Miracles of Johrei
Written by Okada Mokichi, 1953
Thank-You Report #063
Thank-You Report #064
Thank-You Report #065
Thank-You Report #066
Thank-You Report #067
Thank-You Report #068
Thank-You Report #069
Thank-You Report #070
Thank-You Report #063
Reported by E.M. in Kumamoto on 30 April 1952
I would like to report about Mr T. When his parents received the first telegram from a military hospital in Shimane, which informed them that he was in a critical condition, they soon went to the hospital. Mr T’s condition was very serious beyond help. The doctor said that he couldn’t escape death. His mother asked the doctor, “In this case, don’t you mind if we do anything for him?” Then her offer was accepted. Since she had already received the grace from Mehisya-sama, her husband came back to his home town in Fukuoka. Since Mr K was accepted as an instructor of Sekai-Meshiya-kyo there, Mr T’s father asked him to go and perform Johrei to his son at the hospital. Just then, he received the second telegram, which informed that his son was in a critical condition. Mr K told me to go to the hospital soon. Then Mr T’s sister and brother and I left for Shimane.
We arrived at the military hospital at 9 a.m. on 2 September. At that time, the third telegram was already sent. We were heard by the hospital that sending the third one is almost equal to informing the death. Mr T was provided oxygen. His whole body was stiff and purple even to the tip of the nail. He was almost unconscious. I had no words to explain how serious his condition was. Everyone thought that he wouldn’t be saved. Mr T was thought to be going to die. The doctors and nurses in a white coat were just looking at him dying every moment. They could do nothing but taking his pulse. They just stood while staring at him absent-mindedly. His sister was unable to bear seeing such a situation any longer and said to me, “Please do something for him. Please.” She cried and clung to my hands. I suddenly came to think that God never brought me all the way from Fukuoka just to see his death. So, I prayed to Meshiya-sama for help. Then my courage sprung up strongly.
I asked the director of the hospital, “Will he die?” He replied, “There is nothing we can do.” I said, “Do you mind if I do anything for him?” He answered, “You can do whatever you want for him.” I said, “Then let me do what I want.” So, I got permission from the director. I immediately stopped providing oxygen to him and removed cooler bags. Then I started to perform Johrei. His body stiffness, complexion and breathing gradually improved every minute. While I was performing Johrei, the doctors and nurses disappeared one after another. When thirty minutes or so passed, there was none of them in the room.
Since then, we turned down injections and threw away medicine when provided each time. Ice was put in the thermos for us to eat. We asked the hospital to feed him ordinary food but they were opposed to doing it first. Therefore, the procedure was delayed by three days. During that time, we gave our food to him. In that way, we tried to recover him. Mr T had severe diarrhoea. A lot of pus came out of the burnt area. He had pain in some parts of the body but got better every time I performed Johrei. He could go to the toilet with an attendant and moved on the bed in a week. Since I was told by Mr K to stay at the hospital for a weak, I decided to leave for Fukuoka on the eighth day. I was a little concerned about Mr T but asked his sister for the rest. However, I lost my train ticket on the way back to Fukuoka. I thought that it happened to remind me of something. In any case, I came back but I heard that a telegram had already been sent to me. It was said to keep performing Johrei. So, I soon returned to the hospital and continued to perform Johirei.
During that time, we brought food outside of the hospital to nourish Mr T. A few days passed after I got back. When I was out, Mr T’s family received complaints from the hospital. At that time, a great sensation was created at the hospital. People said, “Second Lieutenant T was saved.” When I visited the director of the hospital, he domineeringly said to me, “Are you a relative of Second Lieutenant T?” I said, “No, I’m not.” He said, “Who gave you permission to enter this hospital?” I said, “You did. No one enters the hospital without your permission. Here, I have a pass allowing through a gate.” I was getting angry and said in my mind, “You know who I am as we meet many times. It is you who told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do.” The director continued to say, “You move the patient even though he is said to be absolutely rest. You also press around his chest, do you?” “I don’t press it but just take care of him.” “You are just a young girl but outrageous. You must say that you have healed him when you go home. Not you but we do treat him by using precious medicine.” I thought that you gave up on him and we never used any injections after that. I unintentionally smiled wryly. The director said, “Where do you think this is?” I said, “The military hospital, isn’t it? I am not a thief. So, I never jump over the fence to enter the hospital. You left him to me.” Mr T’s mother coming close to me and sent a signal by pulling my sleeve. She tried to get in with him. So, we got back on safe ground.
