In the Tenrikyo religion, the , also known as the Tsutome, is the most important prayer ritual, along with the Sazuke. The Service comes in fundamental forms (i.e. the Kagura Service and Teodori) and several variant forms (such as the Morning and Evening Service). The text to the Service is the Mikagura-uta, one of the three scriptures of Tenrikyo.
In Japanese, using kanji, Otsutome can be written as or . However, in Tenrikyo publications, it is typically written using only hiragana.
Kagura Service The most important Service is the . This service is the masked dance that is exclusively performed around the Kanrodai where Tenrikyo Church Headquarters – located in Tenri City, Japan – is situated.Morishita, Saburo Shawn. "Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance." Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, 2001, p.3.
In Shinto, the kagura is a ceremonial dance; in Tenrikyo, it is considered to be the religion's most sacred dance.
Hashimoto cites three meanings behind the performance of the Kagura Service–to represent God's creative power at the time of human conception and thus inspire humankind to live the Joyous Life, to reconfirm humankind's relationship with God and the universe, and to realize the importance of living by God's original intention for humankind.Hashimoto, Taketo. 1981. "The Kagura Service—Its Structure and Meaning." The Theological Perspectives of Tenrikyo, p. 181.
Performance
The Kagura Service is performed by ten people, five males and five females, who surround the Kanrodai. Each person represents a different divine providence that participated in the creation, wearing a unique kagura mask and dancing to unique hand movements (see diagram to the right and table below).Fukaya, Words of the Path.
The performers of the Kagura Service are chosen from the inner circle of the administrative staff at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. The ten performers and the musical instrument players switch roles on a monthly basis. However, the roles of the Shinbashira and his wife remain the same throughout all performances and that is to represent Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto and Omotari-no-Mikoto respectively.Morishita, p.123
The song text for the Kagura Service is exactly the same as that of the Seated Service (the first, second, and third sections of the Mikagura-uta); the only difference between them is the number of repetitions of the third section. The first section is repeated twenty-one times, the second section is performed only once, and the third section is performed seven times in sets of three, amounting to a total of twenty-one times.Morishita, p.123
Kagura masks The kagura masks were first produced around or before 1874 by Nakayama's brother, Kyosuke Maegawa, but the masks he made have since been lost. However, it is assumed that the later masks preserve the essential features of the original masks since the Osashizu instructed followers to model new masks after the original ones.A Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms, p.185. The masks currently in use are made of wood, but earlier ones seem to have been made of papier-mâché.Nakayama, Shozen. Hitokoto hanashi sono 3 and Zoku Hitokoto hanashi sono 2.
The ten aspects of God's providence
Sacred name Direction Gender Function in the body Function in the world Mask description SymbolA Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms, p.183-5 Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto north male eyes and fluids water A male lion face with an open mouth and long white hair. A tail hanging from the mask is fastened to the wrist of Taishokuten-no-Mikoto. great dragon Omotari-no-Mikoto south female warmth fire A female lion face with a closed mouth and black hair. Three tails hanging from the mask extend in three directions and fastened to the wrists of Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto, Otonobe-no-Mikoto, and Kashikone-no-Mikoto. giant serpent Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto northwest male male organ, bones and support support A male face representing a long-nosed goblin. A figure of an orc is strapped to the back of the dancer. orc Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto southeast female female organ, skin and joining joining A female face. A figure of a turtle is strapped to the back of the dancer. turtle Otonobe-no-Mikoto west male pulling out the child from its mother at birth pulling forth A male face. The wrist of the dancer is fastened with a tail from the mask of Omotari-no-Mikoto. black snake Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto east female eating, drinking and elimination rise and fall of moisture A female face. The wrist of the dancer is fastened with a tail from the mask of Omotari-no-Mikoto. eel Kashikone-no-Mikoto southwest male breathing and speaking wind A male face. The wrist of the dancer is fastened with a tail from the mask of Omotari-no-Mikoto. flatfish Taishokuten-no-Mikoto northeast female cutting off the ties of the child from its mother at birth, cutting off the breath of life when passing away for rebirth cutting A female face. globefish Izanagi-no-Mikoto center-north male seed model of man A male face with hexagonal headpiece. fish Izanami-no-Mikoto center-south female seedplot model of woman A female face with hexagonal headpiece. serpent
Interpretation Hashimoto notes that the divine providences of the Kagura Service are oriented to reflect the metaphysical principle of oneness in two (futatsu hitotsu), which is the idea that the universe exists by integrating two opposing elements. The opposing elements do not become identical, nor does one element become subsumed by the other; rather, the opposing elements complement each other and retain their distinctive qualities while also creating a more complete entity. Oneness in two is likened to the concept of coincidentia oppositorum in the Western philosophical tradition.Hashimoto, Taketo. 1981. "The Kagura Service—Its Structure and Meaning." The Theological Perspectives of Tenrikyo, pp. 185–6. For example, Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto, the providence of water, and Omotari-no-Mikoto, the providence of fire, are opposing elements which are placed on opposing sides, north and south respectively.Hashimoto, Taketo. 1981. "The Kagura Service—Its Structure and Meaning." The Theological Perspectives of Tenrikyo, p. 187.
