leia esse artigo em Português
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| To the left, the drawing I made of Teruko Sato when I was a child - to the right, the drawing I made on the day of Brazil's victory over Mexico - a day of great happiness for Brazilian people |
I don’t know exactly how this all started, as I lived in a house with more than four grandmother’s brothers and sisters, all of them from my paternal side, I never found out exactly who told that story, whether it was true or not. It is a fact that from this point onwards I may have been so interested in Japanese culture and believed that if we used Japanese elements, we might have had a better Brazil ( it is important to mention that here in Brazil we have the second largest colony o Japanese people outside of Japan).
Now, as it is the time of Brazilian games in the World Cup, I decided to put an end to the mystery and I started to investigate this wise Japanese lady in the Amazon Rainforests - I must say that it started as a frustrating investigation, nobody knew about her, not even Google.
I have tried other aproaches in my research, maybe this incident has something to do with the Soccer World Cup. The only thing I found was the incredible story about the death of Chico Xavier (Xavier was a very respected religious leader – read more about this day ), with Euripides Higino, his adopted son. "Chico Xavier always said he would disincarnate (‘to die’ as regard to Spiritist point of view) on the day that Brazil would partying and that I would not have time to think about his death. " That was exactly what happened, Chico "disembodied" on the very day that Brazil was on the party of the conquest of the fifth WC Championship, on June 30, 2002.
Ok, but what does this have to do with the Japanese Lady from the Amazon Rainforest?
Actually, I do not know, but I like the idea of seeing Brazil as a uniform mass of minds in a single, happy spirit.
If we look at this crowd of happy Brazilians from a kardecist spiritist point of view, this seems to be a good energy, of a great volume - and it was with this thought, that I’ve decided to take a ‘energizing pass’ at a spiritist center, at exactly this time of year, this would make me receive a huge vibratory charge of good energy) - that's where the big coincidence comes in!
Since I had no spiritist center near where I was working and the match of Brazil was about to start, I decided to stop at the Johrei Center in Vila Mariana (a neighborhood in São Paulo) while I was waiting for the pass, or rather to receive Johrei, I heard some ministers talking about one lady named Teruko Sato, the first woman to bring the culture of the Meishu-Sama’s enlightenment to Brazil.
At that time I even shivered with such a coincidence, but the coolest was yet to come. Meishu-Sama believed in the construction of earth paradises, beautiful and inspiring gardens that increase the well being and spiritual energy of humanity - with that, the place chosen for her to start her work... wow! It was in a city called Manacapuru in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.
At that time I interrupted the ministers and students who were talking to each other and then told them about the legend I had heard, about the secret civilization in the Amazon rainforest and the coincidence, "there is no such thing as coincidence," said the young man, “as like in spiritism, we believe that all this event had already been architected in more evolved plans, as happened with the passage of Chico Xavier”.
As the explanation went on, he smiled and disappointed me a bit when he said that ther was not a Wakanda-type nation of Messianic church in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, "however, Mokiti Okada (岡田茂吉), the church's founder, who bears the honorific title of Meishu-Sama - 明主様, (Lord of Light), idealized rather a more evolved society, which builds teh so called ‘Holy Grounds’ around the world - beautiful places with nice architecture, clean technology and a great degree of development and harmony with the environment, as if they were islands of happiness and elegance amidst the chaos of the planet. The Mokiti Okada Foundation develops research in agriculture, environmental recovery, healthy and affordable individual agriculture, healing and education and also encompasses the Ikebana Sanguetsu school which teaches the pragmatic principles of Mokiti Okada's philosophy through the ancient art of floral arrangement.
For me, Teruko Sato (佐藤輝子 who adopted the married name of Yoniyama 米山) is a living legend, the little information I had as a child made me create a fantastic story, with miscegenations of Brazilian and Japanese ethnicities, with extraordinary and sustainable technology , which may well have been true, but Teruko Sato's real life, which is also very little known by the IMM's own devotees, has attributes that surpass fantasy.
Sato's story was revealed in an issue of the Japanese newspaper Izunome No. 72, written in Japanese, and I'll post the original text in Japanese and my translation - please feel free to correct me in any translation errors.