When I went back to the room, I thought, “It cannot stay like this. The director wants to preserve the honour of the hospital. So, he tries to take Mr T out of our hands. If it happened, all of the efforts so far would be wasted. When I continued to stay at the hospital, it just made him feel bad.” I decided to leave the hospital and asked Mr T’s mother and sister for the rest. After that, Mr T’s father went to the hospital and got permission to discharge Mr T by pulling the wires behind the scenes. The director said, “I feel sorry for him that his body will become useless due to the overdose of morphine for tetanus and his hair will also never grow.” Even he said so, Mr T had completely recovered and got a full head of black hair. Now he works as a young owner of an extensive business and spends busy days. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama. I’m not clever but could have such a great experience. I am very grateful that I was used for your divine work. From now on, please use me more than before. Thank you very much again, Meshiya-sama.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #064
Reported by E.T. in Fukuoka on 30 April 1952
Around 8 a.m. on 6 August 1945, I was exposed by the blast of an atomic bomb in the parade ground just 500 meters away from the hypocentre in Hiroshima. My clothes were immediately set on fire. I rolled around to put it out but got burned in the exposed part. At that time, I was an apprentice officer and belonged to the unit based in Shimane. So, I was hospitalised at the army hospital in front of that unit on 12 August. The following report was made by my father’s note, the telegrams sent in those days, my relatives’ stories and my vague memories. I was the most serious patient at the hospital. I was in the private room and the red round mark was put on the entrance, which showed the patient in the room was seriously ill. Therefore, my family was permitted to attend to me. A few days later when I was hospitalised, the burns caused tetanus and my body became stiff. The army doctor said that I must be absolutely rest. At that time, Japanese military medicine had reached an outstanding level and I was fully treated with it. Even so, the hospital sent the telegram three times, informing my family that I was in serious condition.
Here I introduce my father’s notes;
In the afternoon of the 29th, I tanked a chief doctor and asked him how my son was going on. He said, “At present, there is no treatment in my country. The rate of death for a patient like your son is 100 per cent. Please be prepared. In the case of Second Lieutenant E, we concentrate on treating tetanus. For that purpose, we gave him a large amount of serum injection, which is so expensive that it cannot be used at private hospitals. Because his body got stiff, we also gave him a large amount of morphine injection. Now his tetanus was almost cured but we cannot do anything about penetrating uranium atoms in his body. Even if he was completely recovered, he would never fail to become morphine-addicted due to its overdose. Please be prepare. He bothers you and your wife for a few years.” I asked him, “Do you mind if we take care of him in our way?” He replied, “I don’t. Please take good care of him as much as possible.” So, my wife and I agreed that we just relied on Johrei in the end. At 7:13 a.m. on the 30th, I left for Fukuoka to ask Mr K to perform Johrei. He was an instructor of Sekai-Meshiya-kyo.
I will never forget the 2nd of September. On that day, I did think that I was going to die. I heard later that I became difficulty breathing and my hands and legs became purple. I was provided oxygen. More than ten hospital officials including the director, nurse chief and surgeon came. I think that they thought they couldn’t help anymore. I didn’t know how long it took but Ms E arrived at the hospital all the way from Fukuoka just in that situation. She was told by Mr K to perform Johrei to me. I immediately received Johrei from her and got better from that point. Thanks to Meshisya-sama, I gave a second life. I was reborn. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama. When I report my passing days like this, I am ashamed that I only took care of myself even though I received such great grace. I sincerely apologise. Until that day, my body became stiff more than ten times a day. Every time I received Johrei, however, it became softer day by day. I took religious lessons from the third day after I left the hospital and came home. Then I have never become ill in bed for six and a half years. I was married and works hard now. At the end of this report, I introduce my condition which I wrote down on the note. As for the white blood cell, I think that the hospital regarded its number as important. A healthy person usually has six to seven thousand cells. In my case, its number increased more and more. That is a quite rare case compared to the other patients brought from Hiroshima. When the number of those cells increased to over eight thousand, the doctors were surprised and tried to give medical treatment to me but Ms E firmly refused. She just kept performing Johrei to me until she left. At the hospital, a patient became able to walk when he has about three thousand white blood cells. Now my weight is 58 kilograms. Here I briefly reported the outline.
On 5 August, my weight was 53.1 kilograms.
On 6 August, I was injured by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.
On 8 August, I was carried by truck to Ujina and taken to the hospital.
On 12 August, I was admitted to the military hospital in Shimane.
On 13 August, The number of my white blood cells were 1,600.
On 2 September, I started to receive Johrei.
On 4 September, The number of my white blood cells became 6,000.
On 5 September, the number of my white blood cells became 8,000.
On 13 September, I started to go to the toilet on foot from that day.
On 15 September, my weight became 40 kilograms.
On 19 September, I was officially permitted to have ordinary food but actually, I had already had one since I received Johrei.
On 5 October, my weight became 41.2 kilograms.
On 13 October, the number of my white blood cells became 8,600. I was permitted to take a bath.
On 20 October, my weight became 44 kilograms.
On 23 October, I left the hospital.
