Itojaro Hironagi

&nbsp Itojaro Hironagi (1502-1604, old style) was a samurai who renounced the way of war for the way of Buddha, making a pilgrimmage to every Buddhist shrine in the Japanese islands, in his search for enlightenment.

Most of Hironagi's writings have been lost, but what survived formed the basis of what some call a cult and others suggest is a new, modern branch of Eastern mysticism/theology.

BIOGRAPHY

Little is known about Hironagi. It is known that the monk who chronicled his words and actions was named Sozo and he traveled with a 'giant' named Shibata Masanori. It is known that starting at the age of forty, Hironagi renounced his fief. No explanation exists for why he decided to make his pilgrimmage. Hironagi died in 1604 during the Month of Water, the 18th year of Go-Yozei.

Since Hironagi's writings were not found for centuries, there is no reason to believe he was considered important and given a shrine, so his burial location is unknown. For adherents of Hironagi's words, they insist that Hironagi did not die, but ascended to Enlightenment.

PHILOSOPHY

Scholars consider Hironagi's views a mix of capitalism (fascinating given his era and the disregard for money within the samurai class) and enforcing the spirit of the law over the letter (a radical view given 16th century Japanese society). This is combined with an insistence on daily meditation and prayer as well as unarmed martial arts to hone the body and spirit. Unlike most Buddhists, Hironagi does not look down on the consumption of meat or vices such as alcohol, preferring "to everything a time, though too much is like a visitor who does not realize it is time to leave".

Scholars today suggest that the emphasis on hard work and the spirit of the law is a very humanist perspective.

ADHERENTS

There are fewer than 100,000 adherents to the words of Hironagi, though it is becoming more popular, and unsurprisingly, adherents have the greatest success proselytizing in areas choked by heavy bureaucracy or that have only recently become 'middle-class'. A significant portion of adherents are responsible for the start up of new businesses.

It is expected of believers that at some point they will visit the same shrines Hironagi visited, though this can be done over a lifetime rather than a single trip, and there is no restriction on how these visits are carried out.

Most analysts consider the Hironagi believers to be harmless. The WLN disagrees as do the governments of Africa and Europe. Those governments see the sect as disrupting legitimate authority and upsetting social stability.

Hironagi adherents are welcomed openly on the west coast of the United States of North America as well as Australia and southeastern Asia where they are valued for their business acumen and as engines of economic growth. Of course, the USNA is happy to use the sect as a means of poking the WLN indirectly.