南米開拓布教事始め
開移民として新たな人生の船出
前編
私は、瀬戸内海に面した岡山県南部にある小さな町で昭和十一年二月四日に生を享けました。
昭和ニ十年半ば頃、世間で呼ばれていました。その「おひかりさん」と呼ばれていました。その出張所がちょうど私の実家のすぐ向かいにあり、信者さん家族が住んでおりました。その家には、私より一つ年上の友達がおり、よく遊んだり勉強したりと仲良しでした。病弱だった私の母は、真っ先にそこで浄霊を受け始めました。
そして「おひかりさんの先生が知らん話をしてくれる」とその友達が冒うので、私も話を聞きに行くようになりました。
毎月1回ほど岡山から出向される瑞雲教会長の山根幸一先生は、霊界のこと、先祖様のことなど、学校では習わないことをたくさんと教えてくださり、やがて、母に次いで昭和二十七年に私も入信に至りました。
運命の決別
明主様から米国開拓布教を命ぜられた樋口喜代子先生、安食晴彦先生がハワイや米国本土で輝かしい成果をあげられていた昭和二十九年頃は、私の教会でもいつもその話で持ちきりで、月次祭でも山根先生は海外布教ー歩を印された樋口先生の業績を讃えられて
いました。私も知らず知らずのうちに、〃樋口先生のように外国に出て布教したい〃という淡い思いを抱いていました。ちょうどその頃、父からブラジル開拓移民が募集されていること、そして一家で移住する予定であることを聞かされたのです。そのことを山根先生に話すと、先生はすぐ明主様にお尋ねくださいました。すると、明主様即座に「御神体と、「おひかり」を持たせて行かせなさい」とおっしゃったのです。先生はすぐ明主様のその御言葉を租に伝えてくださり、私のブラジル行きが確定したのでした。
しかし、移民手続きの過程で、母が眼の病の治療のため、出発が勢カ月遅れるという事態が発生しました。しかし、父の友人の家族が、f現地で一人でも多くの衛き手が欲しいとのことで、私はその家族の一員として自分の家族よりー船早くブラジルルへ渡ることになったのです。
それが、家族との長い別れになろうとは、神様しか御存知なかったのです。
御光と希望を胸に
昭和二十九年九月二十五日、弱冠十八歳の私は神戸港より大阪商船「アメリカ丸」に乗って、地球の反対側のブラジルへと旅立ちました。明主様のお役に立ちたいという熱い思
いでいっぱいで、父母と別れて淋しいとか、こわいとか、ー人でどうとかいう悲観的な考えは一切浮かんできませんでした 。しかし、船の上から見えるのは毎日海だけ、激しい船酔いのため数日間梅干しとお粥のみで過ごしたこともありました。途中米国ロサンゼルスに寄港して燃料食糧その他を補紿し、南米へ向けて出航。パナマ運河を抜け、一路大西洋へと向かいます。
いよいよ赤道下ブラジル北東部パラ州ベレン港に到着しました。そこで私達ブラジルの船に乗り換え、さらにアマゾン川を上っていきました。
そして、日本を出て実に二カ月ぶりに、アマゾン川河口から千四百キロのところにある目的地、アマゾナス州マナカプル|郡べラ・ビスタ植民地に到着したのです。
配耕される土地へは、そこからさらに半日程歩いて行かなければなりませんでした。着いた所は人がようやく歩けるほどの原生林に覆われたところでした。道の両側には、先に入った十数家族の入植者達の住まいである、伐採した原生林を無造作に組み上げた丸木小屋が数百メ|トルおきにー軒ずつあり、さらにその奥に私達に配耕される土地がありました。家も水も電気も生活必需品は何一つなく、岡山県庁の広報とはまったく逆の現実でした。
さっそく男の人達はジャングルの木々を伐探して小屋造りに追われました。女の人達は食事を作るのに必要なものを集めたり、水をる汲みに行ったり、土を捏ねて釜戸を造ったりという生活から始まりました。熟蒂特有の風土から、小虫や蚊がたくさんいて、昼夜を問わるず、ところかまわず刺されます。
数カ月分の食糧は船を降りたところにある小さな村の売店に預けてあり、一週間分ずつを歩いて取りに行きました。大きな袋を持って一往復するのにー日がかりです。女も子供もみな汗だくになりながら働きました。手には水豆ができて破れ、その上に手ぬぐいを捲いて痛さをこらえながら働きました。夜になると原生林の丸木を並べた上に寝ました。いろんな動物の鳴き声が聞こえ主す。夜通し焚火は絶やせません。
いつどんな動物が出てくるか分からず、緊張の毎日が続きました。
失意のどん底からの脱出
そんな生活の中、みんなが寝静まった夜、私は一人蚊帳の中から星空を見上げ、 "どうしてこんな所に来てしまったのだろう......。
明主様のお役に立とうとやって来たブラジルがこんな原生林の山奥。家も電気も水もない原始的な生活。明主様はもう私を見離されたのかしら。なぜこんなつらい思いを、苦労をさせられるのかしら。
このお月様、お父さん、お母さんは見ているかしら。どうして私ー人で来てしまったのかしら。明主様はこんなところと御存知なかったのかしら……“なと思い巡らしては毎日のように泣いていまた。
しかし、”こんなことばかりしていてはいけない。せめて入植者達に御浄霊を広めねは"と思い直し、風邪を引いた人、皮膚に湿疹のできた人に浄霊の話をしてみることにしました。ところが誰も受けつけてくれませしまいには「手をかざして病気が治るわけがない。
あの娘は親から離れてー人で来もて、もう頭がどうかしているのだ」などと噂されるようになりました。そして、その周囲の視線の冷たさに耐えきれなくなった私は、"もう宗教のことも浄霊の話も口にすまい"と決め、ひたすら働き始めました。
