Words of the Path: A Guide to Tenrikyo Terms and Expressions

A new book was published last month by the Overseas Department―Words of the Path: A Guide to Tenrikyo Terms and Expressions. The book is a translation of Omichi no kotoba, which was published in Japanese in 1977 by Doyusha Publishing Company to give the reader simple explanations of Tenrikyo terminology. The author, Rev. Yoshikazu Fukaya, was the president of Doyusha as well as the head minister of Kawaramachi Grand Church at the time.

Rev. Hidenobu Yamazawa―commenting on the Japanese original of this book on January 26, 1977, when he was the president of Tenri Seminary―wrote: "This book does not merely explain Tenrikyo terms and expressions, for each entry consistently exudes with the author's faith and gives the reader the impression of listening to a lecture on the teachings. In fact, I learned something from it on more than one or two occasions. I have good confidence that this work will give readers much to think about in addition to providing an excellent overview of the Tenrikyo teachings."

The 212-page volume includes over 140 Tenrikyo terms and expressions, and the entries are arranged in due order so that even people who are new to the faith can understand the teachings in a step-by-step fashion. The book is also complemented by English and romanized Japanese indexes so as to help the reader utilize the book as a glossary of Tenrikyo terms and expressions.

This translation has benefited from the help and expertise of many people including the participants in the 2008 Translation Conference held at the Mission Headquarters in Hawaii.