“Stories Inspired by Oyasama” is a short film series brought to you by the Website Sub-Committee of Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in America. It is a global collaboration inspired by love for and desire to share testimonies of Oyasama’s Parental Heart.

Two of the creators, Michael Yuge (New York, NY) of Heritage Church and Grant Inouye (Corona, CA) of Hawaii Central Church share their motivations for creating “Stories Inspired by Oyasama.”

What was your role in this project?

Michael: I have been working with Ron Nakahara to think of different ways that we can reach out to the younger generation as well as the general public by sharing the teachings in various formats such as audio books and videos. I try to bring my knowledge of what is currently available in print with Tenrikyo and Ron, with his background in acting, develops ideas on how to make it compelling to listen to or watch.

Grant: I took the recorded audio from our voice actors and added the background music and images. The key images are the original illustrations by Masahito Takeuchi, which were created for the original story posts, published on the Tenrikyo website. In addition to his wonderful original artwork, I used generative art (AI) to create most of the other images used in the videos.

Which video is your favorite? Why?

Grant: There’s a moment in “Always with You” where the combination of Ron’s voice, the music and the onscreen imagery come together in a way that I can only describe as a tug at my kokoro (heart/soul) and I feel connected with the story.

Michael: I really like, “Always with You.” It’s easy to relate to and has a great charm. I love Ron’s “old man” voice. It just makes me smile. 

What was your favorite part of the creation?

Grant: it was…the moment for each video when I paired the right song with our voice actors and the piece would just “sound right”.

What did you learn?

Michael: I learned that even given our busy schedules, we can create new ways to relay Oyasama’s words to a wider audience. We can collaborate in wonderful ways, even though we may be thousands of miles apart.

“Stories Inspired by Oyasama”

Voices by:

Alyssa Yuge

Michael Yuge

Ron Nakahara

Add’l artwork by Masahito Takeuchi

Edited by: Tenrikyo Creatives

Written by and dedicated to: Tomozo Hirano

Rev. Hirano was Honbu jun’in of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters and served as Secretary for Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in America from 1986 to 1995.

He graduated from Tenri University’s Department of Religious Studies and attended University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, majoring in philosophy. He is the author of “心のおもちゃ箱 日々を彩る信仰エッセ” (The Heart’s Toybox: Things that Color Your Days”) available on Amazon.co.jp.  Short essays he wrote inspired “Stories Inspired by Oyasama” a short film series now available on YouTube.

There is now a number of video clips, with English voice-over and captions, that explains the Tenrikyo teachings specifically aimed for children. These are translations of a much larger library of video clips created by the Tenrikyo Boys and Girls Association.

Here is the link to the playlist of videos on their Youtube channel.

Teachings Explained (English version)

Please take a look and make use of this wonderful resource that TBGA has made available for us, so that we can convey the teachings to the next generation!

「このたびのトルコ南部・シリア北部の大地震によって命を失われた方々に心から哀悼の意を表しますとともに、被災された皆様に謹んでお見舞いを申し上げます。」

The Japanese garden at Roosevelt High School (RHS) traces its history back almost 100 years to the prewar era of L.A. In the early 20th century, Boyle Heights served as an extension to LA’s Japantown known as Little Tokyo, which resulted in the large presence of Japanese American businesses, churches, and homes in the community.

In 1935, RHS student Shigeo Takayama, who was the school’s Japanese Club president, helped build a Japanese garden on campus with the involvement of other Japanese American students and their parents. Years later, the garden was destroyed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942 amid anti-Japanese sentiment and racial discrimination. In 1943, the Japanese American students at RHS and 120,000 other people of Japanese ancestry who lived on the West Coast were forcibly removed from their homes and lost their businesses as they were incarcerated in 10 confinement sites by the U.S. government built in rural areas across the country.

