NAKAYAMA MIKI (1798–1887) was the founder of Tenrikyō ("The Teaching of Divine Wisdom"), which is one of Japan's best known "new religions" (shin shūkyō), with over two million members at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Miki's story is important not only for understanding Tenrikyō, but also for understanding what is novel about the many new religious movements that arose and flourished in Japan since the end of the nineteenth century.

The church's sacred biographies present a sanctified image of Miki as a shrine of God who was also a divine model for all who sought salvation. She was born into a wealthy farming family in the small village of Sanmaiden in what is now Nara prefecture on April 18, 1798. As a child she showed a remarkable generosity of spirit as well as unusual devotion to the nembutsu faith of Pure Land (Jôdo) Buddhism. Miki was...