A Dual-Family System to Restore Tribes

True Father talked about doing heavenly tribal messiah activities until just before his ascension. When True Father saw me, he said, “You have many relatives. So, restore your relatives.” We use a dual family (husband’s and wife’s) system. Important aspects are the basic small group leaders and carrying on a Hoon Dok tradition in the family.

I was born on May 10, 1941, in Higashineishi in Yamagata Prefecture. I was the youngest child among seven siblings, five boys and two girls. In 1960, I entered Tohoku University Department of Educational Philosophy. In November 1963, when I was in my fourth year, I encountered the word of God. Before then, I had been going to a Christian church. When I joined the Unification Church, if asked which was teaching I thought was deeper, I thought the Unification Church was much deeper. Soon after I joined, I received Kagoshima as my witnessing area. Every day, I did street preaching. I am not good at speaking in front of people, so I struggled a lot.

Father listened intently

On June 12, 1967, True Parents visited Japan with several Korean disciples. On May 1, 1966, Exposition of Divine Principle had been published in Korean. Based on that Divine Principle, we had a large Divine Principle workshop June 17–30. I met Teacher Eu Hyo-won for the first time. I had a chance to listen to his wonderful lecture — the first Korean church president and one of the three first disciples, among the thirty-six couples. At the end of the workshop, we had a Divine Principle examination and I won first prize. True Father said, “Give your lecture in front of me and President Eu.”

So, I did the introduction in front of those two as well as Won-bok Choi, Hwan-chae Hwang and Young- hwi Kim (another of the first three of the thirty-six). They looked like Gods of the Divine Principle. I had a dreadful feeling; at the same time, I felt honored at that time. Because I have given a lecture in front of True Father, I have never felt fear no matter what type of prestigious person I gave lectures to. Thanks to this training, I could give lectures to many national-level leaders, such as three prime ministers of Japan.

If True Father said, You should give lectures to President Bush, I would not be afraid. One day, he said, “Among those to whom you have lectured Divine Principle, I am the one who listened most intently.”

Two urgent telegrams

My parents worried very much when I joined the Unification Church, but they did not say this to me directly. One of my brothers and one of my sisters considered my parents’ anguish and they called my other brothers and sister and discussed how they could get me to come back. I will never forget one incident; even now. When I was an itinerant missionary in Okinawa, I received a telegram saying, “Our father is in a critical condition. Come home immediately,” which I did. However, my father was fine.

When I saw him, I thought that this was a trick from my brothers and sisters. That telegram came two different times. The second time, I told my father, This is the second time you’ve died. For the first time, August 29–31, 1966, we had a workshop for parents in Japan, at the Hakone Hotel in Kanagawa Prefecture. My parents attended it.

The parents that finished the workshop visited the headquarters church in Shibuya, Tokyo. My parents said that our church teachings were right, so in the future, we needn’t worry about them. The last thing they that told us, though, was that we should not make trouble in society, because that would be a problem. Because my parents supported our church, my brothers and sister that had been against our church became quiet.

A capable spouse

On May 1, 1969, the Forty-Three-Couple Blessing Ceremony took place at the Shoto Ward headquarters church in Shibuya, Tokyo. True Parents matched and blessed me to Noriko Kishimoto. After the blessing, we had wedding banquets in both my hometown, Yamagata and the prefecture where my wife is from, Kochi. When I took my wife to my hometown, my father happily said, “I don’t care if I don’t see your face, but I always want to see Noriko.” My next older brother, who was the most opposed, as soon as he looked at my wife, he thought, Even though when I argued with my brother we kept on parallel lines, I now have a sister-in-law who is stronger than he is, so I have no hope of winning.

After that, he stopped opposing me.

Basic small group leaders

Next, we visited Kochi, my wife’s hometown. She is the second daughter among eight siblings. As it happened, my mother-in-law, three younger sisters and one of Noriko’s sister’s-in-law were supportive of us. True Father said to make groups of four people when doing tribal messiah activity. In accord with that instruction, those four women are now working as basic small group leaders.

At the time of my father-in-law’s funeral, my mother-in-law trusted me to be the chief mourner. When I think of that, it causes me to see that the blessing True Parents give us is not at a level of giving us someone we like (or not) but is for the sake of restoring both families.

Consistent care

Every year my wife sent presents to all brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces in both families, twice a year on O-bon [an autumn festival to honor one’s ancestors] and at the end of the year. Nobody dislikes receiving a present. They became closer.

