Guru - Kyoso

Japanese: 教祖 - きょうそ

A religious leader who founded a religion or religious group, such as Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism, is called a religious leader. More broadly, the term is often used to include the founders of sects that have spun off from each of the major religions. In other words, in a broad sense, this definition includes not only religious leaders, but also founders, ancestors, founders, patriarchs, and religious leaders. In general, in religious organization theory, a religious organization that appears spontaneously and is integrated with the social system in question is called a coherent group or natural religion, while a religion that is established by a religious leader and whose followers gather under the leader for the purpose of maintaining a specific doctrine or faith is called a founding group or revealed religion.

[Fujio Imon]

The guru as a mediator and spiritual medium

The founder grasps a transcendental being, i.e. God or truth, in his own religious experience, and acts as an intermediary between the object of faith and the believers, explaining the will of the transcendent (speaking revelation or prophesying), and with the authority of the transcendent, he exerts special spiritual powers (charisma) to relieve the suffering of the believers over old age, sickness, and death. He also often exerts strong personal charm and leadership, leading the believers who are attracted to his faith and gather together to spread the faith. However, it is nearly impossible for a founder to immediately systematize doctrine at the beginning of a new religion, and in many cases the founder's religious experience is left in the form of a record of his words and deeds. A typical example is the compilation of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ by his apostles into the New Testament, and it is common for scriptures and doctrines to be systematized after the death of the founder. Also, as in many new religions in Japan, there are cases where the founder, who talks about his religious experiences as a kind of spiritualist, shaman, or living god, and the organizer who assists the spiritualist in systematizing the doctrine and improving the organization, exist separately but simultaneously, and in these cases, many religious organizations refer to both as founders. Examples of this are Deguchi Nao and Deguchi Onisaburo of Omotokyo, and Naganuma Myoko and Niwano Nikkyo of Rissho Kosei-kai. Also, founders of new religions usually link with politicians and spread their new faith while opposing or criticizing the religious traditions and orthodox churches that are the pillars of social order, and as a result, many founders and founders are martyred.

[Fujio Imon]

Major religious leaders around the world

The founders of the world's leading higher religions include many saints, such as Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni), the founder of Buddhism who emerged while criticizing the ancient natural religion of Hinduism, Jesus Christ of Christianity, who separated from the ethnic religion of Judaism and developed into a world religion, Muhammad (Mohammed) of Islam, who derived from the same religious trend, Confucius of Confucianism, who developed a highly advanced religious ethical system from ancient Chinese rituals, and Laozi of Taoism. However, today most of them have been deified or mythologized by their successors, and have become objects of worship rather than founders of a single faith. After the spread of the above-mentioned diverse world religions and higher religions to various places, the leaders of sects, founders of revivals, religious reformers, founders of new sects, founders of monastic orders, etc., who appeared during the rise and fall of each religion, are generally considered to be founders of their respective organizations and leaders with special abilities. From this broad perspective, Luther and Calvin, who organized the various Protestant sects after the Reformation, can also be seen as founders. A similar example is Japanese Buddhism, which was introduced via China and developed in its own unique form while fusing with the primitive natural religion of Japan. Many sects separated from this tradition and became independent, each with their own founder. Examples of this include Saicho of the Tendai sect, Kukai of the Shingon sect, Honen (Genku) of the Jodo sect, Shinran of the Shin sect, Eisai of the Rinzai sect, Dogen of the Soto sect, and Nichiren of the Nichiren sect, but over time they too have come to be deified as objects of worship rather than as founders or ancestors.

