michi are:[3]
Beliefs and practices
Makoto Ōkami is the central deity of the universe in Makoto no Michi. The religion's official symbol is a circle with a point in the middle.[5]
Divine revelations
Makoto no Michi practices the receiving of divine revelations (神示, shinji) (お伝え), in which a spirit medium (神伝え人) under divine possession works together with a spirit mediator known as a saniwa (審神者) (サニワ), along with various ritual assistants[6] (see also chinkon kishin).[7]
Geography
Makoto no Michi's sacred geography is derived from that of Oomoto founder Onisaburo Deguchi's Reikai Monogatari, in which Japan is viewed as a model (雛形, hinagata) or microcosm of the world. Hokkaido is viewed as the equivalent of North America, Honshu as Eurasia, Shikoku as Australia, Kyushu as Africa, and Taiwan as South America; these equivalences stem from their common mythical origins during the creation of the world.[8] The geographic equivalents of the main Japanese islands and Taiwan with the world's continents are identical in both Oomoto[9] and Makoto no Michi. For comparison, Oomoto's headquarters in Ayabe has a garden with islands that represent the same set of islands and continents; the garden is centered around an artificial lake called Kinryūkai (金竜海) (lit. 'Golden Dragon Sea')..[10]
For mountains and lakes, equivalents include:[8]
Locations
Makoto no Michi's administrative headquarters is in Kasuya, Tokyo. The headquarters is also known as Omote-miya (表宮, "Main Temple") or Aratama-no-miya (荒魂宮). The religion also has a waterfall meditation site at Nigitama-no-miya (和魂宮; also called Tsuki-miya 月宮) just north of the summit of Mount Takao. Makoto no Michi's "inner temple" (Oku-miya 奥宮) is Naohi-no-miya (直毘宮), located in Nasu, Tochigi.[11] Makoto no Michi also has members in Italy.[5][12]
Makoto no Michi has the following branch locations (支部, shibu).[11][13]
| Branch name | Location |
|---|---|
| Tokyo 東京支部（表宮） | Setagaya, Tokyo |
| Chiba 千葉支部 | Chiba |
| Yokohama 横浜支部 | Yokohama |
| Iwaki いわき支部 | Iwaki |
| Aizu 会津支部 | Shōwa, Fukushima |
| Osaka 大阪支部（涛華宮） | Osaka |
| Maizuru 舞鶴支部 | Maizuru, Kyoto |
| Yura 由良支部 | Yura, Wakayama |
| Nagoya 名古屋支部（中京宮） | Tajimi, Gifu |
| Kyushu 九州支部（津久志宮） | Fukuoka |
| Iizuka 飯塚支部 | Iizuka, Fukuoka |
| Fukuoka Minami 福岡南支部 | Yame, Fukuoka |
| Italy イタリア支部 | Rome |
Italy
The history of Makoto no Michi in Italy dates back to the early 1990s. Kurihara Koshi, a Makoto no Michi member who was born in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1957, introduced Makoto no Michi to Italy in 1990. He settled in Italy and taught aikido (合気道) there. Later in 1996, Koshi started his own aikido-derived martial art called shinkido (神気道) in Rome. During the early 1990s, waterfall misogi rituals were performed at Sassinoro, Monte Pollino, and Zompo lo Schioppo. The I-no-miya Dōjō (伊宮道場, "Italy-miya Dōjō") was inaugurated in Rome in 1996, and the Tempio della Luna (Japanese: Tsuki-miya 月宮, "Temple of the Moon") was inaugurated in Assisi in 2002. As of 2024, there are approximately 100 Makoto no Michi members in Italy.[5]
Books
Makoto no Michi has published about a dozen books, a few of which include:[14]
- Makoto no Michi shinji / 真の道神示 (1972)
- Makoto no Michi shinji: vol. 2 / 真の道神示 第二集 (2000)
Other books include:
- 真を求めて:萩原真自伝
- 飛翔:萩原真先生を偲ぶ
- 大峰老仙:わしはピヨピヨじゃったよ
- 守護霊様と私（第二集）
- 真手入門
- 天源
- 車に乗った巫女
Books in the Makoto no Michi o motomete (まことの道を求めて) series:
- 天命が見える
- 梶さんの霊界通信
- 人間の幸福
Italian books include:[5]
- Yuniwa (1996) (magazine)
- Il Misoghi del Cuore (2003)
- Il Cuore del Misoghi (2003)
- Il Nostro Cammino (2005)
- Il Nostro Cammino 2006-2008 (2008)
References
- ↑ "滝行に参加してみたい方へのご案内". 宗教法人真の道 - 那須に中心の宮を置く古神道 (in Japanese). 2019-02-25. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ↑ Shinshūkyō no sekai / 新宗教の世界. 大蔵出版, 1978.
- 1 2 "教え・歴史". 宗教法人真の道 - 那須に中心の宮を置く古神道 (in Japanese). 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ↑ "皇后さま、新興宗教の"教祖"に心酔!? 宮内庁が問題視した「教団」と、皇室の知られざる事実". サイゾーウーマン (in Japanese). 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- 1 2 3 4 Introvigne, Massimo; Zoccatelli, PierLuigi (2024). "Makotonomichi Italia". L'enciclopedia non è stata ulteriormente aggiornata dopo la scomparsa del suo principale curatore, il professor PierLuigi Zoccatelli (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-04-05.
- ↑ Hagiwara, Shinmei 萩原真明 (2000). Makoto no Michi shinji (vol. 2) 真の道神示 第二集 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Makoto no Michi Publishing Department 真の道出版部. p. 292.
- ↑ "神示". 宗教法人真の道 - 那須に中心の宮を置く古神道 (in Japanese). 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
- 1 2 Hagiwara, Shinmei 萩原真明 (2000). Makoto no Michi shinji (vol. 2) 真の道神示 第二集 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Makoto no Michi Publishing Department 真の道出版部. pp. 250–1.
- ↑ Roberts, Bill (2010-05-20). "Hokkaido Journal". 大本公式サイト/ Oomoto Official Site. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ↑ "金竜海". オニペディア (in Japanese). 2019-11-18. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
- 1 2 "概要・地図". 宗教法人真の道 - 那須に中心の宮を置く古神道 (in Japanese). 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ↑ 真報 [Makoto newsletter] (August 2025, vol. 814), p. 4.
- ↑ 真報 [Makoto newsletter] (January 2026, vol. 819).
- ↑ "書籍". 宗教法人真の道 - 那須に中心の宮を置く古神道 (in Japanese). 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)