Honbushin (Tenrikyo offshoot, Onishi Aijiro)
Tenrikyo schism founded in 1913 by Onishi Aijiro, who proclaimed himself the living Kanrodai (axis of the world). Famous for the construction of the kilometre-scale Honbushin shrine complex at Tondabayashi.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — Tenrikyo schism centred on Onishi Aijiro's living-Kanrodai claim; substantial sacred-construction culture.
Profile facts
In context
Honbushin (literally 'Origin God-axis') broke from Tenrikyo when Onishi Aijiro declared himself the living embodiment of the Kanrodai pillar that Nakayama Miki had foretold. The movement is best known to outsiders for its monumental Tondabayashi temple complex, including the world's tallest pagoda when built. Several further internal splits (notably Honmichi, see separate entry, predates Honbushin in fact) and a separate Honmichi-derived Honbushin. Largely closed Japanese community.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- Religious Trauma Institute — Religious-trauma clinical research and clinician directory (Marlene Winell tradition).
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Lifton's 8 criteria of thought reform
Robert Jay Lifton's 1961 framework, complementary to BITE. Criteria this group exhibits according to the cited sources.
- Mystical ManipulationEngineering experiences that appear spontaneous but are designed to demonstrate the group's higher purpose.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1913Onishi Aijiro begins teaching the living-Kanrodai doctrine
- 1970s–80sTondabayashi temple complex constructed
Sources
- Helen Hardacre, 'Kurozumikyō and the New Religions of Japan' (1986) search ↗
- Trevor Astley academic work on Honmichi/Honbushin search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: NRM high-control.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Key terms in this profile
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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