[Fujio Imon]

The founder of a new religion

However, common sense would suggest that only the founders of new religions that go against not only established religious traditions but also the existing social order, place importance on the religious experience of the individual, and preach salvation for the common people can be considered founders. Based on this interpretation, the living godlike leaders of the numerous new religions that arose in Japan during periods of social flux such as the end of the Edo period and the end of World War II, preaching "world reform" and rebelling against the mainstream of society, should be called founders (new religious movements). Nakayama Miki of Tenrikyo, Kawate Bunjiro (Konko Daishin) of Konkokyo, and Shimamura Mitsu (1831-1914) of Renmonkyo appeared from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, and from the Taisho period to the pre-war Showa period, Deguchi Nao of Omotokyo, Taniguchi Masaharu of Seicho-no-Ie, Makiguchi Tsunesaburo of Soka Gakkai, Okada Mokichi of World Kyuseikyo, Miki Tokuharu of Hitonomichi (now Perfect Liberty Kyodan), Kotani Kimi of Reiyukai, and Fukada Chiyoko of Ennokyo were all active. As mentioned above, many of these religious leaders were living spiritualists and had separate religious organizers, but lacking an organizer to help them, religious leaders such as Renmonkyo of the Meiji period and Jiukyo (Nagaoka Yoshiko, Jiukoson) at the end of World War II fell into decline in a short period of time despite the spiritual abilities of their leaders.

[Fujio Imon]

"Founders - Gods of the Common People" by Saki Akio et al. (1955, Aoki Shoten) " ▽ "World Religions, edited by Kishimoto Hideo (1965, Daimeido)" ▽ "Studies in the History of Modern Popular Religion" by Murakami Shigeyoshi (1963, Hozokan) ▽ "Founders - Religious Reformers in Modern Japan" by Murakami Shigeyoshi (1975, Yomiuri Shimbun) ▽ "Handbook for Research on New Religions" by Inoue Junko et al. (1981, Yusankaku) ▽ "Dictionary of New Religions, edited by Matsuno Sumitaka (1984, Tokyodo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

キリスト教、イスラム教、仏教というような宗教もしくは宗教集団を創始した信仰上の指導者を教祖という。さらに広くは、それぞれの主要宗教から分立した宗派の開設者を含めて教祖と定義する場合が多い。すなわち広義として、教祖のほかに、創始者、始祖、開祖、祖師、宗祖などもこの定義のなかに含まれる。なお一般に宗教組織論では、自然発生的に現れ、当の社会制度と一体となっている宗教組織を合致集団、自然宗教とよぶのに対し、教祖によって開かれ、特定の教義・信仰の維持を目的として、教祖の下に信徒が集まった宗教を創唱集団、啓示宗教などとよぶ。

［井門富二夫］

仲介者・霊能者としての教祖

教祖は、超越的存在すなわち神や真理などを自己の信仰体験のうちにとらえ、そういう信仰対象と信徒の間にたって仲介者として超越者の意志について解説し（啓示を語りもしくは預言し）、また超越者の権威において、特殊な霊能（カリスマ）を発揮して老病死苦をめぐる信徒の苦悩を救済する。またその信仰に魅せられて集まる信徒を指導して布教に向かわせるなどの、強烈な人格的魅力や指導力を発揮することが多い。しかし新しい宗教創始期に教祖によって、ただちに教義の体系化が行われるようなことは不可能に近く、多くの場合、教祖の信仰体験は彼の言行録の形で残されるものである。代表的にはイエス・キリストの言行をのちに彼の使徒たちが『新約聖書』に編纂(へんさん)したように、教祖没後に教典や教義が体系づけられる例が一般的である。またわが国の多くの新宗教のように、一種の霊能者、シャーマン、生神としてその信仰体験を語る教祖と、こういう霊能者を助けて教義の体系化や組織の整備を図る組織者が、別々にしかし同時に存在する例もあり、この場合、両者をともに創始者の意味で教祖とよぶ教団が多い。大本(おおもと)教の出口ナオ、出口王仁三郎(おにさぶろう)や、立正佼成会(りっしょうこうせいかい)の長沼妙佼(ながぬまみょうこう)と庭野日敬(にわのにっきょう)らが、この例にあたる。また新宗教の創始者としての教祖は、為政者と結び付いて、社会秩序の支柱となっている宗教伝統や正統教会と対立したり、それを批判したりしながら、新しい信仰の布教にあたるのが常で、そのため多くの教祖や始祖が殉教している。

