Ryuho Okawa

Happy Science religion founder (1956–2023)

Ryuho Okawa (大川 隆法; Ōkawa Ryūhō; born Takashi Nakagawa (中川 隆; Nakagawa Takashi), 7 July 1956 – 2 March 2023) was a Japanese religious and political leader who was the CEO and founder of the Happy Science and the Happiness Realization Party. He was also chairman of two companies affiliated with the organization, ニュースター・プロダクション and ARI Production. His organization has been widely criticised as a cult. Adherents of the religion worship Okawa, who claimed to be the current incarnation of a god called “エル・カンターレ” and a number of other beings, including Hermes and Gautama Buddha. Saburō Yoshikawa (善川 三朗)) and Kimiko Nakagawa (中川 君子). His older brother is named Tsutomu Nakagawa (中川 力) (born 1952) (later known as Makoto Tomiyama (富山 誠)). Okawa said his family was religious; both of his parents believed in God and the Buddha, and Okawa believed in the existence of spirits and souls, and a world after death in childhood. Despite his beliefs, Okawa was not active in religious practice. Okawa and Tomiyama were raised in a strict home environment that was ordinary and not particularly rich nor poor. although Okawa was not successful in school. This spirit is believed to be that of Nikkō Shōnin, who was one of Nichiren's disciples. In June 1981, the religious leader Shinji Takahashi's spirit told Okawa his destiny to found a new religion. His father Yoshikawa, upon hearing of this, went to Tokyo, later becoming one of his followers. The next month, the spirits spoke through Okawa, including those of Kūkai, Shinran, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Moses, and Nostradamus. Yoshikawa and Tomiyama taped the communications. The tapes were transcribed and adapted into publishable formats by Yoshikawa. Okawa published a vast number of spiritual messages from various spirits in order to prove the existence of the Spirit World to the public. the first eight were published from 1985 to 1986 was published on 15 August 1985. Both became best sellers in Japan in 1991. After 1991, almost all spiritual message books were discontinued aside from the messages of Buddha. and his inferiority complex changed into a sense of superiority. Okawa earned a particular reputation at his work, where rumours about him spread. His former colleagues said he claimed to see spirits possessing people and offered to exorcise them. In June 1986, high spirits suggested he retire from work, leading him to dedicate his life to religion. On 15 July, he resigned from TOMEN Corporation and on October 6, founded Happy Science and adopted the name "Ryuho Okawa". and consisted of readers and sympathizers of Okawa's spiritual works, who were friends and acquaintances of Okawa. However, the organization may have intended to be known as a religious body later. On 23 November 1986, Okawa gave his first sermon to about 80 followers in Tokyo. This date is now known as one of the most important dates in Happy Science's history. It is known as the day of Shoten bōrin (初転法輪) ("The First Turn of the Wheel of the Dharma"). efn|The name refers to the day that the "Wheel of Law" (hōrin (法輪)) started to "turn for the first time" (shoten (初転)). It is a Buddhist expression, where the "Law" refers to teachings, in this case those of Okawa. The "turn" refers to the introduction of the teachings to the world. Okawa officially declared that he is an incarnation of Buddha. His teachings were re interpreted in light of this revelation. The doctrine of Happy Science was interpreted to be fundamentally Buddhist.