Decades later, the Japanese garden was rebuilt in 1996 by RHS students who learned about the atrocities of the Japanese American incarceration and the students who never received the diplomas during World War II (WWII). The garden was named Heiwa En, which means Garden of Peace, in remembrance of the Japanese American students who suffered in confinement sites during WWII but also as a symbol of “hope for future generations” as inscribed on a dedication plaque. In 2005, the garden went through another renovation with the financial support of Takayama. In 2017, I was asked to assist with the design of a new and relocated Japanese garden at RHS due to the expansion work at the campus that included a new building where the 1996 garden was located. Working with design firm LPA, I met with LAUSD and RHS alumni to present design concepts for the new garden. It was essential that elements of the original garden were part of the new design and the vision that it serve as a garden of peace, beauty, and serenity was properly honored. For instance, the presence of a waterfall that could be viewed from different vantage points on shaded benches served as the focal point of the new garden design as it did in the original garden. Typical Japanese garden plants such as the Sago palm and Japanese maple were planted while a stone lantern and wash basin are planned to be installed upon the completion of a low-rail fence that is based on the details of the original garden.

As part of this new phase of the garden, some new design concepts to complement the original garden were introduced. The waterfall and pond were built with large boulders to match the scale of the surrounding space, and an old Chinese proverb about a carp leaping over the top of the waterfall to become a dragon inspired its design and construction. This proverb is often associated with education because of the hard work students put in at school to achieve academic excellence.

Design considerations also needed to be made about how the qualities of a Japanese garden can co-exist within the dynamic environment of a public high school campus. The garden maintenance can be quite demanding in a Japanese garden as iconic plants such as a Japanese black pine can take several hours to prune. In the original garden, the Nanka Mie Kenjinkai (Japanese prefectural association of Mie) oversaw the garden for several years, but their involvement had decreased in recent times before the new construction. Plant selection and materials that could be maintained by the campus crew were important considerations. Meanwhile, additional shaded seating areas were created in the new garden with benches and boulders so that students could retreat to the calm environment during breaks.

As the RHS campus transforms with the continuously evolving urban fabric of Boyle Heights, the Garden of Peace is envisioned to serve as a symbol of the Japanese American experience and the complex layers of history, cultural identity and racial justice we as a society continue to address for the sake of future generations. Moreover, it is my hope that the garden will also be a place where the RHS students and community can come to enjoy the therapeutic qualities of the trees, plants, and water as the stroll the meandering paths or sit in the shaded spaces for peace and comfort.

After that, I obtained a master’s degree in Voice Pedagogy and Performance from a music college that focuses on vocal music in the United States. However, after returning to Japan, my vocal performance opportunities in the countryside had drastically decreased due to the pandemic. Even if I offered remote lessons and lectures, not many people in Japan can handle computers and software, even among those younger in age.

I tried to think about how I could do something to make use of my skills even through a computer. At that time, Rev. Michael Yuge, Executive Director of Tenri Cultural Institute, arranged a remote group course for young students, and my dream came true instantly. Curiously enough, right after this course was set, students applying to music colleges joined my studio, and I received an offer to be a lecturer for a local community course.

It was a great pleasure for me to be able to work in hinokishin at Tenri Cultural Institute again despite being so far away. Moreover, by teaching these lessons in English, I am also grateful to be provided the opportunity to use English academic vocabulary, something that I don’t get to do often being from a rural town in Japan.

This course is held once a week for 10 sessions per semester and has five students in a class. After a brief lecture on vocal studies with slides for each theme, the entire class does vocal exercises, followed by private lessons of about 15 minutes each. At the end of the semester, an online recital is held, and each student performs one or two songs with accompaniment and presents the results of their studies in front of the invited guests.

The young students improved significantly over the course of the semester, and I received a lot of energy from them every time. While most members had never taken vocal lessons before, they nevertheless always did the assignments, took notes during the lecture and asked questions when they did not understand something. A few students were interested in only pop music at first, but after their vocal techniques had improved and they grew more confident, they wanted to sing Japanese or Italian classical pieces as well.

The class recital was held with Japanese art songs, musical theater, film music, Italian antique art songs, and opera arias. Guests attended from Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kagawa, Akita, and Sapporo. With global participation,

everyone seemed to be touched by the performance of these young and hard-working singers.

Following the Spring Semester, we would like to continue to share such joyous times with the Summer Semester. I really appreciate Tenri Cultural Institute for graciously accepting this new project.

