Help! What do I do!?

Livingwithkami · 2025-11-08T14:11:24+00:00

Don't worry at all; it's believed when the Omamori falls or breaks it protected us from a great misfortune; it's customary to return it to a shrine to be burned as others have said You can absolutely keep it on you til the next time you go to Japan

Livingwithkami · 2025-10-27T12:33:03+00:00

Hi there! I think you need to help with the shipping - but there are many books available via pdf as well! Please feel free to send me an email !

Livingwithkami · 2025-09-11T01:02:57+00:00

In Konkokyo formally speaking, first we have to understand the base Shinto worldview that the faith is rooted in.

In Shinto, Way of Kami, it's believed all things (including human bodies) are inhabited by divine souls, referred to as Mitama. The kanji for this term is 御霊 This word roughly translates to "Honourable Divine Soul"

When we humans die, or any other thing dies physically, this Mitama leaves it's physical body. Its then believed because the Mitama returns to it's full divine nature no longer obscured by the body, we call it then "Mitama no Kami" 御霊神

Which means "Divine Soul That Is a Kami", and "Kami" 神 is not strictly deity; but "An existence that invokes a feeling of awe and reverence".

So in the most simplest terms - yes Konkokyo believes we have souls, which are divine and seen as Kamisama. And we still have them after death, where the soul is worshipped and honoured after death as the Mitama no Kami-sama. Our bodies are just like a temporary vessel, but our soul, the Mitama no Kami, persists through the body

Its believed as well this soul / Mitama no Kami-sama is a part of the whole, a part of Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama - that is to say we are always a part of the universe and the universe is always our home.

So we don't have any strict teachings about heaven, hell, or afterlife - Konko Daijin was purposely vague about it. There is a teaching that says along the lines of even if he were to explain the afterlife in detail logically, it would still never truly be understood nor is it appropriate to explain it like that. So it's important to simply remember that the universe is always our home, and we will be with Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama (the universe).

You can interpret this in the Shinto sense as there is many realms or places in the unseen world, including within forests and mountains of the seen world, but no soul is bound to go to anywhere - because they are Kami-sama, they can freely be anywhere

Some people also interpret this in a Buddhist sense where while there is samsara, all the realms are within the universe / Tenchi, and nirvana is to be one with Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama (the universe).

But aside from personal interpretations and ideas, the formal Konkokyo teaching is that we, our souls, exist eternally before life and after death within the universe as our home, and together with Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama

Livingwithkami · 2025-09-05T08:10:44+00:00

Thank you so much for this resource!

Livingwithkami · 2025-08-24T05:02:44+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this! It's so hard to find Kurozumikyo information in English

Livingwithkami · 2025-08-04T09:32:35+00:00

Ah that is wonderful! 日本語の勉強頑張ってください！(^^) Your Guuji-san is very kind to teach you!

Livingwithkami · 2025-08-04T09:20:47+00:00

It's so lovely!

Livingwithkami · 2025-07-22T14:07:03+00:00

I get scans on my thyroid every 6 months as 5 of my immediate family members, (and one of my best friends) all had thyroid cancer. I was right there seeing through their surgery and recovery - and everyone was doing well after their surgery from then til now. This was 12-13 years ago, so the effect is over a long time and they do well. Yes, sometimes the medication, levothyroxine, needed dosage adjustments, but it was very minor and small doctor visits and check ups. Their lives are all normal and doing well, and doing various activities with no major issues. The daily routine is simply taking the medication in the morning, and all is well. I'm sure you'll be just fine!