One day, my father-in-law consulted me about his business. For that reason, he came to Tokyo; that is how serious it was. At that time, I was the interim national president. I listened to him at the headquarters church. I sought advice from the mother of one of my spiritual children about my father-in-law’s business. I passed that advice on to him. He accepted it. “I told my relatives, he said, “but they had never tried to solve the problem. Thank you.” He had not thought highly of our church, but because of this, he changed his mind. Our siblings also asked Noriko and I about their problems, especially problems with children that they couldn’t solve. Whenever problems occurred, we always gave advice, so they said thanks for often helping us.

Working with the spirit world

Going toward completion after Father’s Seonghwa, we wrote down our spiritual children’s and spiritual grandchildren’s names and relatives’ names. We have 371 spiritual grandchildren. We wrote the names by looking at hand-written records. We received spiritual help to reorganize the list of names, which proved unexpectedly important. After having written all the names, every day we prayed for them one at a time. We prayed aloud for the ancestors whom we had liberated and blessed in Chung Pyung by name. Furthermore, we prayed for our blessing candidates.

My wife and her three sisters began a prayer condition this year. Now, they are doing their fourth forty- day prayer condition. If we do this sincerely, I can feel that the liberated ones and the ones who are blessed are working. Of course, we are not only praying but are visiting spiritual children’s houses and the homes of our spiritual grandchildren and restoring relationships. I regret that I had never seen some of our spiritual grandchildren’s faces. Now I am counseling one of those families.

After we visited them, we realized that many of them are poor and receiving government assistance, which is why, in the future, I might make a mutual aid society.

My family line

Now, in the Oyamada lineage, couple from the 777 blessing and one from the 1,800-couple blessings and four couples who were married before their blessing became basic small group leaders. In my wife’s Kishimoto lineage, four women are doing this.

On church holidays and after touring around my area, Greater China, I meet these basic group leaders and tell them what is going and explain True Parents’ teachings.

If we hold Blessing Ceremonies in China and Taiwan, those families are connected to those basic small group leaders. We completed the four hundred and thirty couples because of the support of those basic group leaders. Now those leaders are emphasizing that those four hundred and thirty couples should become full members and are helping me to make the happen.

My son’s blessing gives hope

We have five children. In 2014, my third son received the blessing. True Mother matched him. His wife is Korean, Min-suk Ju. After their blessing, I invited prominent societal figures that I daily communicate with to their secular wedding. Their image of our church changed. People get hope from the Unification Church blessing. Last year, on September 27, during Chuseok, we visited Min-suk’s hometown in Jeolla Province to meet her parents.

Her mother studied under Yo-han Lee. She has high spiritual sensitivity. When we arrived she said, All Oyamada’s ancestors and Kishimoto’s ancestors have all come and are welcome.”

At that time, I thought that I could not have completed the heavenly tribal messiah mission without our ancestor’s help. At the end of last year, our son and his wife visited Yamagata, my hometown. In the house are pictures of my father and my grandparents. When my daughter-in-law saw them, the ancestors said, “Because you were coming, we prepared the most beautiful Yamagata.” In fact, when I arrived in Yamagata that day, I felt I have been looking at Yamagata for seventy years and I have never seen the mountains look so beautiful. I was so inspired to realize that the spirits prepared and welcomed them under the best circumstances.

In the past, my wife and I argued often. So, True Father even in front of many members, such as on church holidays, asked Noriko to stand up and asked, “Are you beginning to love Oyamada? Some of your children haven’t been blessed yet.” True Mother remembered that situation and that is why she blessed my third son.

Bequeath the providence

The time has come to bequeath God’s will to the second generation. My oldest daughter, Moriko, whose husband is Masaichi Hori, became the president of WFWP-Japan in April this year. My wife, Noriko, used to be president of that organization.

My daughter is inheriting that and is inheriting what my wife could not do. Thinking about that aspect of it, I think we should give more opportunities for members of the second generation to be active. In the family, having a tradition of Hoon Dok Hae is important. For parents and children to become one based on God’s word is necessary. We realize we are giving life through God’s word.

We completed blessing four hundred and thirty couples but we have to make the spiritual children’s victory too, and completely fulfill the mission of being True Parents’ special emissary to the Greater China region. I will do my best to go forward to make the country what God wished it to be.