In this interview, Rev. Yuge provides more in-depth explanation of key elements of the Tenrikyo practice, including the service and hinokishin. Once again, Sarah’s insightful questions and Rev. Yuge’s thoughtful answers lead to a very accessible understanding of our teachings.

Please find and share a link to the podcast below.

The first interview, held in January of 2021, can be found in the link below.

As I prepare the church in anticipation of having our members join us in person once again to participate in our services, I have had to take stock of what it would be like to “return” to our normal lives once again. Although it wasn’t that long ago, I can’t quite remember what the daily routines were like. I’m sure that once I am able to shake hands with everyone and have long and enjoyable conversations and meals with friends, things will begin to settle down.

And in the meantime, I have decided that there is no need to hurry the return. Cleaning up the clutter may require some immediate attention, but there is also value in absorbing the immediate moment that we find ourselves now, at this time and place, bit by bit. We spent the last year de-sensitizing ourselves to a very strange time, just so that we can make it through. And I think that now is the moment when we need to be kind to our inner self, more so than we realize.

Rev. Tak Hayashi

In January of 2021, Rev. Michael Yuge, Executive Director of Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, was interviewed by Sarah Walsh, a college student at Washington College, for a podcast to answer questions about Tenrikyo and to share his thoughts on the teachings with her audience. Her podcast was part of a series entitled “Come Pray with Me,” in which she interviewed guests from different religions around the world. The series is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion of her college.

Framed by Sarah’s insightful questions and Rev. Michael Yuge’s thoughtful answers, this interview provides a refreshing summary of our teachings. Please find and share a link to the podcast below.

Podcast Link: https://anchor.fm/sarah-walsh5/episodes/Tenrikyo-The-Path-to-the-Joyous-Life-ensvso

By: Rev. Takahiko Hayashi

In the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic, government health officials urged us not to buy masks. Their reasoning was that these precious resources should be preserved for healthcare workers and that the masks will not prevent you from getting the virus. We were told that even the best mask could not protect you completely.

Fast forward to the present. Now, the CDC is advocating the use of masks for everyone, calling it “one of the most powerful weapons to slow and stop the spread of the virus.”

So, what changed? Was there a colossal improvement in the quality of masks? An uber-N95? No. In fact, even the simplest of masks would do the job.

Then, what changed? Interestingly, it was the perspective of what the mask is intended to accomplish. If the mask is intended to save me from the virus, even the best would not do. But, if the mask is intended to save us from the virus, there is cause for cautious optimism.

The coronavirus pandemic has reminded me of the interrelatedness of who we are as human beings. One little virus in the other side of the world can cause tremendous anguish throughout the world in a matter of a few short months. And yet, a little change in our perspective, from “me” to “us,” can also empower the simplest of mask to become a “powerful weapon” to confront this pandemic.

I feel that so much of God’s gift to us can become powerful ways to bring about the world of Joyous Life if we are able to see them in such light. If it is meant only for “me,” it may never be enough. But if it is meant for “us,” the possibilities are endless.

Hi, I’m Megan Omoto from Seattle, Washington and in April of 2019 I started school at the Tenrikyo Language Institute in Jiba. I’m in the Japanese Language Course along with 36 other students from around the world. I decided to enroll to TLI after I graduated from college in the summer of 2018. I enrolled because I’ve always wanted to learn Japanese and I thought that living in Jiba would also be a good experience for me.

While classes are sometimes tough or tiring and going back to the day-to-day schedule of school took some time to get used to, the program is really great. Learning Japanese isn’t easy but the teachers do a great job of explaining concepts so that everyone can understand. One of the coolest parts about going to TLI, and especially about living at the dorm, is that as time goes on you’re able to have conversations with people with whom there was a language barrier before. We also study the teachings in Japanese. Hearing a (simplified) explanation of the songs for the service has been particularly helpful for me. Even though I’ve read the English translations before, the meaning of the songs have never really stuck. But learning the meaning in Japanese helps me understand the song as well as the hand movements. This coming April I’ll be staying another year in Jiba as part of the Oyafuse program, continuing my Tenrikyo studies.