Onisaburo in a Shinto ceremonial robe
1. The Iroha Syllabary
The Iroha Syllabary is an old Japanese alphabet consisting of
47 phonetic symbols. Legend has it that it was invented by Founder Kukai
(774-835) of the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism as he translated Mahaparinirvana-sutra
in 47 syllables (For more information about Kukai, see Footnote 1 below).
They are:
[1] い (i);
[2] ろ(ro);
[3] は (ha);
[4] に (ni);
[5] ほ (ho);
[6] へ (he);
[7] と (to);
[8] ち (chi);
[9] り (ri);
[10] ぬ (nu);
[11] る (ru);
[12] を (wo);
[13] わ (wa);
[14] か (ka);
[15] よ (yo);
[16] た (ta);
[17] れ (re);
[18] そ (so);
[19] つ (tsu);
[20] ね (ne);
[21] な (na);
[22] ら (ra);
[23] む (mu);
[24] う (u);
[25] ゐ (wi);
[26] の (no);
[27] お (o);
[28] く (ku);
[29] や (ya);
[30] ま (ma);
[31] け (ke);
[32] ふ (fu);
[33] こ (ko);
[34] え (e);
[35] て (te);
[36] あ (a);
[37] さ (sa);
[38] き (ki);
[39] ゆ (yu);
[40] め (me);
[41] み (mi);
[42] し (shi);
[43] ゑ (we);
[44] ひ (hi);
[45] も (mo);
[46] せ(se);
[47] す (su).
To divide the syllabary into chunks of up to 7 letters,
the following will be obtained:
| ゑ (we) |
あ (a) |
や (ya) |
ら (ra) |
よ (yo) |
ち (chi) |
い (i) |
| ひ (hi) |
さ (sa) |
ま (ma) |
む (mu) |
た (ta) |
り (ri) |
ろ (ro) |
| も (mo) |
き (ki) |
け (ke) |
う (u) |
れ (re) |
ぬ (nu) |
は (ha) |
| せ (se) |
ゆ (yu) |
ふ (fu) |
ゐ (wi) |
そ (so) |
る (ru) |
に (ni) |
| す (su) |
め (me) |
こ (ko) |
の (no) |
つ (tsu) |
を (wo) |
ほ (ho) |
| --- |
み (mi) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
ね (ne) |
わ (wa) |
へ (he) |
| --- |
し (shi) |
て (te) |
く (ku) |
な (na) |
か (ka) |
と (to) |
The purple syllables (top row) read (from right to left)
i
chi yo ra ya a we, which means in Hebrew "YHWH sends (the Christ) to
this world as a burnt offering." Some may wonder where the Christ is, but
don't worry. Here He is:
| ゑ (we) |
あ (a) |
や (ya) |
ら (ra) |
よ (yo) |
ち (chi) |
い (i) |
| ひ (hi) |
さ (sa) |
ま (ma) |
む (mu) |
た (ta) |
り (ri) |
ろ (ro) |
| も (mo) |
き (ki) |
け (ke) |
う (u) |
れ (re) |
ぬ (nu) |
は (ha) |
| せ (se) |
ゆ (yu) |
ふ (fu) |
ゐ (wi) |
そ (so) |
る (ru) |
に (ni) |
| す (su) |
め (me) |
こ (ko) |
の (no) |
つ (tsu) |
を (wo) |
ほ (ho) |
| --- |
み (mi) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
ね (ne) |
わ (wa) |
へ (he) |
| --- |
し (shi) |
て (te) |
く (ku) |
な (na) |
か (ka) |
と (to) |
I ha o = ihao means "petro (rock)," and this
is another name for the Christ. Does the syllabary justify His crucifixion?
Check this out:
| ゑ (we) |
あ (a) |
や (ya) |
ら (ra) |
よ (yo) |
ち (chi) |
い (i) |
| ひ (hi) |
さ (sa) |
ま (ma) |
む (mu) |
た (ta) |
り (ri) |
ろ (ro) |
| も (mo) |
き (ki) |
け (ke) |
う (u) |
れ (re) |
ぬ (nu) |
は (ha) |
| せ (se) |
ゆ (yu) |
ふ (fu) |
ゐ (wi) |
そ (so) |
る (ru) |
に (ni) |
| す (su) |
め (me) |
こ (ko) |
の (no) |
つ (tsu) |
を (wo) |
ほ (ho) |
| --- |
み (mi) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
ね (ne) |
わ (wa) |
へ (he) |
| --- |
し (shi) |
て (te) |
く (ku) |
な (na) |
か (ka) |
と (to) |
The bottom row indicates to ka na ku te shi su.