On 7 March 1991, Happy Science obtained legal status as a "religious juridical person" (宗教法人) through the Religious Corporations Law by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. As a result, its name was simplified to Kofuku no Kagaku (幸福の科学). In May 1994, a doctrinal shift occurred. Old publications were revised to reflect the new concept of El Cantare. This included an updated version of the Trilogy of Salvation, which was called the "new" (新) series. Each book in the trilogy had its subtitle revised, which now refers explicitly to El Cantare's name rather than the shaka as with the original versions. There are 15 films based on his teachings: The Laws of the Sun, The Laws of Eternity, The Golden Laws, The Terrifying Revelations of Nostradamus, Hermes Winds of Love, The Rebirth of Buddha, The Mystical Laws, The Final Judgement, The Laws of the Universe, I'm Fine My Angel, The World We Live In, and Daybreak. Since its founding, Happy Science has been organized like a secular company. This is reflected in titles of positions, which are secular. Okawa's original title was "Coordinator" or "Chairman" (主宰), with followers referring to Okawa as "Master Coordinator" (主宰先生). In January 1997, with the inception of the "New Hope Project", Okawa's title was changed to "President" (総裁) and Okawa is called "Master President" (総裁先生) by members. Under Okawa, a Board of Directors, which manages Happy Science, and the Heads of Divisions exist. Branch offices (支部) exist in and outside of Japan, with each office run by a branch manager (支部長). Most staff members were wearing business suits and doing paperwork at their desks. The usual office equipment are seen as well, such as telephones, fax machines, filing cabinets, photocopiers, and computers. Fukui (2004) says "apart from the presence of the gohonzon (the religious icon of worship) within the office of each division, it felt as though I was visiting a major trading house." Because Okawa identifies as both the Buddha and El Cantare, Fukui (2004) believes that he fits both types of prophet which sociologist Max Weber believes exist: the exemplary type who leads people to salvation through exemplary living and the emissary type who declares their demands to the world. Okawa plays the exemplary role as the Buddha by embodying the correct way of living and by guiding people to enlightenment. Okawa fulfills the emissary role as El Cantare by providing "hopes of salvation." Okawa's publications come in three different types. Okawa is a prolific writer. By the early 1990s, he published about 20 to 30 books per year. He is said to have published over 300 books by 2004. The release of the film The Laws of the Sun in 2000, based on the book with the same name, caused the book version to become a best seller that same year. Happy Science said that by 1997, over 50 million copies of its titles were sold worldwide. Okawa called Asahara a frog, referring to Asahara's aquatic yogic acts. In response, Asahara criticized Okawa for not having undergone ascetic training and having a lack of doctrinal knowledge. In 1991, when Happy Science was going through heavy criticism from the public, academic 島田裕巳, a critic of Happy Science, appeared to favor Aum Shinrikyo over Happy Science. Shimada favored Asahara because he went through ascetic training and had familiar knowledge of the doctrine of Buddhism. Okawa was criticized for having little knowledge of his own teachings and having faked his spiritual messages. He was challenged to prove his supernatural powers. Asahara published a book mocking Okawa's superficial knowledge of Buddhism. After the book's publication, Happy Science and Aum Shinrikyo were invited to a live television debate, but Okawa declined to participate. The hostility between the two groups culminated in an assassination attempt on Okawa by Aum Shinrikyo in February 1995. Aum members attempted to kill Okawa by putting the nerve agent VX in the air conditioning system of his car. The perpetrators did this by injecting the agent into the car's ventilation system with a needle less syringe. The attempt failed for unknown reasons. Happy Science is the most powerful and famous religion in Japan. I needed only 20 years to accomplish this. I was first asked for advice by Prime Minister Nakasone in 1988. Then we had Prime Minister Miyazawa who was a member of Happy Science, and after that, we produced a lot of Prime Ministers and Ministers. So I became one of the most influential kingmakers of Japan. The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Aso, visited Happy Science recently I gave him a strategy to become Japan's Prime Minister. He learned a lot and became the Prime Minister and came to New York to give a speech at the Assembly of the United Nations. It was based on just what I told him. So I am one of the kingmakers of Japan. I can choose a Japanese Prime Minister and I can have a Prime Minister quit in a month. It's a hidden secret of Japan Happy Science is the most influential power in Japan. So, if the American President cannot realize some diplomatic policy, he can just ask me and I can realize it in a week or so. It's a hidden secret. In Japan, religion has more power than politics. A few months later, Okawa announced the founding of the Happiness Realization Party (HRP), the political wing of Happy Science. In April 2009, Okawa presented the party's Declaration (幸福実現党宣言). On 23 May 2009, the party was formally founded with あえば浩明 as party leader. The party was founded in anticipation of the 2009 Japanese general election on 30 August 2009. The party does not make direct reference to the religious ideas of Happy Science. Okawa's wife Kyoko became party leader on 4 June 2009. In that year's general election, the party fielded 337 candidates, including 75 women, in 288 out of the 300 constituencies in Japan. This number of candidates was rivalled only by the two major parties at the time, the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party. The Society of Aphrodite and one of its subdivisions, "The Society of Florence" (フローレンスの会), are named after the Greek goddess and Florence Nightingale respectively because they are believed to be previous incarnations of Kyoko. Happy Science announced that she had been permanently expelled for allegedly causing great personal and administrative damage to the organization, libeling the organization in various newspapers, and besmirching the name of Lord El Cantare. Okawa and Kyoko had five children: eldest son (born 24 February 1989), eldest daughter Sayaka (咲也加) (born 16 February 1991), second son Masaki (真輝) (born 12 May 1993), third son Yuta (裕太) (born 21 September 1995), and second daughter Arisa (愛理沙) (born 26 September 1997). Hiroshi worked for Happy Science after graduating from university. However, he stopped working there because he felt he was not competent enough for the job. He then worked at a construction company for three years before returning to Happy Science in December 2015. Since January 2016, he was president of Happy Science's entertainment agency. He was involved in film production and music, working as an actor and a singer. Happy Science has denied the accusation of Okawa pressuring Hiroshi to marry Fumika, saying that it was Hiroshi himself who was interested in marrying her. Okawa had an aunt named (1919 – 1994). She was a novelist. In 2012, Okawa delivered a Happy Science sermon about her in which Shizuko's spirit was speaking through Okawa.

On 28 February 2023, Okawa was hospitalized after fainting at his home in Minato, Tokyo. He died on 2 March, at the age of 66.

Okawa was accused of having anti Korean sentiment, although he denied this. He has also expressed beliefs that are widely associated with historical revisionism in Japan, including that Koreans had never been forced to labor by Japan, and that comfort women (euphemism for forced prostitutes) were also never forced to work. To this end, Okawa stated that: