Definition
Kiitsu kyōkai is made up of two Japanese words. The first word kiitsu ( 帰一 ) means “returning to oneness/unity.” It is made up of two Japanese characters.
Ki (帰) means to return, revert, go back, or come home. Itsu or ichi (一) means one, single, or unity.
The second word kyōkai ( 協会 ) is historically problematic. It is often translated as “assembly,” “association,” and “school.” It is also made up of two Japanese characters.
Kyō means cooperation, association, or harmony. Kai (会) means meeting, association, or society.
Kiitsu kyōkai has sometimes been translated as the “Unitarian Church.”
Translations and uses of the word kyōkai to English reflects the inherent problems in the word church.
History
The first meeting of the post-war kiitsu kyōkai (second version) was held on October 23, 1948. However, it didn’t officially form until about two years after.
Andrew James Brown’s Project
Meeting notes
- 2024-03-14 kiitsu kyokai
- 2024-02-08 kiitsu kyokai
- 2024-04-11 kiitsu kyokai
- 2024-04-25 kiitsu kyokai
- 2024-05-09 kiitsu kyokai
To do
Add here the misunderstandings in translating kyokai.
References
Brown, A. J. (2024, January 19). Basic Information & Weekly Zoom Meetings on Thursdays. Caute. https://kiitsukyokai.blogspot.com/2023/05/weekly-zoom-meetings-and-basic.html
In Japanese, Kiitsu ( 帰一 ) means “returning” to “oneness” or “unity,” and Kyōkai 協会 means “assembly” or “association” with the associated idea of a “school”, i.e. a place where one gathers together in order to learn and grow. It has sometimes been translated as the “Unitarian Church.”
Kiitsu Kyōkai was the name given to the post-1948 community founded in Tokyo by Imaoka Shin’ichirō-sensei (1881-1988), the twentieth-century Japanese advocate of jiyū shūkyō (自由宗教) which, although it is often translated as “free-religion” we feel is, today, better translated as “a creative, free-spirituality.”
Brown, A. J. (2024, January 19). The Purpose of Tokyo Kiitsu Kyōkai by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (September 1950, “Creation” [創造], Issue No. 1). Caute. https://kiitsukyokai.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-purpose-of-tokyo-kiitsu-kyokai-by.html
The first Sunday meeting was held in October of Shōwa 23 (1948), but it did not suddenly come into existence at that time.