8 November, the number of my white blood cells was 7,200, which was measured at the prefectural hospital in Saga.
On 9 November, my weight became 50 kilograms.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #065
Reported by H.Z. in Saga on 7 May 1952
I do apologise for the delay in reporting my experience as an atomic bomb survivor. Please forgive me, Meshiya-sama. My writing is not good enough but I would like to report it with gratitude. On 16 June 1945, I was called into the fortress HQ as a staff officer in Nagasaki. After finishing a three-week basic training, I was dispatched to cultivated land in the Mt Inasa region with other six staff. Then five out of seven including I left for the field of the former battery site. I heard later that there was only 70 to 100 metres away from the hypocentre of the atomic bomb. We worked hard there. At 10:30 a.m. on 9 August, we took a break. We took off a jacket and sat under the tree to have a rest. Then we suddenly heard the roar of the enemy planes. It was 10:55 a.m. I wondered why and tried to stand up. In a moment, broad bean-sized yellowish-white sparks fell with a hissing noise. They fell like an evening shower. We were overthrown and lost consciousness. After a while, we regained consciousness and crawled into a bomb shelter. We look at each other. As four of us, the skin of our faces, arms, chests, bellies and backs peeled off. We were very smelly. Only one staff officer was safe. We encouraged each other. “The wound like this will heal in a week.” We clenched our teeth and hung in there.
However, I felt pain and it got worse, which was beyond description. “We should go back to our lodging no matter what happens.” The team leader commanded us. We passed over the burning land here and there. There were so many dead bodies everywhere. We had to be careful not to step on them and hurried to the lodging. We finally arrived at 7:30 p.m. I had a high fever and couldn’t eat anything. I felt chilly and pain in the wounded part. Due to the fire, the town looked bright red. An army surgeon started the treatment in the bomb shelter at around midnight. He used all the medicine for the leader. Therefore, the remaining three of us stayed there until dawn and then went to the hospital. I was getting exhausted and having trouble walking.
I finally got medical treatment at about 2 p.m. and went back to the headquarters. Since then, I had received treatment at the medical office every day. However, the temperature didn’t go down. I had a sore throat, too. As I couldn’t use my hands, the other staff fed me rice porridge. Evacuation from air-raid always bothered me both physically and mentally. Whenever I had medical treatment, a bandage had to be unwounded. It hurt very much as if I had my skin peeled. Just thinking about those days makes me shudder. On 16 August, the army surgeon said to me, “Medicine has run out here. You should go to the hospital.” I was hospitalised that afternoon. At the hospital, I never got a medical examination. I was just given food three times a day. I got better when I stayed at the headquarters but I started to feel pain again. I was unable to bear it any longer and removed the bandage. I spent three days while drawing the water to wash away pus and placing a cold towel on the wound with a handicapped body.
At 3 a.m. on 19 August, I was given the order; “You move to Saga. Go downstairs with your belongings. Hurry up. The car is waiting for you.” I was sent to Nagasaki station and arrived at an army hospital in Saga at 7 p.m. On the third day after I was hospitalised, I could hold a pencil and have food with both hands for the first time since I was injured. I was very glad. At the hospital, I was applied white plaster. I knew how powerful and poisonous the atomic bomb was in the newspapers. So, I was concerned about my health as I absorbed a lot of toxins. As a result of the examination, I started to have hot-spring therapy. It was 29 August.
At the bathhouse, I was surprised to see my body reflected in the mirror. I became so thin. I took bath in the morning and evening a day. The therapy seemed to work but I felt heavy in the head very much. I often fell when standing up quickly in the morning. Most of the patients had diarrhoea but I was constipated for a week, which bothered me. Three weeks after my hospitalisation, I was ordered to leave the hospital. I came home. I suffered from neuralgia maybe because I became weak. It was getting cold and I felt pain in the wounded part. I kept taking injection, acupuncture and moxibustion for a long time. I heard that an animal liver gained a number of white blood cells. So, I tried to have one a lot but I couldn’t get better.
Around April or May 1946, I felt very itchy in the wound and scratched it very much until blood came out. One day, Mrs T told me about the present Sekai-Mashiya-kyo. Since I believed in Buddhism and also medicine, I could hardly believe in it from the beginning. At that time, my wife suffered from rheumatism. She also heard about it from her friend by chance on the way back from the clinic for acupuncture and moxibustion. We talked about what we should do and decided to visit its church. My wife first visited to worship. She heard a lot about the grace given by Komyo-Nyorai-sama and received Johrei. She continued to receive Johrei for about a week and felt lighter. Mrs I was an instructor of Meshiya-kyo. She told us that Mr K would come and it was a good chance for us to receive religious lessons from him. Since my wife’s rheumatism got better, I decided to visit the church. Mr K told me many things about the faith, which made me almost understand Meshiya-kyo. Then the farming season was coming. I had not recovered yet but worked hard. On the last day of rice planting, I suddenly had a severe headache and became unbearable to work.