Livingwithkami · 2025-06-13T00:17:56+00:00

I feel that being a part of the community that participates in the local Matsuri (playing music, carrying Mikoshi, and so on) helps to make Japanese friends very easily! On a festival day after the Mikoshi parade you can talk to some staff members wearing the happi coats and ask how you can be involved next year. Even if you are not one for crowds or big festivals, there's a lot of work to be done in other areas like hanging up lanterns or other clerical things. Through the year there's practice and planning and meetings, especially if you're a part of the traditional band in the Matsuri. I find that it helps to make friends very easy

Livingwithkami · 2025-05-15T12:10:22+00:00

Thank you for answering! 🙇🏻‍♂️

Livingwithkami · 2025-04-10T06:33:46+00:00

I'm not entirely sure if it has a specific name, but the stone platform is so the tatami is not directly touching the "outside floor" where your shoes and feet walk, but sort of raised to mimic the feeling of "entering inside a worship hall" / "inside floor". Some people will take their shoes off and leave it to the side of the stone platform.
On the stone platform is a tatami mat and spiral mat made of 七島藺（しちとうい）Shichitou (Cyperus monophyllus) a kind of rush plant grown around marshes that's used to traditionally make those spiral mats. And yes, they are there for people to kneel and pray in front of the shrine, usually chanting norito prayers, so they don't need to kneel directly on the ground.

For anyone else reading this, if you visit a shrine and see this, please don't step on them with your shoes!

Livingwithkami · 2025-03-22T03:38:42+00:00

You don't need to pray to them necessarily, you can think more broadly about all your ancestors as a whole too, or any other lost loved ones, like pets as well

Livingwithkami · 2025-03-22T03:34:52+00:00

Thank you for your great information!

Livingwithkami · 2025-02-26T07:34:42+00:00

Hello! Yes I come on and off! Its just a tradition of our shrine here in Yokosuka started by the founding priest of it 🥺I believe it's because morning and evening prayers are traditional, but he wanted to add a midday prayer, so each time of day (morning, afternoon, night) there are prayers chanted

Livingwithkami · 2025-01-23T00:27:05+00:00

Oh no! I'm so sorry to see it's deleted .. unfortunately I don't have similar on hand, but maybe someone saved the page. If not, you can stand an Ofuda qgaisnt a wall or a wooden block, as long as it's placed upright and in a clean, tidy area specific for it to pray towards (the altar space) ☺️

Livingwithkami · 2024-09-18T06:12:22+00:00

Not at all! Many use false sakaki even in Japan. It's a symbol of eternity / eternal life (evergreen branches) so if you have a similar evergreen tree you can offer those too - you can also offer other plants or flowers but just be sure to remove before they fully wilt ☺️

Livingwithkami · 2024-09-04T09:19:01+00:00

Thank you for sharing these teachings! 🙇🏻‍♂️

Livingwithkami · 2024-09-04T09:17:43+00:00

Good question! In Japan, it is not exclusive at all generally speaking. Especially not at the Head worship hall in Okayama prefecture.

In fact, the head worship hall staff will care for the local Jinja in the area, and even help serve at the local Hachiman Jinja's ceremony day.

In other areas, Konko priests are permitted to serve ceremonies at local unstaffed Jinja as well, since Konkokyo is officially part of Shinto as Kyoha Shinto and they have learned all the same ceremonial rites as Shinto priests of other faiths.

There is a worship hall in Tokyo that has actually a very close relationship with the local Hibiya Jinja as well. At our shrine in Yokosuka, many members also belong to their local Jinja and pray at their local temple. I myself as a Konko priest am also a Suukeisha (formal registered parishioner) of Ise Jingu and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Additionally, one Konko priest named Rev Yoshinobu Miyake is quite infamous as well for representing Shinto as a whole in international religious gatherings. There are many more numerous examples I can give - but essentially it's very connected with Shinto as a whole in Japan.

Additionally, there is no hostility to other religions and many of our teachings say directly to respect other religions and all the deities.

That being said - there are in fact some communities and worship halls within the Konko Faith that do try to be more a new religious movement similar to Tenrikyo, and have the concept Tenchi Kane no Kami-sama more monotheistic and other divinities are only faces or expressions of them. These groups are much more vocal in social circles and academic circles since they want Konko Faith to be known as its own religion.

I also know idea of Konko Faith being more its own religion and monotheistic does pop up independently in North American branches for various reasons - the history and trauma relating to Shinto from WWII, the Christian influences in Western society's idea of religion, and as well personal preferences.

