Yoshikazu Okada
{{Short description|Japanese founder of the Mahikari religious movement}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Yoshikazu Okada
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name = 岡田 良一
| native_name_lang = ja
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| religion = Mahikari
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| known_for = Founding the Mahikari movement
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| other_names = Kōtama Okada
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| nationality = Japanese
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| birth_name = Yoshikazu Okada
| birth_date = {{birth date|1901|02|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = Minato, Tokyo
| death_date = {{death date and age|1974|06|23|1901|02|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Japan
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| children = Keishu Okada (岡田恵珠)
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Yoshikazu Okada ({{lang|ja|岡田 良一}}; born February 27, 1901, Minato, Tokyo; died June 23, 1974), also known as Kōtama Okada ({{lang|ja|岡田 光玉}}), was the founder of the Mahikari new religious movement in Japan (Shinshūkyō).
Biography
Yoshikazu Okada was born on February 27, 1901 in the Aoyama area of Tokyo's Minato Ward. He was born into a wealthy family as the son of Inasaburo, a major general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Okada, who studied with Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito) and others who came from prominent Japanese families,SM Monthly teachings, June 2005 graduated from the Japanese Army Officer Training School in 1922 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Guard. After serving in military campaigns in China and Indochina, Okada retired from the army in 1941 due to a back injury with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Originally a follower of Sekai Kyūsei Kyō, Yoshikazu Okada established L. H. Yokoshi no Tomo in 1959, and in 1963, registered a religious organisation under the name "Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan." He assumed the name of "Kōtama" ("Sphere of Light") in accordance with a divine revelation.{{cite book | last=Wilkinson | first=Gregory | title=Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements | chapter=11: Sūkyō Mahikari | publisher=Brill | date=2018 | isbn=978-90-04-36297-0 | doi=10.1163/9789004362970_012 | pages=176–192}}
Legacy
In 1974, after Okada's death, there were court hearings held over eight years. After an amicable settlement was reached (wakai), Sakae Sekiguchi assumed the leadership of Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan (now known outside Japan as the World Divine Light Organization), and Keishu Okada established Sukyo Mahikari.
See also
References
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Category:Founders of new religious movements
Category:Japanese new religions
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