Mahikari is one of numerous religious movements which emerged in Japan after the Second World War. It was founded in 1960 by Okada Yoshikazu, who changed his name to Okada Kotama, ‘Jewel of Light,’ and is called Sukuinushisama or ‘Lord Savior’ by his disciples. The movement is usually classified among the ‘Shinto’ derived new religions which emerged out of Omoto, a new religion dating back to the end of the nineteenth century. The beliefs and practices of Mahikari are in fact derived from Shinto, Buddhist, Shamanistic, Confucian, and Christian sources. While most of its members are Japanese, Mahikari has established centers in Korea, North and South America, Europe, and Africa. Its headquarters and world shrine are in Takayama, Japan.
The core belief of the movement is based on the idea that the world is assailed by impurities which cause disease, poverty, and unhappiness. These impurities may be brought about by material causes ranging from chemicals to moral shortcomings, but the predominant cause of all misfortune, according to Okada, is spirit possession. The main focus of the movement is thus the restoration of health, wealth, and happiness through purification. The practice of purification is called okiyome and consists of the channeling of the divine Light through the palm of the hand of an initiated member to any other individual or object. The power to administer the Light is mediated by a sacred amulet, the omitama, received during initiation and surrounded by numerous taboos. When administered to another person, okiyome is usually directed to the forehead, the neck, the kidneys, and any other point of ailment in the body. The forehead is a particularly vital point in the body, since it is believed to be the dwelling place of the spirits. During the transmission of the Light to this point, possessing spirits may manifest themselves through subtle or violent movements of the body, or through speech in a foreign voice or language. This ‘manifestation’ requires the interrogation of the spirits by a leader of the movement, who implores the spirit to return to the spirit-world. In addition to freeing the person from possessing spirits, the practice of okiyome is also believed to melt impure substances or ‘toxins’ which coagulate in the body. Okiyome may also be used to purify rivers, houses and food, and may be applied as a preventive as well as a curative device.
In addition to the practice of okiyome, the ritual life of Mahikari is centered on monthly celebrations of thanksgiving called mimatsuri and the worshiping of ancestors. The mimatsuri consist of the offering of prayers and gifts to Su-God, the supreme God at the summit of Mahikari’s hierarchy of spirits and gods, and elaborate testimonies of the miraculous healing effects of receiving the Light. Prayers are generally recited in Japanese, or in kotodama, which is believed to be ‘the language of the Gods’. One of the most important prayers, or incantations, pronounced before every session of okiyome is the Amatsunorigoto, an ancient Shinto prayer. Most members of Mahikari own an altar for the ancestors to which daily offerings of food and prayers are directed for the appeasement of the spirits of the dead and the protection of the living.
After the death of the founder in 1974, a protracted dispute erupted over leadership, resulting in the splitting of the movement into two groups: Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan, led by Sekiguchi Sakae, one of the closest disciples of Okada, and Sukyo Mahikari, headed by the adopted daughter of the founder, Sachiko or Keiju Okada. It is to the latter group that the term Mahikari generally refers. In addition to the Keiju Okada, who is called Oshienushisama by her followers, and her immediate board of five governers, there are regional directors, called shidobucho, directors of larger centers, dojochos, and leaders of the local groups, called hancho. There are also special celibate officers and missionaries in the movement, called doshi. The total number of members of Sukyo Mahikari is very difficult to estimate due to a large turnover. It grew quite rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s to number more than 500,000 members or kamikumite. But the number of members seems to have stagnated or declined since then.
