The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-12-31
NEW Rtl|eIOn
PR[O|eTS END Of
WORLD, 1922
trrom the Literary Dise~t.p

tFrOm the Literary Disest.D
When a nation is ripe for a new |
religion. the new revelation is likely |
to be at hand. Japan, like many
other countries in these tloublous
after-war years, is said to NJ show
ing signs of religious restlessness. |
Two ShintO sects of comparatively
recent origin are growing at the ex-
pense of older branches of the ma
ticnal faith. And now comes anoth-
er offshoot of Shintoism called ONO
tokyo, which may be translated as
the religion of the Great Foundation
or the Fundamental Faith Since
the war, according to DR.. Edwin E.
Slosson, who writes about the new
Japanese religion in the 'Independ-
ent, it has been gaining ground rap
idly in spite of the efforts of the
government to suppress it. Indeed, he
says, If the Japanese government
will only persecute it long enough
to solidify the new sect in common
defense, it may become a power in
the world In being originated by
woman. in it's emphasis On faith
healing. and in its effective use Of
printing! has a monthly organ
and daily newspaper which aims
at journalistic perfection-it bears a
certain resemblance to the Christian
Science movement in this country.
Among other characteristics Of the
new sect are communism. millenr-
ipism, mysticism. nd ptriotism.' The
romntic story of the origin Of Omoto-
Kyo is related by DIR. Slossor as fol-
lows:
I'm the village of Ayabe. 20 miles
from Kyoto, in the province OF Tam
Ia. there lived a poor ras-picker
called 0 Mao Baasan. or Old Woman
Mao. She was the widow of Il drunk
ell carpenter named MasagOrO De-
buchi, who had left her with NO
property but with eight children to
support. All day long she wandered
about the village gathering up scraps
of rags and paper to get food for her
family, but never failed to pray in
the Shinto shrine morning and night
Her piety was at length rewarded
for on New-Year's day. 1892 she be-
came imhued with the spiri, Of Kuni
toko-tachi, the aErth God of Shin
toism. She straightway began tt
prophesy, shouting unintelligiblt
warnings to people she passed on the
street. Attic almost illiterate, sh.
s6ribbled her revelations on the wall!
r of buildings and such bits OF white
paper as she could find. People call
ed her crazy and paid no attention
, to her forebodings of fires and wars
, She proclaimed to her neigh hors tina
Ayabe was built upon holy groun(
and that unless they evacuated tn,
village Il mighty contlagration would
sweep all their homes. This prophec!
came trne, but the skeptical polio,
simply arrested her for incendiarisn
: or the supposition that she had fur
nished the fulfilment of her Owl
/. prophecy. She was imprisoned TO
time and later turned over to he
relatives on condition that they kee,
her safely locked ul'. This they did
and the room in which she lived un
til she died, in 1918, is known a
l Zashiki Ro. the Parlor Prison, nov
Il sacred shrine. TO the Ell! of he
life she kept busiiy writing. and he
y visions fill 10000 volumes of man
: uscript, according TO her followers
4 though the critics of the cult sa,
5 there We're fewer than 5000 volume
D originally. Much OF the manuscript
| is illegible and much of what can b
: deciphered is incomprehensihle, bu
e her disciples read into it. Or .eut o
e messages of marvellous import. TIL
: writings OF the Mother Founder form
the bible Of the new faith. and ar
known as o Fude Saki. or the Flour
ish OF the Honorable Brush i
= these she is said to have prophesie
i the wars OF Japan with China 4
i 1895, with Russia in 1905, and wit
e Germany in 1914. But the kyot
!, police claim that they compelle
: Deguchi, the high priest Of the cult
to confess on cross-examination tina
D most Of the manuscript was write
after these events instead of before.
+ No part of the sacred book, SD ia
S as the writer in The Independen
r knows, has been yet translated int
: English. But piecing together sue
4 fragments of the teachings as he ca
: find he gives us this summary OF tn
s new gospel:
= THE world is on the eve Of bios
;soming like the plum flower. On