Onisaburo Deguchi

Deguchi Onisaburo (Japanese出口 王仁 三郎; * August 22, 1871 in the village Anao ( Kuwada -gun, Tamba ) Province; † January 19, 1948 ) was co-founder and seminal figure of Oomoto, one of the new religious movements in Japan.

Born as Kisaburo Ueda (上 田 喜 三郎), the son of a peasant family to have had at a young age extraordinary intellectual and spiritual abilities. In 1898, he met Deguchi Nao (出口 なお), the founder of the Oomoto religion. He joined the movement and quickly became one of its most influential figures. In 1900 he married Naos youngest daughter Sumiko ( Sumi ), the second spiritual leader of Oomoto religion was after the death of her mother.

Under the influence of Deguchi Onisaburo the new religion spread in Japan tremendously and established international contacts.

Deguchi authored numerous writings, including the 81- volume work Reikai Monogatari (霊 界 物语). He was active in various artistic fields, made ​​paintings, calligraphies, and thousands of ceramics on. One of the key points of his doctrine is the close relationship between art and religion, and the attempt to exercise through artistic work has a positive impact on the world.

In the West, Deguchi is best known for his formative influence on Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of the martial art Aikido, whom he met in 1919.

During the persecution of Oomoto religion by the Japanese government, he spent the years 1935-1942 in prison.