Myōchikai Kyōdan (妙智会教団) is a Japanese Buddhist lay organisation that stems from

Reiyūkai , or Reiyūkai Shakaden, is a Japanese Buddhist new religious movement founded in 1919 by Kakutarō Kubo (1892-1944) and Kimi Kotani (1901-1971). It is a lay organization (there are no priests) inspired by Nichiren Buddhism, but not affiliated t ...

. It was founded in 1950 by Miyamoto Mitsu. Its teachings are based on

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period school ...

and the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

. By its own account it has close ties as an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

with

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

and the

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

. The director of Myōchikai Kyōdan, was selected for General Director for the Japanese Council of the World Council of Religions for Peace. Its current leader is Miyamoto Takeyasu who is also president of the Arigatou Foundation. The organisation’s headquarters is in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and by its own account it has 957.000 members, most of which are in Japan. Reciting the

as a means of moral self-cultivation and ancestor veneration are said to be fundamental to its religious practice.Pokorny, Lukas (2011)
Neue religiöse Bewegungen in Japan heute: ein Überblick
ew Religious Movements in Japan Today: a Survey In: Hödl, Hans Gerald and Veronika Futterknecht, ed. Religionen nach der Säkularisierung. Festschrift für Johann Figl zum 65. Geburtstag, Wien: LIT, p.190

References

Bibliography

* Robert Kisala: Myochikai Kyodan. In: Peter Clarke (Hrsg.): Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements.

External links

The Arigatou Foundation

Global Network of Religions for Children
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myochikai Kyodan 1950 establishments in Japan Buddhist new religious movements Japanese new religions Nichiren Buddhism Religious organizations based in Japan