I gave up everything the next day and visited the church. When I received Johrei, I felt a little better. However, I felt pain when I came home. I could endure the pain a little as I understood that disease was a purification action. Then I asked to receive religious lessons and became a believer in Meshiya-kyo. While hearing many grateful things from Mr K, I got ashamed of what I had done before. Then I told him about myself. He said, “You were saved by Komyo-Nyorai-sama because you are needed. That is a miracle. You should express your gratitude.” I was deeply impressed with his words. He continued to say, “Your purification is on the second stage now. The first one was represented as clouds and the second one is rain. So, it will stop and become sunny soon.” I was very glad to hear that. I continued to receive Johrei for about ten days. I felt lighter and better very much day by day. I could return to work. Since then, I spent time without serious purification. I just felt itchy in summer and sensitive in winter. I gained weight as before at around the end of 1947 and didn’t feel any pain from the next year onwards. I just have purification sometimes like catching a cold or feeling mild pain in the belly. It has been less than six years since I became a believer in Sekai-Meshiya-kyo. Now my whole family lives a grateful life without having any medicine. Thank you very much, Meshisya-sama. You saved me and given me a second life. I deeply express my gratitude. From now on, I would like to guide people to this faith as much as possible and as soon as possible. I have firmly decided to work hard for the construction of Paradise on Earth.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #066
Reported by Y.I. in Fukui on 5 May 1952
I would like to report the grace I received seven years ago. The atomic bombing could be one of the greatest tragedies in the 20th century. Thinking of it still makes me shiver. On 9 August 1945, I was in Nagasaki and evacuated to an isolated house in the pine forest on a small mountain, which was about 4 kilometres away from the hypocentre. When climbing a little, you can overlook the surroundings. On that day, I felt relieved a little in the house after the air-raid alarm was called off. Then some kind of light suddenly shone from the gap in the clouds. It was like the sunlight in midsummer or much stronger than that. No sooner I wondered what it was than pieces of wood were piled up around my feet. I don’t remember how I escaped from the house but I got out of there and jumped into an air-raid shelter.
When I looked at myself in a calm manner, my white jacket got soaked with blood. I tried to find out by touch where I was injured. My forehead was cut and the wound reached to the head. It was wide open diagonally. I quickly placed the white part of my jacket on the wound. It soon got soaked with blood. Because my injury looked terrible, my mother in law and other people in the shelter were just worried. I lied down on a mat in the cold shelter and single-mindedly performed Johrei. I once saw the photo of Meshiya-sama when I prayed at the church in Tokyo. So, I visualised his face and kept performing Johrei while praying to him. As I thought that I seriously injured, I looked in a mirror later on and found my forehead was cut from the side of the left eyebrow to the centre of the head. The wound was cracked like a pomegranate. Its length was about 12 centimetres and its width was that of combining three fingers. I thought that my condition was not too serious. I just wholeheartedly relied on Meshiya-sama. The bleeding stopped after a while and I put on a headband with a gauze. I checked other parts of my body and found wounds in the right arm. The bigger one looked like being scooped up with a spoon and the several others were small. When I performed Johrei towards the arm, sticky black blood came out of the wound. I didn’t feel pain at all even though I had such a serious wound. Three or four hours later, I started to tidy up the house.
All parts of the house which was vertically hit by the blast were completely broken. On the first floor, only frameworks of the windows remained. All the sliding doors were broken into pieces. There were so many small pieces of wood in the house that I didn’t recognise which was which. Such pieces piled up all over the house and I couldn’t step even one foot there. Looking at such a terrible sight, how I could have escaped from the house? I continued to perform Johrei by myself and work without any day off. I used both brain and body very much. I found the trace of the light passing through the tree. The leaves were charred brown in the shape of the two narrow lines. There was also a long-burnt mark with a width of 2 meters in the neighbourhood. About ten days later, I visited to worship in a certain town and received Johrei from Mr H. I also received a holy paper and put it on the wounded parts. Since then, I had received Johrei from him once a day. On 10 September, I visited Mr A in town S and continued to visit him to receive Johrei from that day. After a large amount of sticky pus came out of the wound temporarily, the wound got closed with a fresh. It once raised but became flat at the end of March. The colour of fresh was pinkish at first but gradually got fade. In the middle of December, the bandage was taken off. Since then, I didn’t have any subjective symptoms in my body. The left side of my head had been so numb that I couldn’t feel very much even when I touched it. Now, it was almost healed. The wound became invisible. When I recall, I have received a lot of blessings since long before but never reworded them. Even so, I had received such great grace again. Thank you very much, Mesihya-sama. I just feel grateful. From now on, I would like to help with your divine work as much as possible.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #067
Reported by U.S. in Hiroshima on 7 May 1952
I received a holy amulet in Hiroshima around June 1934. At that time, Johrei was performed as an acupressure therapy. I wasn’t ill but became a believer because my relative recommended me. She said, “Disease is healed by Johrei and you receive its power easily and immediately after becoming a believer. So, you can save the others.” I didn’t understand logically how Johrei worked but it sounded amazing to me. So, I became a believer in the present Seaki-Mehiya-kyo and I was consequently saved from the atomic bomb. That was true and this fact makes me feel solemn.
