Ibaragi Ippa

Ibaragi Ippa (Japanese: 茨木一派) was a Tenrikyo-based sectarian movement. The name Ibaragi Ippa means the sect (一派, ippa)^{[n 1]} of Ibaragi Mototaka (茨木基敬), a Japanese religious figure.

Ibaragi Ippa did not develop into a separate shinshūkyō (Japanese new religion), but rather currently exists as a clandestine religious movement on the Internet.

Early history

Ibaragi Mototaka was born on 3 October 1855 in present-day Kita-ku, Osaka.^[2][3] Ibaragi eventually became a Tenrikyo follower under the spiritual guidance of Izumita Tokichi (泉田籐吉) and later founded Kita Grand Church in Ikuno-ku, Osaka.^[4] As an active regional leader for the proselytization of Tenrikyo beliefs, he eventually became an active official working within Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. Among the officials, Ibaragi was noticeable for being the sole critic of Taishō Construction, the project to build the Hokurēhaijō (北礼拝場, North Worship Hall) during the Taishō era, due to potential financial constraints experienced by the followers.^[5][6] This became one the pretexts for the dissonance between Ibaragi and the rest of the officials.

Ibaragi experienced kamigakari (神がかり), or spirit possession, on the night of 18 November 1911.^[7][8] However, his spiritual experience was not approved by the rest of the Tenrikyo officials. This is despite Ibaragi telling his followers not to organize a schism.^[9] However, the riff between the two parties failed to achieve any peace. He and his son, Ibaragi Mototada (茨木基忠)^{[n 2]}, were expelled from the Tenrikyo religious establishment on 16 January 1918. This event was known as the Ibaragi Incident (茨木事件).^{[10][11][12][13]}

Ibaragi Mototaka died on 29 October 1929.^[14]

Legacy

Ibaragi Mototaka's history with the Tenrikyo organization became a landmark event among Tenrikyo historians. He is viewed today as a renegade figure who did not advocate organizing a rival religious organization that could potentially antagonize the Tenrikyo establishment. This was the opposite of the approach taken by Ōnishi Aijirō, with the foundation of Honmichi, and Iida Iwajirō (飯田岩治郎), with the foundation of Daidōkyō (大道教).^[12][15]

Ibaragi Mototaka's religious movement still exists today mainly in a form of online activities under a leader with the title, o-kikai-sama (お機械さま)^{[n 3]}, as the semantic element, kikai (機械), means 'machine' or 'mechanism', a word that Ibaragi had fond of; also being active with the name, Shindōkai (真道会)^{[n 4]}, that is not an officially registered religious organization in Japan.^[9][18]

Notes

1. It is an allusion to the sectarian independence movement of Tenrikyo during the late Meiji era.^[1]
2. Ibaragi Mototada was the head of the Kita Grand Church at that time.^[10]
3. A Japanese blogger, Kumappī (クマッピー),^[16] is a known follower of Ibaragi Mototaka's religious doctrine and is potentially a current leader of Ibaragi Ippa.
4. A book written by the Japanese religious studies scholar, Yumiyama Tatsuya, suggested that Ibaragi Ippa is also active with the name, Shindōkai.^[17]

Further reading

• Forbes, Roy Tetsuo (2005). Schism, orthodoxy and heresy in the history of Tenrikyō : three case studies (Thesis). University of Hawai'i Department of Religion.
• Matsui (松井), Keisuke (圭介) (March 2000). "カリスマの継承からみた天理教系教団の分派形成 : 場所の宗教と天啓者の宗教" [Formation of New Sects from Tenri-kyo Focusing on the Succession to Charismas: Religion of Place and Religion of Revelator] (PDF). Tsukuba Studies in Human Geography (筑波大学人文地理学研究) (in Japanese). 25. Tsukuba: 55–76.
• Murayama (村山), Motomasa (元理) (2024-09-15). 天理教の天啓継承問題の探究－教祖存命の理と茨木事件の再考－ [Studying of the Problems on Succeeding the Divine Revelation (Tenkei) in Tenrikyo : Rethinking Kyōso Sonmei no Ri and Ibaragi Incident] (Thesis) (in Japanese). Japanese Association for Religious Studies. Archived from the original on 2025-05-29.
• "天理教 各教会の歴史探索（第25回）【麹町大教会】『天理教事典』より" [Searching for the History of Each Tenrikyo Church (#25) [Kojimachi Grand Church] from the "Tenrikyo Dictionary"]. Samayoi Blog (さまよいブログ) [a blog run by an unknown Tenrikyo church leader] (in Japanese). 2024-10-12.
• "天理教人名辞典　茨木基敬　いばらぎもとよし" [Dictionary of Tenrikyo People, Ibaragi Motoyoshi]. Yorokobi Isande [a blog run by the Tenrikyo Hassei Hyogo Branch Church] (in Japanese). 2022-08-03.