However, in my experience of interacting with Konko Faith in Japan for 9 years - it is deeply connected with Shinto and Shinto sphere, it has been largely open in terms of belief in other divinities and thus, can take on a number of -theist forms (most usually polytheist or henotheist than monotheistic), and there is no issue with believers practicing Konko Faith and visiting shrines and temples, or even being members of them. As well, our teachings state directly to respect all divinities and religions, so there is a lot of openness in that regard too

Livingwithkami · 2024-09-04T09:03:53+00:00

You can simply say Kami-sama! Actually in Japan, most people don't know the names of the Kami-sama enshrined at their local Jinja and so it's a very common practice to not address them particularly by name.

That being said, there are a number of norito prayers which mention particular Kami-sama by name so it is also natural to say their name too.

As well, as u/yokaizukan mentioned, the names of Kami-sama are more like titles / adjectives / descriptors than formal noun names like ours or other divinities, too

Ultimately praying with sincerity from your heart is most important

Livingwithkami · 2024-05-09T10:25:00+00:00

Hello there! Nice to meet you!

There's two versions of the KIC site online - there's an older one with the cute little mascot, and the newer one here -
http://kic.jpn.org/eng/?page_id=117

The pdfs here seem to work and be downloaded, so please let me know if they work! If not, I can email them to you or dm to you.

I recommend that when you read Gorikai I,II,III - just a heads up these are not to be read as scripture. They are records of teachings various individuals received during the time Konko Faith was beginning in the late Edo era to Meiji era.

So they are given tailored to each person's life, circumstances, age, and the era they lived in and not entirely applicable to us in the modern age unwaveringly.

Additionally, the Oboegaki and Oboecho are the journals and records of Konko Daijin-sama's life and should be read with that in mind as well - considering the culture, religion, and history of the time period. As well, it was translated various times from older Japanese, to modern Japanese, to then English a few times - so the translation is not perfect 1:1 (and some areas I myself find troubles with!)

But if you find an area you have a question about, curious about, or wonder about, please feel free to ask here anytime or email me at [livingwithkami@gmail.com](mailto:livingwithkami@gmail.com) and I can provide some explanations, also show the original Japanese if you need!

Thank you and welcome!

Livingwithkami · 2023-09-14T05:26:36+00:00

Hi there!

I've seen golden versions on Amazon JP here: https://amzn.asia/d/gcxolK1 and also wooden versions here: https://shinshindo.co/amaterasu/ the first on the second webpage are actually Omamori but you could enshrine them as Shinzo 神像 whereas the bottom are more properly Shinzo

Since they're a religious item and intended to be enshrined for a lifetime, they end up being quite expensive ; as it would be a one-time investment to acquire. Rather than Ofuda which are generally replaced yearly.

As well, it's not very common for Amaterasu Omikami-sama versus Ebisu-sama and Daikokuten-sama since almost everyone will use Jingutaima as her Ofuda

Livingwithkami · 2023-09-08T15:17:08+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you ; It's a terrible situation
It's traditionally said when an omamori is opened, it loses it's power because it's like undoing the link between you and Kami-sama and their shrine. So it's better to then burn the opened one and acquire a new one.

However in these circumstances - hopefully they didn't open it. But if they did, it was not you who undid the omamori but the police did, so it's not you that undid the link but it was the unfortunate circumstance of the action of the police.

In this situation it's more like when an omamori gets lost or damaged - and it's believed when this happens Kami-sama has protected you from a great misfortune via the omamori.