Toka
(or
Toga)
means "sin," nakute means "without" and shisu means "to die."
Lumped together, they mean "(The Christ) dies without sin."
Thus, the Iroha Syllabary indicates that God dispatched
the Christ, who was supposed to bear the cross for humanity, to the earth,
and that the Christ died without sin in accordance with the biblical covenant.
Moreover, from "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
the Almighty" (Rev 1:8), Alpha and Omega correspond to い (i) and す (su),
respectively. The Japanese equvalent for Jesus is いえす (i-e-su, iesu).
Where is え (e), then? Surprisingly, it is the 33rd letter between
い (i) and す (su) (Note: い (i) and す (su) are not counted as they have
already been used). Likewise, there are 12 syllables between え (e) and
す (su) (Note: え (e) and す (su) are not counted as they have already
been used):
| ゑ (we) |
あ (a) |
や (ya) |
ら (ra) |
よ (yo) |
ち (chi) |
い (i) |
| ひ (hi) |
さ (sa) |
ま (ma) |
む (mu) |
た (ta) |
り (ri) |
ろ (ro) |
| も (mo) |
き (ki) |
け (ke) |
う (u) |
れ (re) |
ぬ (nu) |
は (ha) |
| せ (se) |
ゆ (yu) |
ふ (fu) |
ゐ (wi) |
そ (so) |
る (ru) |
に (ni) |
| す (su) |
め (me) |
こ (ko) |
の (no) |
つ (tsu) |
を (wo) |
ほ (ho) |
| --- |
み (mi) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
ね (ne) |
わ (wa) |
へ (he) |
| --- |
し (shi) |
て (te) |
く (ku) |
な (na) |
か (ka) |
と (to) |
In other words, the first 33 symbols between い (i)
and す (su) represent the period of Jesus' life on earth, while the latter
12 symbols between え (e) and す (su) represent His 12 apostles. They are
combined to complete Christianity.
2. The Reinterpretation of the Iroha Syllabary with Omoto's Teachings
Some may wonder why the mysteries of Judaism or Christianity
can be unraveled in Japanese. One reason is that in Omoto, Kuni-toko-tachi
(the creator of the earth; his Hebrew name is Jehovah), who had ruled in
Jerusalem in the age of the deities 350,000 years before, was forced into
the Japanese Archipelago due to the devils' conspiracy. Another reason
is that the Japanese are one of the few peoples who can clearly and accurately
pronounce 75 kototama ("the spirit power of words"), the creative
elements of all that is. The Japanese language consists of 75 syllables
as follows:
パ
(pa) |
バ
(ba) |
ダ
(da) |
ザ
(za) |
ガ
(ga) |
ワ
(wa) |
ラ
(ra) |
ヤ
(ya) |
マ
(ma) |
ハ
(ha) |
ナ
(na) |
タ
(ta) |
サ
(sa) |
カ
(ka) |
ア
(a) |
ポ
(po) |
ボ
(bo) |
ド
(do) |
ゾ
(zo) |
ゴ
(go) |
ヲ
(wo) |
ロ
(ro) |
ヨ
(yo) |
モ
(mo) |
ホ
(ho) |
ノ
(no) |
ト
(to) |
ソ
(so) |
コ
(ko) |
オ
(o) |
プ
(pu) |
ブ
(bu) |
ヅ
(dzu) |
ズ
(zu) |
グ
(gu) |
ウ
(wu) |
ル
(ru) |
ユ
(yu) |
ム
(mu) |
フ
(hu) |
ヌ
(nu) |
ツ
(tsu) |
ス
(su) |
ク
(ku) |
ウ
(u) |
ペ
(pe) |
ベ
(be) |
デ
(de) |
ゼ
(ze) |
ゲ
(ge) |
ヱ
(we) |
レ
(re) |
エ
(ye) |
メ
(me) |
ヘ
(he) |
ネ
(ne) |
テ
(te) |
セ
(se) |
ケ
(ke) |
エ
(e) |
ピ
(pi) |
ビ
(bi) |
ヂ
(ji) |
ジ
(zhi) |
ギ
(gi) |
ヰ
(wi) |
リ
(ri) |
イ
(yi) |
ミ
(mi) |
ヒ
(hi) |
ニ
(ni) |
チ
(chi) |
シ
(shi) |
キ
(ki) |
イ
(i) |
A distinguishing feature of Japanese is that it consists
primarily of syllables which, with the exception of ん ("n"), are made
up of either single vowels, or consonant + vowel pairs. Incidentally, Emanuel
Swedenborg says that the language of the celestial beings always has a
vowel between consonants, and that it is akin to the ancient Hebrew. What
would he have said if he had known about the Japanese language?