また私はー緒にブラジルに来た家族と別れ、独り立ちすることを決意しました。人の手が足りない家は、私を容易に住み込みで雇ってくれます。あちこち他人の家で草取りをしたり、寄せ焼きをしたり、さつま芋を土手に植えたり、毎曰毎曰働きました。そして、私は考えました。"こんな不便な山奥にもし私の母が来たら病に倒れるかも知れない。鍬ー鍬本握ったことのない町育ちの幼い弟、妹達はこんな過酷な労働には耐えられない。
こんな所に来たら一家は破滅だ。私は意を決して日本の父母に「もうブラジルには来たい方がいい、こんな苦労は私ー人でたくさん、来てはいけない」と手紙に書きました。
何ヵ月か経って母からの手紙が届きました。手紙が無事に日本に届き、無事返事が来ることさえ。ここでの生活では奇跡に近い出来事でした。急いで封を開けてみると、そこには私の身を案じる父母の気持ちと共に、思いもかけない事実が認めてありました。
明主様の御昇天の知らせでした。私は立っていられない程のショックで涙も出ませんでした。しかし、"必ず明主様は霊界から見守ってくださっている。私を見ていてくださる。
泣いたら明主様が悲しまれる"と、思い直しましたが、それでも心の整理がつくまでに二、三日を要しました。
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| Manacapurú - 62miles from Manaus in the state of Amazonas The left is Mrs. Yoneyama (Teruko Sato with married name) and the right Michiko Yamande, leader of the Zuiun district - May 1953
瑞雲教会奉仕の頃の米山さん（左）と故・山根道子教会長夫人(昭和28年5月)
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運命の転機
ある日、真っ黒になって働いていた私に、「人が欲しい、来てくれないか」と、内藤さんという方が尋ねて来たのです。私は恩い切ってその方とー-緒に、私を雇ってくださるという方がいる、アマゾナス州バレンチンスに近いイタコアチャラ郡のモンテ・レアルに行くことにしました。
内藤さんに連れられて、再び船の旅です。私は、御神体と御尊影、そして「おひかり」十体に数枚の着替えを持ち、ベラ・ビスタを後にしました。着いたところは、御園さんという方が経営する食料雑貨店でした。
私はこの店で、昼間働きながら、夜はランブの明かりを頼りにポルトガル語を勉強しました。初めは、原地住民との挨拶から日常のこと料理のこと、見るもの、聞くものすべて、日本と違った生活習慣でした。
しかし、それまでの植民地生活からすると、天と地の違いがありました。脚園さん鐔夫妻は、私を娘のように扱ってくださいました。仕事も覚え、言葉も片言でしたが何とか話が通じるようになりました。
心機一転、私は与えられた新しい環境の中で何とか布教しうと思い、つたない言葉で浄霊の話をしてみることにしました。
何日も何回も話すうち、私があまりに一生懸命言うので頭をかしげながらも話を聞いてくれる人が出始めました。もちろん、浄霊の意味などをしっかりと説明するまでには至りませんでしたが、徐々に浄霊のぉ取次ぎが次々とできるようになです。
日本からの使節団
ある日、母から再び便りが届きました。手紙には、「明主様御昇天後、小田信彦先生という方がブラジル布教のためクリチーバに行とれたので、その先生と一緒に布教したらどうか」との、山根先生からの言付けが書いてありました。
First mission in South America, the beginning of a new life as an immigrant
Translation of the first part.
I was born in a small town south of Okayama on February 4th , 1936 (Showa / 昭和 - 11 is the year 1936). In mid-1945, at a time when the Messianic Church and its members had the nickname "Ohikari-san". In front of my house there was a family of Messianic Church follower, as my mother was sick, they use to come to give her Johrei, in 1952, we became members. Every month, the minister in charge of the Church use to give us lectures about the Spiritual World and the ancestors, the kind of stuff that we don’t learn in school, and then, I’ve reached the age of majority.