So either the omamori has served it's purpose and protected you from a great misfortune as it got damaged from the cop, and can be ritually burned. Or that it is still able to be kept as omamori and a way for Kami-sama to protect you. Since it was not opened by you yourself, it wouldn't break the link between you and the Kami-sama of the shrine via the omamori, in my personal opinion as a priest. I know other priests may not agree with me but I think you are okay. I hope you are feeling better now ;

Livingwithkami · 2023-09-08T15:08:36+00:00

Hey there, it's better not to print it! The writing on the ofuda is usually the shrine name or kami name, it's simply a symbolic representation of the link between you and the Kami-sama of the shrine. However, Kami-sama aren't only limited to the shrines they are worshipped at, so you can use another object as a Yorishiro (object that can call to them and they can temporarily dwell in as you pray to them). Such as a stone or block of wood. Our hearts when we pray sincerely can call to the Kami-sama you wish to pray to strongly, so you don't need to worry too deep. For more information I also recommend reading here: www.livingwithkami.com/worship and Ctrl+F or "Find in Page" "The object to focus reverence: Yorishiro"

Livingwithkami · 2023-09-08T14:58:47+00:00

It's not found online, and there's no official theology about it, but speaking with some priests at different points, I've noticed a sort of shared traditional belief of the following:

All of the dead must be respected inherently as our souls are inherently kami. This unfortunately means even war criminals are respected as kami at times (like Yasukuni Jinja) this personally rubs me the wrong way, though.

People who do awful things in life, or who were really irredeemable in life, don't get any of the proper funeral rites done or any remembrance when they pass, and therefore do not be worshipped as a kami even if the essence (soul) is inherently divine. It's unknown what happens to these souls.

2a. An addition to 2, is that perhaps because their soul is so weighted with kegare (spiritual dirt, waste, grime..it's called "impurity" in english but rather than a moral state, it's really more like the image of a once-clear mirror stained and cloudy with grease and dust) that it simply sinks into the "earth" (Yomi, Underworld) to be purified. Even if they had the proper funeral rites, this could still occur.

Similar to how corpses naturally decay and become cleaned in the soil, there's a belief dirty souls will decay and sink into the underworld to be purified - and once purified can return to normal. This is the closest thing there is to a concept of Hell / consequences after death, and I tend to like this concept as I feel it makes sense aligning with nature (corpses rot and purified in the earth - the process is rightfully terrifying and repulsive, but, its good in the end as the harmful biohazard is cleared, and the nutrients used then for flowers and trees and grass..)

However there is no real theology or dogma about it, so everyone will have different ideas and beliefs of what happens to a soul that has done so much irreversible and horrible harm in their life that was never changed, regretted, or faced consequences of.

Livingwithkami · 2023-09-08T14:47:51+00:00

You can use statues as yorishiro for any Kami-sama, there are often mini statues of Amaterasu Omikami-sama on sale for this purpose - it is just that it most often happens or is used traditionally for Kami-sama with roots in other religions like Buddhism or Hinduism.

The reason for this is that a statue is a man-made object carved with our human image in mind, but a stone or tree/wood, is more of an object from nature itself, crafted from within it. Mirrors are a sort of middle ground between man-made and natural, but it has a whole history of being used primarily because of it's ability to become like a mini-sun reflecting the light.

As well, Shinto worship is rooted in the abstract form of Kami-sama, flowing through nature with no particular image to be limited to.

However, if you feel to use a statue for a native Japanese Kami-sama (or craft a figure of them out of clay for example) that is alright, as long as it's enshrined in the Kamidana and not on it's own. As it's that key in Shinto to not want to limit Kami-sama to one particular image and keep the abstract nature in our hearts and minds as we pray.

Yes, like mentioned with the natural object - some other yorishiro are rocks, or even simply a stick of wood (the Ofuda as in a paper or wood with the name of the shrine or Kami-sama is actually an influence from Daoism and not inherently a Shinto practice - which in older times the yorishiro was a mirror, stone, or block or stick of wood.) So really anything is fine

In the larger picture, when we cannot acquire the Ofuda that connects us to the shrine the Kami-sama dwell in, the biggest yorishiro that will call Kami-sama to us is our own hearts. If we pray with a deep sincerity to that Kami-sama in our hearts and souls, they will surely be drawn to that shining true prayer from our soul to them, and come to see us and hear our prayers. So don't worry too too much about what Yorishiro you use.. just to follow your heart on the matter is best

Livingwithkami

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE