For everyone, death is something to be feared.
It can feel like everything will disappear, leaving only nothingness and despair.

However, in Tenrikyo, death is taught as “denaoshi”—a “new departure” or “a fresh start in life.”

We are taught that the human body is something “lent by God,” and the borrower is the soul.
Because the body is only on loan, it must one day be returned. This is what happens at the time of death. Yet, the soul—the true borrower—is ever-living. At the appointed time, it borrows a new body and returns to this world once again. This is what is meant by denaoshi.

Therefore, death is indeed the end of one lifetime, but it is not an irreversible finality—it is also the beginning of renewal. Moreover, birth itself is not merely the start of life, but a continuation of life carried forward from a previous existence. Each day we live today rests upon the accumulation of the past, and today itself shapes the form of tomorrow.

In this way, the life we live now is built upon countless lives before us, and how we live this lifetime shapes the life to come, and the one after that. It is important to see life with this understanding.

For most people, serving as chief mourner at a funeral is not an experience they have often in life. Many may feel lost, unsure of what to do or how to proceed.

In such times, please reach out to our church first. We will listen to you and provide full support throughout all aspects of the funeral.

In modern times, funerals have increasingly become simplified, but it is important to ensure that one will not look back later with regret.