Seated Service The takes the place of the Kagura Service at places of worship besides Church Headquarters. The Seated Service and Kagura Service use the same text (first, second, and third sections of the Mikagura-uta) and the same instrumentation.
However, unlike the Kagura Service, the Seated Service is performed by six people, three men and three women, sitting in a line facing the shrine and performing the same hand movements as one another.A Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms, p.368-9. In the Seated Service, the third section of the Mikagura-uta is performed three times in sets of three, which is different from the Kagura Service, where the same section is performed seven times in sets of three.
The Seated Service embodies "the truth of six fundamental aspects of divine providence," which can be understood to mean the "six fundamental aspects of God's providence during creation" or "six fundamental aspects of God's providence in the human body."A Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms, p.368-9.
Teodori
The Teodori ( or ) refers to the part of the Service that is sung, danced, and played to the text of the Eight Verses of the Yorozuyo () and the Twelve Songs, or the fourth and fifth sections of the Mikagura-uta.A Glossary of Tenrikyo Terms, p.427-8. Whereas the Kagura is performed exclusively at the Jiba in Tenri, the Teodori can be performed anywhere,Tenrikyo Young Men's Association (2006). Questions and Answers about Tenrikyo (Tenrikyo Overseas Department, Trans.). Tenri, Japan: Tenrikyo Overseas Department. (Original work published 1990) (Japanese title: 信仰問答集) such as at branch churches and in followers' homes.
A performance of the Teodori requires six dancers, three males on the left and three females on the right, who form a single line facing the shrine. The six Teodori dancers perform exactly the same hand and foot movements in unison, expressing the meaning of the songs through the dance.Fukaya, Words of the Path. The choreography of the Teodori is called Otefuri ( or ). The Teodori also requires the full set of musical accompaniment: six men's instruments (hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, kotsuzumi, and fue), three women's instruments (koto, shamisen, kokyū), and one or two singers (jikata).
Monthly Service
The original Japanese term for "Monthly Service" is tsukinamisai (月次祭), which translates to "a regular or recurring monthly festival." During the Monthly Service, which is the central liturgy of a Tenrikyo church, the entire text of the Mikagura-uta ("The Songs for the Service") is sung to specific choreography and instrumental accompaniment.
The Monthly Service performed at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters is different from Monthly Services performed at other churches due to the cosmological significance of the spot around which the Headquarters was constructed. The monthly service at Headquarters begins with the Kagura Service followed by the Teodori, and is always performed on the twenty-sixth of each month.
A monthly service at other churches begins with the Seated Service followed by the Teodori, and can be performed at any fixed day of the month determined by each church (e.g. third Sunday, every month on the 8th).Morishita, Saburo Shawn. "Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance." Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, 2001, p.3-4.
From late 1888 through the following year, a number of churches were established in various districts, and some of them requested permission to perform the Service when their sanctuaries were completed. In response, the Divine Directions made it clear that the Kagura Service could not be performed anywhere other than at the Jiba for the Kanrodai. The kagura masks were not to be worn—or even merely placed in front of the performers—at local churches, though the use of all the other implements including the musical instruments was allowed. Local churches' monthly services, performed on the days sanctioned by Church Headquarters, include the seated service—which is performed by six people seated on the raised floor performing the same hand movements as those used in the morning and evening services—followed by the Teodori.Fukaya, Words of the Path.
Out of the twelve monthly services of the year, two of them carry particular significance and are referred to as "grand services" (taisai , "grand festival"):
Oyasama's withdrawal from physical life is celebrated annually on January 26 (originally on the 26th day of the 1st lunar month of 1887). It is also known as the . Oyasama's first divine revelation (the official founding date of Tenrikyo) is celebrated annually on October 26 (originally on the 26th day of the 10th lunar month of 1838). It is also known as the .
Both of the grand services are performed in the same manner as the other regular monthly services.Morishita, Saburo Shawn. "Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance." Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, 2001, p.3-4.
The performance of a Monthly Service requires a minimum of six dancers (three men and three women), six men's instruments (hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, kotsuzumi, and fue), three women's instruments (koto, shamisen, kokyū), and one or two singers (jikata).
Variations The , held on the first day of the year, is performed exactly in the same manner as a monthly service.Morishita, Saburo Shawn. "Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance." Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, 2001, p.3-4.