Ōtsuki Takeji
Encyclopedia
Ōtsuki Takeji is the founder of the third largest independent Japanese church, known as the Holy Ecclesia of Jesus
(or Sei Iesu Kai, 聖イエス会). Ōtsuki was born in Ayabe City in 1906, and as a young man converted to Christianity while a student at Dōshisha Middle school
, a private mission school
in Kyoto
. Ōtsuki was attracted to the faith through the evangelistic preaching of Kanamori Michinori during the daily chapel program and went on to receive baptism
. Dissatisfied with Dōshisha's "liberal
and socialistic" form of Christianity, Ōtsuki found his way into the Japan Holiness Church
in 1930.
Ōtsuki completed his theological training at the Holiness Bible Seminary in Tokyo and engaged in evangelistic work in several locations around Japan before accepting appointment as a missionary to Manchuria
in 1936.
It was while serving as a Holiness missionary in Manchuria that Ōtsuki had a "direct encounter with the living Christ," life-transforming experience that was to become the foundation of his independent ministry While praying in preparation for the New Year Convention (the first Seikai 聖会 or revival meeting of the year) and asking God to send him a guiding motto, he was presented with the words of Jesus from there Sermon on the Mount
, "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." Ōtsuki explains that his belief in God was beyond question, even though he had never seen God.
His prayer
was answered on the evening of 9 January 1938. As Ōtsuki recounts, he lost all consciousness of himself and his surroundings and was confronted by the living Christ. He felt the "breath of God blowing on him" and saw a bright and beautiful light coming toward him until it entered his body. In seeking to make sense of the experience, Ōtsuki searched the scriptures and discovered that the Hebrew prophet
s and the Apostle
s had reported similarly moving experiences .
As a result, Ōtsuki came to understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). he saw that as individuals and as the church, we now form the body of Christ on earth, our bodies being the temple and dwelling place of the living Christ (2 Cor. 6:16). Ōtsuki believed that the early apostles did not merely preach Christ, but through the laying on of hands
passed the living Christ to others. Through this same indwelling power Ōtsuki's life was transformed and healing became an increasingly important part of his ministry (the church reports that over eight thousand individuals were healed during Ōtsuki's missionary work in China). On the same evening that his personal life transformation occurred, Ōtsuki also recorded specific revelations regarding the salvation of Israel and his future role in the fulfillment of the Bible
's apocalyptic vision.
A charismatic leader, Father Ōtsuki is also said to have performed fantastical miracles while he served in Manchuria. According to Reverend Yamanaka, "When Father Ōtsuki prayed, the twisted spine of a hunchback was straightened. That was the beginning of the miracles. After that, people who couldn’t speak, people who couldn’t stand up on their own legs—many people were cured." When asked about the supposed miracles, Father Ōtsuki Takeji’s son, Ōtsuki Masaru, said that he saw them with his own eyes: "There was never any doubt."
Obedient to these divine instructions, Ōtsuki left the Japan Holiness Church
with a small group of disciples and organized the Holy Ecclesia of Jesus. After a brief period based in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture
, Ōtsuki moved the headquarters of the movement to Kyoto
in 1949. This has been the organizational center for a nationwide evangelistic ministry, which has grown to include over hundred churches scattered across the country from Okinawa in the south to Hokkaidō
in the north.
In later years, Father Ōtsuki learned to speak Hebrew and even received the Honorary Fellow of Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1994.
Holy Ecclesia of Jesus
The Holy Ecclesia of Jesus also known as the Congregation of Jesus is an independent Japanese church founded by Ōtsuki Takeji in 1946...
(or Sei Iesu Kai, 聖イエス会). Ōtsuki was born in Ayabe City in 1906, and as a young man converted to Christianity while a student at Dōshisha Middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
, a private mission school
Mission School
The Mission School is an art movement of the 1990s and 2000s, centered in the Mission District of San Francisco, California.-History and characteristics:...
in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Ōtsuki was attracted to the faith through the evangelistic preaching of Kanamori Michinori during the daily chapel program and went on to receive baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
. Dissatisfied with Dōshisha's "liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and socialistic" form of Christianity, Ōtsuki found his way into the Japan Holiness Church
Japan Holiness Church
The Japan Holiness Church traces its origins to the early evangelistic work of the Oriental Missionary Society, organized by Juji Nakada and by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cowman in 1901. Nakada had become acquainted with the Cowmans during a period he spent at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago...
in 1930.