The hot days continued in July and August 1945. I moved around the city every day. I met the attack by enemy planes sometimes but it didn’t affect me. At that time, I worked at the munition factory thirteen kilometres north of Hiroshima city. Due to lack of supplies, I moved around in the city to purchase materials and go to a government office and so on for most of every morning. My house is on the west side of the city and about two kilometres away from the hypocentre. I still live there.
On 6 August, I left my house as if I was kicked out. Then I took the train departing at 6:30 a.m. to go to work. I still don’t know why I felt like I was kicked out. In the factory office, I sat at the desk towards the south window and saw the sky. The sky was pale and it reminded me of the scorching weather, which was cut out in the shape of the mountain in the west. At 8:15 a.m., I received a flash of light with my whole body from that sky. Everyone said, “It must be a new bomb.” After the flash, we saw a mushroom-shaped blast in the garden. It was also very new to me.
The workers living in Hiroshima went home by truck around noon. Many houses around the city were still burning. On the way back home, we met a group of evacuees. They looked all safe but had no belongings with them. I wondered why so. I got off the truck on the way and tried to go home along the railroad tracks. The air was full of poisonous gas so that it was hard to walk home. I saw the dead bodies lying on the ground and people who were seriously injured but still alive everywhere. I also saw naked men and women whose skin in the arms, legs, chest and back was peeling off. They were complaining of pain and asking for help while hanging down their red bodies. I found so many casualties on the sandy riverside, too. I can remember that scene clearly even now.
The next day, I evacuated to the relative’s house 16 kilometres west of the city. I searched for missing relatives here or there in the city for about a month. I left the house for the city at about 6 a.m., departed there before nightfall at around 8 p.m. and arrived at the house at about 11 p.m. There was no transportation at all. I walked both ways under the blazing sun. The air was full of the gas generated by the atomic bomb and the smell of dead bodies. I saw no green plants but all things turning into strange blackish brown. So, Hiroshima was completely destroyed. When looking at such a devastating condition, I thought that I must reflect on something as a survivor. When I walked around, my white shirt and trousers were covered with so many flies. Because of them, the white shirt and trousers turned black no matter how hard I tried to shake them off. I had fragile health since I was a child and have done desk work at a kimono merchant for about twenty years. Such a person walked around with jika-tabi*1 every day. So, I first had pain in the heels but their skin became thick at the end. Every evening when I stood on the highest point of the mountain dividing the city from the village, I felt the refreshing breeze from the village side in the west. That was very new to me. Can you imagine how terrible the air in Hiroshima city? I was saved from the disaster of the atomic bomb but since then, I had spent every day in a place full of the atomic bomb gas. I don’t know why it didn’t affect me. I think that it must have been unusual. As I recall, I had diarrhoea without pain nor a fever for about a week in August or September. I recently realised that it was a significant purification and now I am convinced that I was saved my life with that purification. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama.
Due to the poisonous gas, a large number of people were harmed and rather died even though they escaped death from the atomic bomb. Among them were those who evacuated from the city but walked around there after the bomb. I heard that a certain villager died because he visited a temple in the city only once after the bomb. I heard a few stories like that. You can see how poisonous the air in the city was. At that time, I think no one including me knew that the dropped bomb in Hiroshima was called an atomic bomb except for expertise. I didn’t know how poisonous that gas was, either. The gas could be the next most dangerous thing after the atomic bomb. Without realising that danger, I wandered the city but my body was nothing wrong under the protection of God. I had a purification without recognising it. Meshiya-sama must have protected me. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your grace.
I performed Johrei to my relative without touching her that time. She got burned but her pain reduced and the burn was completely healed in the end. She was buried beneath the collapsed house and bruised the right shoulder and whole right hand, too. She also pulled a muscle and couldn’t move her fingers properly. She complained of pain but felt better by Johrei after her burn was cured. After the atomic bomb, all survivors evacuated to the outside of the city. So, I couldn’t get in touch with people involving in Sekai-Meshiya-kyo. In 1946, however, Mr I overcame all the difficulties and visited us from far away. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama. Since then, he visited us every month and even permitted us to open a new branch church. Furthermore, a grand lecture was held in Hiroshima on 12 March 1952. It was the first lecture for Sekai-Meshiya-kyo to hold in Hiroshima. Many people including a person at the top of Sekai-Meshiya-kyo visited Hiroshima. That was such a grateful thing not only for us as a survivor but also for more than two hundred thousand victims*2. Their souls must have been healed. I was deeply moved. From now on, I am determined to work hard for this faith more and more. Here I conclude my report. Thank you very much again, Meshiya-sama.
*1) Jika-tabi is rubber-soled socks with the big toe separate.