Some Omoto watchers argue that the Iroha Syllabary per
se is a strong piece of evidence that Onisaburo is the Christ reincarnated.
For example, the aforementioned numbers of 7, 12, and 33
are associated with Onisaburo. Onisaburo was born on July 12 (lunar calendar),
Meiji 4 (1871). 7 means "fulfillment of the earth," and 12 is a number
of "completion." 33 represents the Mizu-Spirit =
Go-santai-no-ohkami
("The
Three Most August Deities of the Universe") = Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami
("The
Deity Master-of-the-August-Center-of-Heaven") and Its two emanations
Taka-mi-musu-bi-no-kami
("The
High-August-Producing-Wondrous Deity"; the progenitor of spirit) and Kamu-mi-musu-bi-no-kami
("The
Divine-Producing-Wondrous-Deity"; the progenitor of material) = Their full
physical manifestation is Kamususanowo-no-ohokami = Onisaburo.
On Mar. 3 (solar calendar), Showa 3 (1928), at
an exact 56 years and 7 months (567 = miroku = Maitreya) of age, Onisaburo
declared himself as Maitreya-bodhisattva, who Buddha prophesied would come
to save humanity 5.67 billion years after his death. He modified Buddha's
prophecy by saying that Maitreya would come 5.67 billion years after the
earth was created (cf.
A Creation Story). He claimed that this very day fell on the 5.67 billionth
year. To commemorate this occasion, Onisaburo chanted the next 31-syllable
poem: The world is seeing the dawn of a glorious reign now that the Heaven-Maitreya
(= the Mizu-Spirit), the Earth-Maitreya (= the Izu-Spirit) and the Human-Maitreya
(= the Izunome-Spirit = Onisaburo) have gathered to dispel the perpetual
darkness by revamping the realms of divinities, of lost spirits and of
human beings in the spiritual world.
Omoto Shinyu ("The Omoto Revelation"),
the messages of Kuni-toko-tachi transmitted through Nao, often mentions
"kami's design using the Iroha 48 syllables" or "the spirits[or souls]
of the Iroha 48 syllables." The traditional Iroha Syllabary consists of
47 syllables, but the Iroha Syllabary Omoto claims is made up of 48 syllables--ん
("n") is added as shown below:
| ん (n) |
ゑ (ye) |
あ (a) |
や (ya) |
ら (ra) |
よ (yo) |
ち (chi) |
い (i) |
| --- |
ひ (hi) |
さ (sa) |
ま (ma) |
む (mu) |
た (ta) |
り (ri) |
ろ (ro) |
| --- |
も (mo) |
き (ki) |
け (ke) |
う (u) |
れ (re) |
ぬ (nu) |
は (ha) |
| --- |
せ (se) |
ゆ (yu) |
ふ (fu) |
ゐ (yi) |
そ (so) |
る (ru) |
に (ni) |
| --- |
す (su) |
め (me) |
こ (ko) |
の (no) |
つ (tsu) |
を (wo) |
ほ (ho) |
| --- |
--- |
み (mi) |
え (e) |
お (o) |
ね (ne) |
わ (wa) |
へ (he) |
| --- |
--- |
し (shi) |
て (te) |
く (ku) |
な (na) |
か (ka) |
と (to) |
Since the conventional Iroha Syllabary lacks this
ん ("n")--the word meaning "luck," Onisaburo quips, fortune smiled neither
on the 47 loyal ronin (as in The Lives of the Forty-Seven Loyal Ronin)
nor on Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Omoto's 48-letter syllabary saved
the religious organization on several occasions. For instance, the number
of suspects who appealed up to the Supreme Court was 48 except Onisaburo
and his wife Sumi. With this model leavening, the number of nations which
attended the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty was 48 except Japan.
The kanji characters 四八音 ("48 phonemes or syllables")
can be read yo-ha-ne, yohane (John the Baptist). The
48-symbol Iroha Syllabary does illustrate Omoto's design for the creation
of a Maitreyan world by interweaving the warp (= John the Baptist) and
the weft (= Jesus the Christ).
In Omoto, Kukai is believed to be a partial manifestation
of Kuni-toko-tachi just as Lao-tsu in China is a divided soul of Kuni-toko-tachi.
The esoteric Buddhist's birthplace is suggestive of this; he was born in
Shikoku, one of the four main islands of Japan. Shikoku, according to the
Reikai Monogatari, is the magnified version of the Island of Kan-muri
("Crown"), where Kuni-toko-tachi was incarcerated.
