About This Image

This portrait shows two stern looking Tenrikyo religious missionaries. We know their names, Okamato Kanjiro and his wife, aged 46 & 43. The photograph was taken in Kyoto in Meiji 27 (1894), on June 16. This information is printed in Kanji on the inside of the case lid. The outside of the case lid has the Kanji reading SHIDO TENRI = In the Path of Tenri.

TENRIKYO was founded by NAKAYAMA MIKI (1798-1887), a woman who claimed to have miraculous healing and prophetic powers. She chose a life of poverty and encouraged charity among her followers. Often imprisoned as a heretic, she transformed her cult-like religion into an amalgam of Buddhism, Shinto, & Christianity. Tenrikyo is estimated to have 2-3 million members in around 15,000 churches and 20,000 missions throughout the world.