*2) The number of victims is still unknown.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #068
Reported by M.S. in Hiroshima on 30 April 1952
Atomic bomb! Science has created such a dreadful thing. I escaped death from bombing but all of the things such as our goal and life were completely turned over. We were suffering from disease, poverty and conflict so much and about to be brought to destruction. If we hadn’t been saved by Johrei, what would have happened to us? Thank you very much, Mshiya-sama. Here I report my experience.
It was our destiny but really miserable. My father and his students were killed by the atomic bomb when he was giving guidance to them at a munitions factory. Except for him, we stayed at our house two kilometres away from the hypocentre. So, we were all saved but our house collapsed. All things such as a house roof, sealing and furniture were blown away. There was no place to stand in the house. We and our neighbours went to the shelter in the valley region behind our houses and spent days with anxiety. There were many injured people in the shelter. Most of them got burned in their upper or whole bodies and became swollen about twice as large as a normal body. We couldn’t recognise who was who just by looking at them. So, we didn’t have enough medicine or surgeons under such conditions. We just applied cooking oil and vegetable juice to the casualties. The surgeon said, “A burnt patient wants water but don’t give them too much.” However, they madly wanted water. I felt very sorry for them but just told them, “We will give you a little water as the surgeon told us. Please be patient.” After a while, they became quiet and didn’t move any more. We found them dead. I thought that I should have given a plenty of water if they had died anyway. We knew later that drinking a lot of water was better for a patient. Some patients were actually saved by drinking a lot of water. We first tried to find the best way to save the patients but gradually got stunned and absent-minded to see them dying innocently. When I remember that time, that makes me difficult to keep writing. People who were exposed to radiation vomited dark-coloured blood and had bloody stool even though they looked fine. Some stared lost their hair and all of their hair came off in the end. Then they collapsed one after another. We thought, “Not only bomb but also a kind of poisonous gas were used. The city must be still filled with poisonous gas. We will be in danger if we keep staying here.” So, we evacuated to the county side.
The war was over soon after that. When I listened to the voice of the Emperor on the radio, I couldn’t describe my feeling. Trees and plants put forth green buds in devastated Hiroshima. I didn’t think that it was possible but we finally came back home. My family shared the joy of living aiming to create a peaceful Japan. Our joy, however, didn’t last long. My mother was exposed to radiation in the left half of the body. She felt numb and heavy in that part and became ill. I also became sick often. I felt heavy in my body and couldn’t concentrate on my work. Such symptoms were called atomic-bomb sickness at that time. People who had those symptoms collapsed one after another like those who I mentioned before. We had got very anxious if we would have died like them. I went to the clinic nearby and the doctor said, “You are suffering from lung trouble very much. So, you will be in danger unless you do as I say.” I didn’t believe his words somehow. So, I went to another clinic here or there. As they said different things, I decided not to see the doctor any more. I just took a prescribed medicine but my condition gradually got worse. I felt heavy in the head and had poor digestion. I lost the energy to work. I lost fresh and finally became like a ghost. I wanted to gain strength. I wanted to get better. The more I got impatient, the worse my condition became.
I wanted mental strength at least and read Bible, Buddhist texts and mental training books that my father left. However, I no longer had the strength to read and understand them. “It’s over for me. I cannot understand anything.” So, I gave up on them. The devil was next to me and had an uncanny laugh, “No God, no Buddha. A weak guy like you creates them on his own to worship. You want happiness? How ridiculous!” I also came to think so before I knew it. I was once almost a person who dug a hole for myself. However, when I looking at my mother and a small brother and sister with a worried look, I felt indescribable anger and a pang of remorse which caused me agony. They relied on only me. My mother was usually brave but no longer endured such condition of disease, poverty and conflict. She started to say, “I am nearly collapsing now. If I knew that happened, we would better be all killed by the atomic bomb.” All that remained for us was despair.
In September 1948, we heard that someone came around, who cured the disease in an unusual way. That was Johrei. So, my mother received it three times and became unusually bright. She said to me, “I feel lighter. I cannot explain but I feel good. Why don’t you ask him to perform Johrei on you? He says that any kinds of diseases are cured.” As I don’t like such a thing, to be honest, I just ignored her. She, however, heartily recommended me. So, I felt like asking him once and visited him. I was surprised that he was a young man. He spoke to me about things that I had never heard before. His words attracted me somehow and kept visiting him cautiously while feeling suspicious for a month. Then my stomach disease was completely cured. My mother also recovered from numbness and heaviness in the left half of the body. Then she received a holy amulet. I thought that was a great religion and asked him to become a believer in the present Sekai-Meshiya-kyo. In December, I received a holy amulet. My mother and I shared joy with other members of the family. Since then, we received a lot of miracles and purifications. I was apt to lose faith sometimes but instructors always led me to the right path. Thanks to Meshiya-sama, I became healthy both mentally and physically in three years since I became a believer. Now my whole family live a life full of the holy light with gratitude.