Towards departure
It was the year of 1945, the minister of this religious unit told us the reports of the missionaries Yamane the reports of the minister Kiyoko Higuti and Haruhiko Ajiki in Hawaii and the United States. Listening to these stories, little by little, I began to cultivate the desire to dedicate myself to the diffusion of these teachings abroad, following the example of Minister Higuti. At that time, I learned that my family planned to immigrate to Brazil.
Aware of this possibility, Minister Yamane made a request to the Meishu-Sama, who immediately said, "Give her the image of God and Ohikari to take with her." In response to this response from Meishu-Sama, my certainty of going to Brazil was strengthened even more. However, during the immigration application process, my mother was afflicted with a vision problem that delayed our departure.
As a well-known family wanted to migrate to Brazil and needed to increase the number of people for the job in hand, I opted to board before my relatives. Only God knew at the time that the separation from my family would be longer than I had imagined...
Light and hope in my heart
On September 25th , 1954 (Showa / 昭和-29), at age 18, I embarked on the ship America Maru that left the port of Kobe, I left Japan to Brazil, taking with me the strong desire to serve Meishu-Sama .
I’ve never felt pessimistic, fear or sadness to depart alone. During the trip, the time I spent on the high seas was not easy, for long days I had to eat umeboshi (梅干 し - Chinese preserved plum) and Kayu (お 粥 also called congee, it is a cooked rice soup with meat) daily because of the seasickness caused by the sea voyage. After a break in Los Angeles to get some supply, fuel and groceries, we crossed the Panama Canal, arriving to the north of Brazil, in the port of Belém. We were transferred to a Brazilian ship and we went up the Amazon River. Since leaving Japan, two months had passed. We arrived at the colony of Bela Vista, located in the state of Amazonas, district of Manacapuru, after a trip of 1,400 km. Until we got to the farm, it was necessary to walk about half a day. The place was in the middle of the forest, on either side of the clumsy road lived some families of settlers who sought to establish themselves there. There was no housing, water, electricity or facilities needed for everyday life, the reality there was quite different from the one I had in Okayama.
Immediately, the men began to tear down trees to build settlements, and the women dedicated themselves to preparing food. Due to the tropical climate insects and mosquitoes use bit us day and night. We face many challenges in this age of adaptation. Groceries arrived regularly in a shop, located in a village that could only be accessed by boat, it take one day to carry everything in huge bags, women and children worked and were always sweaty, bubbles formed in my hands and then burst, we put towels to mitigate the pain, we slept at night in the middle of the logs, we heard several noises of animals, it was imperative that the fire never go out during the night, we did not know when and by what animal we could be attacked, we lived in days of inexhaustible fear and tension.
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In the midst of this harsh reality, at night, while everyone was asleep, I used to look at the stars through mosquito nets and cry, wondering, "What have I come to do in this place?" ... I wanted to serve Meishu Sama and came to the middle of the forest, to live a primitive life, without light or water. Did Meishu Sama abandon me? Why do I have to go through so much suffering? Are my parents looking at these same stars? Why did I come alone? Does Meishu Sama know about me here?
On the other hand, I was thinking about my mission. "Perhaps I can minister Johrei to the settlers ..." I began to minister Johrei to those who had the flu or with eczemas. However, they did not believe that I could heal illnesses, simply by putting my hands up towards them.
The daughter of the family I was with start to spread rumors that I had mental problems, or something like that. Faced with such contempt, I decided not to talk about on Johrei or religion anymore; I began to work even more and chose to move away from the family with whom I came to Brazil. I lived with families who were in need of labor, skimmed the backyards of the houses, planted and made roasted sweet potatoes to serve them.
Facing that, I thought, "If my mother comes, she will surely be sick with so much discomfort, the delicate hands of the brothers and sisters who grew up with the books, could not stand the hoes, if they come here, my family will be ruined.
So, I wrote to my parents asking them to "give up coming to Brazil because I go through so many difficulties here." A few months later, after my letter arrived safe and sound in Japan, I received a letter back with my mother's reply, it sounded like a miracle, taking into consideration the reality in hand.
I rapidly ripped the envelope, I was taken with emotion, it was so good to know that my parents had not forgotten me there; but the letter also brought me the sad news of Meishu Sama's ascent to the Spiritual World. Then I felt that he was looking at me, I cried a lot in mourning, it took too long for the sadness to pass.
The Turn of Destiny
One day, in the middle of my work at the farm, Mr. Naito told me that he needed people to work with him. So, again by boat, I left for Monte Real in the district of Itacoatiara, near Parintins AM, taking with me the image of God and some Ohikari, he said that someone wanted to hire me.