Also, according to Volume 73 of the Reikai Monogatari,
the Iroha Syllabary is actually invented by Ohmoto-akitsuo-no-kami,
the primordial deity of the Mizu-Spirit and also the deity of kototama
ア (a). Kukai just receied the Syllabary from Ohmoto-akitsuo-no-kami and
wrote it down in the Japanese phonetic symbols. (Interestingly, Kukai's
esoteric Buddhism worships ア (a) as the creator of all things.)
3. The Dissection of the Iroha Syllabary from the Perspective of
Kototama
To be continued....
(Footnote 1)
Kukai was the founder of Shingon or Esoteric Buddhism.
He was born in Byobugaura in present-day Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku during
the Heian period, seven years after the birth of Saicho (767-822). It is
said from an early age he was fond of studying.
He went to Kyoto where he studied Confucian, Taoist and
Buddhist teachings, and ultimately took up the study of Buddhism after
deciding it was superior. He recorded the process of his own scholarship
at the age of 24 in a work titled Indications of the Goals of the Three
Teachings.
Before long, he entered the priesthood and traveled to
T'ang China to study. He traveled on board one of the four ships of the
official mission to the Chinese capital. By a strange coincidence, he ws
aboard the first ship in the fleet and Saicho ws aboard the second ship.
However, their respective goals were different, and while Kukai studied
Esoteric Buddhism for three years, Saicho studied primarily T'ien-t'ai
teachings for one year.
Kukai diligently studied under Hui-kuo at the Ching-lung
Temple, where he exhibited exceptional ability and was permitted to receive
the ultimate teachings of Esoteric Buddhism. He eventually returned to
Japan carrying large numbers of sutras and Esoteric Buddhist images, among
other things. Esoteric Buddhism was accepted by the Emperor and Kukai rapidly
became eminent.
While he transmitted Esoteric Buddhism to large numbers
of people, he established Kongobu-ji on Mt. Koya as the center of the Shingon
sect. He was then entrusted with Toji, and established there a foundation
for the practice of Shingon teachings.
Kukai founded Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, but he also
introduced Esoteric culture, contributing to the development of culture
through large numbers of writings. We ought not forget that it was also
Kukai who propagated among the masses for instance by opening a school
for the general public known as Shugei Shuchi-in, a school of arts and
sciences. Following his death, the Emperor Daigo (885-930) bestowed upon
him the posthumous title Kohboh Daishi.
Under his posthumous name Kohboh Daishi, Kukai is probably
the best-known Buddhist monk in Japanese history. He is credited with all
kinds of miraculous and practical abilities including flood-control and
the invention of the iroha syllabary and is believed by the devout to be
dormant in samadhi rather than deceased. His birthplace Shikoku has a famous
pilgrimage circuit (junpai) dedicated to him. Kukai first studied
Chinese classics, then practised Buddhist austerities in Shikoku and in
804 journeyed to China. Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) was in another ship
on the same voyage. Kukai returned to Kyoto in 806 with esoteric initiations
from Hui-kuo, a direct disciple of the Indican monk Amoghavajra. He devoted
his life to promoting Shingon Buddhism, in 816 establishing a great monastic
center on Mt. Koya in Kii province some distance south of Nara. He wrote
a number of literary and Buddhist works of enduring importance, showing
the superiority of Buddhism over Confucianism and Taoism and stressing
the central esoteric teaching that with appropriate techniques of esoteric
Buddhist meditation it is possible to realize "in this very body" that
all phenomena are manifestations of the Buddha of light, Vairochana (Dainichi
nyorai). Kukai's disciples contributed to the development of shugendo
(The traditional religious system followed by orders of mountain-based,
magico-religious ascetics called yamabushi. Shugendo incorporated
Buddhist, Taoist and kami-based beliefs and practices). The later Shingon
view of kami as suijkaku "trace-manifestations" (honji-suijaku;
a kind of Shinto-Buddhist synthesis) helped raise the status of the kami
to the level of Buddhist divinities but cannot be attributed to Kukai himself.
Though he always remained on good terms with the court, shrine priests
and the established Nara Buddhist clergy he showed no awareness of "Shinto"
as a teaching. According to one legend Kukai alone has seen the miraculous
"ten treasures" which may or may not exist in the Iso-no-kami Shrine at
Tenri, Nara prefecture. According to the Kujiki ("Record of Events
of Bygone Times"), they were handed down by Ama-terasu to the early ruler
of Yamato called Nigi-haya-hi, a predecessor of Ninigi.