Atomic bomb disease has been studied in detail by modern science at a huge cost until now. At the end of my report, I clearly tell people all over the world. There is no way but Johrei that truly cures the atomic bomb disease. I am a person who has experienced that. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #069
Reported by M.T. in Hiroshima on 23 April 1952
It is an honour for me that I have a chance to report my experience as an atomic bomb survivor. Meshiya-sama told me through a chairperson of Sekai-Meshiya-kyo to write it. Besides, I heard that Meshiya-sama directly would read my report. The blessings I received were so great and would be beyond description. Furthermore, I am not good at writing. So, I rewrote the draft many times. Forgive me for my poor writing but here I report my experience while remembering those days.
I will never forget the day of the 6th of August 1945 when the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped as a new chemical weapon in Hiroshima. That incident completely changed the lives and properties of all Hiroshima citizens. On that day, my husband suddenly felt like going to see our single daughter who evacuated in a group to the village about thirty kilometres north from Iwakuni. We run the bookstore at that time. As he left home so early in the morning, I couldn’t open the shop soon. Then I decided to visit Mr A, who was a director of the Hiroshima Railway Bureau. Since he had taken religious lessons of the present Sekai-Meshiya-kyo, I had visited him before to perform Johrei. When I visited Mr A, he was about to go out and a car was ready for him. His wife, too. She was going to the dentist. Their daughter was also going out to go to school. Mrs A was very glad to see me and three of them ended up not going out. They decided to receive Johrei instead at home. When I started to perform Johrei, I saw the flashing light followed by hearing the sound of a big blast. Full darkness fell and I lost consciousness. After a while, I thought that a bomb hit directly. At that time, everyone thought so except for those who were in the city centre. I thought I would die for a moment. I immediately prayed to Komyo-Nyorai-sama. Then it was getting bright around us.
I was gradually coming back to myself but still a little vacant. When I heard Mrs A calling my name, I suddenly came to my senses. When I looked around, everything had flown apart. The sudden incident made me stunned. I went out anyway and found all houses collapsed and people underlie the houses and crying out, “Help me, help me!” I got worried about my house and soon left there. On the way back home, a lot of injured people were coming that way to evacuate. When I asked them, all of them said with one voice, “The bomb hit my house.” I did think that the bomb hit Mr A’s house. Then I thought that I couldn’t go home in such conditions and turned back. On the way, I rescued a child who was underlain the broken eaves. I performed Johrei on injured people, too. Then a large fire broke out. I escaped to the riverbank nearby. I found a soldier there, who was seriously injured and unconscious. When I performed Johrei, he returned consciousness and said, “Thank you.” Then I took him to the clinic. On the way to the clinic, I saw a lot of injured people. That was a disaster. I didn’t know why but I was the only person who was fine. When I think about it now, it is because I was protected by Meshiya-sama and his holy amulet. If I had realised that thing at that time, I could have helped more people. I felt guilty about that.
Since my sister lived in the suburbs, I decided to go and stay there. On the way to her house, I found all houses were destroyed. There were injured and dead people here or there. That was dreadful. When I finally arrived at her house, its inside was completely destroyed. She had no food left. I was getting hungry but couldn’t do anything. Meanwhile, many injured people were brought to me so that I just prayed to Kannon-sama and tried hard to perform Johrei on them. They all got better. I thought that I tried to do my best. The horrible day had finally finished and the next morning had come. Hiroshima city was almost burnt out. I went back home and found only a safe left. Everything turned into ashes. If I had stayed at home, I must have got burnt into ashes, too. I felt grateful for God and precious for Johrei. I didn’t need anything else if I was alive. I repeatedly cried out in my mind, “I was protected by the amulet.” I was so moved that I couldn’t stop crying. I decided to help injured people as many as possible. Then my niece first came to my mind. We looked after her in my house. I soon rushed to the girls’ school to find her.
The school was full of casualties. I couldn’t find any acquaintance nor ask anyone. I was just stunned. Then the truck full of students came. One of them put her hand out and called me while crying. As all students’ faces were bandaged, I couldn’t know who was who. However, I recognised her just from her voice. She was my niece. I immediately took her to a room. She seriously got burnt. I regretted not letting her receive the holy amulet. I prayed to God and performed Johrei. She got better in four or five days. I continued to stay at school and performed Johrei on other students, too. They were almost recovered.
Recently (in February 1952), I read the article in the newspaper. It says that we should not use any ointment for burns caused by the atomic bomb. Since I am a believer in Sekai-Meshuiya-kyo, I had already learnt that taking any medicine was bad since that time. Therefore, I noticed that was true when I performed Johrei on burnt people. The burn of those who had not applied ointment was healed very soon. On the other hand, the burn of those who had applied ointment was slow to recover. I am sorry that I didn’t keep a good record as we were in such a miserable situation. I wanted to help them even a little and just performed Johrei on them without asking their name. I also realised that the difference between people with a holy amulet and those without one. In my relatives, all of them who had received the holy amulet were saved without any injury. But those who hadn’t were injured or died even though they were all under the same condition. As for my husband, he knew about the atomic bomb a few days after it dropped and went back. He saw the house was burned down. He found only a safe left. He thought that I must have died at the side of the safe as I was stingy. He chanted a Buddhist prayer towards the safe and left for his relative’s house. On the way, we met on the bridge. We thought that was a dream and shared our joy with tears.