I went on another boat trip, carrying imperial clothes for Mr. Naito, and I chugged at a deserve, managed by Misuno-san.
I worked during the day and during the night I tried to study Portuguese, under the precarious light of a lantern. Initially, I had many difficulties with customs, language and food compared to life in Japan. However, that place was for me the paradise on earth, comparing to the life I had in the previous colony, in Bela Vista, everything had changed for the better.
Mr. Shigaru's sweet wife treated me like a daughter. I learned the service and, in the midst of a new environment, again I endeavored to spread the Johrei, and to my delight, my stories began to be heard.
This time I had changed my mind, now I could talk about Johrei, I tried hard to explain, although people often scratched their heads without understanding very well, but even so, little by little, more purified, people would better understand the proposal of all that.
Mission from Japan
Some time later, more news arrived, I received a correspondence from my mother telling that after the rise of Meishu Sama, Mr. Yamane, a minister named Nobuhiko Shoda asked me to go to Curitiba ( a urban metropolis in the south region of Brazil) with him.. .
Translated by Luiz Pagano
Inspiration and joys of faith by Chico Xavier
As you may know, dear reader, I consider myself an Omni Religious, I believe, study and respect all religions and I value the good in all of them, I should start by saying that I had already been to Uberaba and personally met Eurípedes, adopted son of Chico Xavier.
Chico Xavier or Francisco Cândido Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido on April 2, 1910 was a holy figure from Brazil, of the highest religious and cultural importance, a philanthropist and spirit medium who changed the doctrine of faith in Brazil and in the world.
It was December 8, 2011, I had coffee and some pão de queijos (brazilian style cheese bread) with him, who kindly showed me all the rooms, told me stories about Chico, showed me the tree that he (Chico Xavier) had planted himself in the backyard, as well as the whole complex, very simple but perfectly functional, that he had built to help as many people as possible, with him and another group of ten people, I went to help cook and serve the more than a thousand needy people in a huge dinning room.
The fact is that, after that day, my life has changed a lot, especially when it comes to my goals and how to reach them with joy.
I truly believe that the best way to create an evolved society in every way is by proactively mobilizing ourselves in this, we should start by being inspired by the examples of people like Mokiti Okada, Teruko Sato and Chico Xavier - to promote the moral improvement of people at the same time. around us and at the same time, in addition to providing conditions of dignity, we promote the physical and structural development of the group, considering each member as universes in themselves, as well as important, reliable and talented links, part of a society that gives pleasure to work for the common good and for each individual, separately.
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| Luiz Pagano and other volunteers helping in the kitchen of the Spiritist Center Prece, by Chico Xavier in Uberaba - the happiness of helping those in need is unparalleled. |
Chico used to say to his closest friends "I want to die in a day of great happiness of Brazilian people" which actually happened!
The first book psychographed by Chico Cahvier was Parnassus Beyond the Tomb (Paraíso de Alem Túmulo - SOUTO MAIOR, 1995:31) from 1931, the book brought together 203 poems dictated by 38 deceased poets. Anticipating a very difficult journey, he wrote in the preface "I know I will be the object of commiseration or laughter, but some will find solace in my book" - and many people did so!! Chico left his terrestial life leaving 412 psychographed books in 54 years of mediumship and 92 years of life, the cause of death was cardiac arrest, without pain and suffering around 7:30 pm on June 30, 2002, at the very end of the International Soccer World Cup, ten hours after Scolari's team brought the fifth victory to Brazil - on that day, because he may have anticipated the future or because the future had graced him with his wish, the whole of Brazil was celebrating in great joy at the moment of Chico Xavier's death.
With that in mind, I took advantage of the energy of today's victory, when people are celebrating with the glory in a great and plural spiritual vibration, the size of our country, and I decided to redo the drawing by Teruko Sato (illustration below)... my Teruko Sato.
In my art, she is the Japanese woman who adopted the indigenous culture in her paintings and clothes. In my personal universe, this evolved culture, Nipo-Tupiniquim even has a name, it's called yvyturokai (pronounced something like "wovo churo kui" - the first two 'Ys' have a sound similar to the ~ of the word 'SAO' - and means PARADISE in Guarani –, a place where people are well educated and well educated).
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| In my drawing, Teruko Sato (佐藤輝子) from my personal universe, dances gently on the cut trunk, as I drew in my childhood, in harmony with the forces of the forest, has a pink Amazon river dolphin to his left and a Tucuxi (grey Amazon river dolphin) on her right - she looks pretty much like an Avatar: the last air bender anime character. |