Ōtsuki completed his theological training at the Holiness Bible Seminary in Tokyo and engaged in evangelistic work in several locations around Japan before accepting appointment as a missionary to Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
in 1936.
It was while serving as a Holiness missionary in Manchuria that Ōtsuki had a "direct encounter with the living Christ," life-transforming experience that was to become the foundation of his independent ministry While praying in preparation for the New Year Convention (the first Seikai 聖会 or revival meeting of the year) and asking God to send him a guiding motto, he was presented with the words of Jesus from there Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
, "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." Ōtsuki explains that his belief in God was beyond question, even though he had never seen God.
Revelation
In his own congregation in Manchuria, however, an eight-year-old girl named Shigetoshi Kiyoko testified in December 1937 that she saw God. Her piety was noted by the clergy because her father had thrown her out of the house due to her insistent desire to attend Sunday school; he was a policeman during a time of very high tension with America, and Christianity was viewed as an American religion. As the story goes, Kiyoko had been a premature baby, and her legs were crippled. Cast out of her home into the December cold of Manchuria, she became very ill and prayed fervently, at which point she received the vision from God and proceeded to die peacefully. Inspired by the faith of this young girl, Ōtsuki asked God to purify his heart so that he might have the same experience.His prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
was answered on the evening of 9 January 1938. As Ōtsuki recounts, he lost all consciousness of himself and his surroundings and was confronted by the living Christ. He felt the "breath of God blowing on him" and saw a bright and beautiful light coming toward him until it entered his body. In seeking to make sense of the experience, Ōtsuki searched the scriptures and discovered that the Hebrew prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s and the Apostle
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
s had reported similarly moving experiences .
As a result, Ōtsuki came to understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). he saw that as individuals and as the church, we now form the body of Christ on earth, our bodies being the temple and dwelling place of the living Christ (2 Cor. 6:16). Ōtsuki believed that the early apostles did not merely preach Christ, but through the laying on of hands
Laying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
passed the living Christ to others. Through this same indwelling power Ōtsuki's life was transformed and healing became an increasingly important part of his ministry (the church reports that over eight thousand individuals were healed during Ōtsuki's missionary work in China). On the same evening that his personal life transformation occurred, Ōtsuki also recorded specific revelations regarding the salvation of Israel and his future role in the fulfillment of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
's apocalyptic vision.
A charismatic leader, Father Ōtsuki is also said to have performed fantastical miracles while he served in Manchuria. According to Reverend Yamanaka, "When Father Ōtsuki prayed, the twisted spine of a hunchback was straightened. That was the beginning of the miracles. After that, people who couldn’t speak, people who couldn’t stand up on their own legs—many people were cured." When asked about the supposed miracles, Father Ōtsuki Takeji’s son, Ōtsuki Masaru, said that he saw them with his own eyes: "There was never any doubt."
Formation of Sei Iesu Kai
After returning to Japan in 1942, Ōtsuki engaged in evangelistic work and led revival meetings in various locations around Japan. In 1946 he received another revelation from the Lord in which he was instructed to establish an independent church to be named the Holy Ecclesia of Jesus. The mission of the church was to recover and spread the Apostolic faith in place of the Westernized version of Christianity that missionaries had planted in Japan.Obedient to these divine instructions, Ōtsuki left the Japan Holiness Church
Japan Holiness Church
The Japan Holiness Church traces its origins to the early evangelistic work of the Oriental Missionary Society, organized by Juji Nakada and by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cowman in 1901. Nakada had become acquainted with the Cowmans during a period he spent at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago...
with a small group of disciples and organized the Holy Ecclesia of Jesus. After a brief period based in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
, Ōtsuki moved the headquarters of the movement to Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
in 1949. This has been the organizational center for a nationwide evangelistic ministry, which has grown to include over hundred churches scattered across the country from Okinawa in the south to Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
in the north.
In later years, Father Ōtsuki learned to speak Hebrew and even received the Honorary Fellow of Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1994.