I think that no one would imagine how miserable Hiroshima was after the atomic bomb unless they stayed there at that time. Most of the family lost at least a member. However, we were all saved by Meshiya-sama. I feel so grateful and shed tears. Most of the people who suffered from atomic bomb disease and had their hair come off died. When they received Johrei, however, they were saved and still fine. The atomic bomb disease never occurred without a fever and diarrhoea. Even so, when people received Johrei, all of them were saved. Most people who took medicine died. Like my neighbours who looked fine after the atomic bomb, I first shared joy with them but most of them died as time passed. I had visited many houses to introduce Johrei. Thanks to Meshiya-sama, all people who received Johrei had grace but most people who refused Johrei died. This fact makes me clear how great the power of Johrei is. I am very impressed by that fact even now.
In such a condition, I couldn’t contact the headquarters of the present Sekai-Meshiya-kyo nor go there even though I wanted. The war finally ended. I had no way to spread a faith but just performed Johrei. In February 1946, Mr I stopped by Hiroshima on the way back to Kyushu. He used to visit Hiroshima to broaden the faith. He found that Hiroshima city was devastated and there was no house there. He didn’t know who was where but finally found where Mr S was. He was an instructor of Meshiya-kyo and his house was a little away from the city. So, Mr I visited there and so did I. Mr I told us the current state of Meshiya-kyo. He also said that believers had a very important mission and encouraged us. Since then, He visited Hiroshima every month. We worked hard and had about a thousand new believers. Meanwhile, I received another purification and I got very much better because of it. Now I am responsible for a branch church of Sekai-Meshiya-kyo. I am deeply impressed that I feel like everything happened a long time ago. I have decided to reward Meshiya-sama even a little. At that time, I just blindly performed Johrei. So, I am very sorry that I didn’t have a good record enough to tell people. I also apologise for my poor writing. Here I conclude my report. Thank you very much, Meshiya-sama.
Translated by N.H.
Thank-You Report #070
Reported by S.J. in Hiroshima on17 May 1952
Thinking of the devastation caused by the atomic bomb still makes me scared. On 6 August 1945, I was blown away with my bicycle near the bridge about 1.3 kilometres away from the hypocentre. I found myself lying down in a thick cloud of dust. I burnt the exposed part entirely such as the face, neck and hands. Some parts of the skin were peeled and hanging like a cloth. Fires broke out here or there. I left people under the collapsed house, who cried for help, and single-mindedly went back home. Since then, I had stayed in bed while wiping the burnt skin with saltwater.
Four months later, I recovered a little and reopened my restaurant. About a year later, I had pain and felt bloated in my belly. As I felt unwell and had continuous diarrhoea, I went to see a doctor. The cause was unknown. The doctor said, “You should eat soft food since your belly is not in a good condition.” He gave me various treatment. Meanwhile, I got pimples on the whole back like scabies. My back was itchy and pus came out, which made my back sticky. My pain had continued. I changed doctors one after another and did everything that people recommended. However, I was getting thinner and weaker. I lost appetite and became like a living corpse. People rumoured that I wouldn’t have much time. At the end of 1946, the doctor finally said, “There is nothing I can do for you. Since you have fewer white blood cells, the atomic bomb might cause trouble for you. You should go to the Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima.” In this way, I was given up by him.
“Am I going to die? No, I don’t want.” Words cannot express how I wanted to live. Even though the doctor gave me up, I couldn’t give up trusting in medicine. I decided to the Red Cross Hospital with my last hope. Just one day before I tried to go there, I unexpectedly heard from my neighbour that Meshiya-kyo performed miracles. I thought that God let me know about it. So, my wife and I started to receive Johrei. I was worried at first if I would recover. As I received Johrei, I felt better. I gained an appetite and became able to eat anything in a week. My diarrhoea stopped, too. I became able to do light work. I was so glad and grateful.
My wife soon became a believer in the present Sekai-Mashiya-kyo. After that, I had a purification of diarrhoea for about a month and my stomach trouble and scabies were completely healed. On 29 March, I became a believer and now work hard in my restaurant every day. People who had the same symptom as mine all died. I spent about five years trying every possible treatment but none of them worked. I had just lived in a dark mood with anxiety. However, I recovered in such a short period. I was blessed and saved just before death. God gave me a new life. How great God’ grace is! I cannot describe how I appreciate His grace. I just want to work hard for Meshiya-sama to construct Paradise on Earth even a little. My writing is not good enough but I would be happy if I could share the greatness of the divine virtue with you. Thank you very much, Meshya-sama. Here I conclude my report.
[Miracles of Johrei]
Translated by N.H.