［井門富二夫］

世界のおもな教祖

世界の代表的な高等宗教の教祖としては、古代自然宗教のヒンドゥー教を批判しつつ現れた仏教の創唱者ゴータマ・ブッダ（釈迦(しゃか)）、民族宗教ユダヤ教から分離して世界宗教に展開したキリスト教のイエス・キリスト、同じ宗教潮流から派生したイスラムのムハンマド（マホメット）、中国の古代祭祀(さいし)から高度の宗教的倫理体系となった儒教の孔子、同じく道教の老子、などのように数多くの聖人をあげることができる。しかし今日では彼らの大半は後継者により神格化、神話化されて、一信仰の創始者というよりはむしろ信仰の対象となってしまっている。以上のような多様な世界宗教や高等宗教が各地に広がってのち、それぞれの盛衰の過程に現れた分派指導者、中興の祖、宗教改革者、新興教派創立者、修道会開設者などなども、それぞれの組織の始祖として、また特殊な異能をもつ指導者として、一般には教祖とみなされるようになっている。このような広義の観点にたてば、宗教改革ののちにプロテスタント各派を組織したルターやカルバンも教祖とみることができる。近い例としては、中国を経て伝わり、わが国の原始的自然宗教と融合しつつ、独自の形態的発展を遂げた日本仏教にも、その伝統から分離した多くの教派が独立し、それぞれに教祖的存在をもつに至っている。天台(てんだい)宗の最澄(さいちょう)、真言(しんごん)宗の空海(くうかい)、浄土(じょうど)宗の法然(ほうねん)（源空(げんくう)）、真(しん)宗の親鸞(しんらん)、臨済(りんざい)宗の栄西(えいさい)、曹洞(そうとう)宗の道元(どうげん)、日蓮(にちれん)宗の日蓮などがそれにあたるが、時がたつとともに彼らも教祖、始祖というよりは礼拝(らいはい)対象として神格化されるに至っている。

［井門富二夫］

新宗教の教祖

しかし常識的には、既成の宗教伝統のみならず既存の社会秩序に背いて、個々人の信仰体験を重視しつつ、庶民的な救済を説く新しい宗教の創始者のみを教祖とみることもできる。この解釈にたてば、わが国では幕末や第二次世界大戦終結時などの社会流動期に、「世直し」をうたって社会の大勢に反抗しつつ生まれてきた数多くの新宗教の生神的指導者こそ、教祖とよばれるべき存在であろう（新宗教運動）。天理教の中山みき、金光(こんこう)教の川手文治郎（金光大神）、蓮門(れんもん)教の島村美津(みつ)（1831―1914）らが幕末から明治にかけて現れ、大正から戦前の昭和時代にかけて、大本教の出口ナオ、生長の家の谷口雅春(まさはる)、創価学会の牧口常三郎、世界救世教の岡田茂吉(もきち)、ひとのみち（現在のパーフェクトリバティー教団）の御木徳一(みきとくはる)、霊友会の小谷喜美(こたにきみ)、円応(えんのう)教の深田千代子らが活躍した。こういう教祖の多くは前述のように生神的霊能者で、教団組織者は別にいたが、彼らを助ける組織者を欠いた明治期の蓮門教、第二次世界大戦終結期の璽宇(じう)教（長岡良子、璽光尊）などは、教祖の霊能力にかかわらず短期間に衰退してしまった。

［井門富二夫］

『佐木秋夫他著『教祖――庶民の神々』（1955・青木書店）』▽『岸本英夫編『世界の宗教』（1965・大明堂）』▽『村上重良著『近代民衆宗教史の研究』（1963・法蔵館）』▽『村上重良著『教祖――近代日本の宗教改革者たち』（1975・読売新聞社）』▽『井上順孝他著『新宗教研究調査ハンドブック』（1981・雄山閣）』▽『松野純孝編『新宗教辞典』（1984・東京堂）』

[参照項目] | イエス・キリスト | 栄西 | 空海 | 源空 | 孔子 | 小谷喜美 | 金光大神 | 最澄 | 璽光尊 | 釈迦 | シャーマン | 宗教 | 新宗教運動 | 親鸞 | 谷口雅春 | 出口王仁三郎 | 出口ナオ | 道元 | 長沼妙佼 | 中山みき | 庭野日敬 | 日蓮 | 牧口常三郎 | 御木徳一 | ムハンマド | 老子

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