Skip to main content

Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.

CLCI Hub
Shinto

Konkokyo (Japanese new religion)

Export 1 entries:
Confidence: MediumLast reviewed 29 May 2026JapanWikipedia

Japanese new religion derived from Shinto, founded by Kawate Bunjiro (1859). Distinctive 'toritsugi' mediation practice between adherent and Tenchi-Kane-no-Kami.

CLCI radar

Loading radar…
Low Control

BITE breakdown

Behavior Control3/10
Information Control2/10
Thought Control2/10
Emotional Control3/10
Modifiers (+0)

0 — Japanese new religion derived from Shinto; mainstream low-control.

Profile facts

Founded
1859
Members
Estimated 400,000
Active in
Asia

In context

Konkokyo is one of the older Japanese new religions, predating Tenrikyo and Oomoto. Distinctive toritsugi mediation practice between adherent and the principal kami. Mainstream low-control voluntary tradition.

Recovery resources

See the full curated list at /resources.

Evidence by BITE axis

Information Control
  • mainstream low-control

Timeline

  1. 1859
    Founded by Kawate Bunjiro
  2. 1883
    Bunjirō died at the age of seventy

Evidence matrix

Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.

Sources

  • Helen Hardacre academic work search ↗
  • Online-Religion in Japan: Websites and Religious Counseling from a Comparative Cross-Cultural Perspective — Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2007) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1083-6101.2007.00360.x open ↗
  • Konkokyo (Golden Light Teachings) and Modernity — Journal for the Academic Study of Religion (2008) — https://doi.org/10.1558%2Farsr.v20i3.317 open ↗
  • Konkōkyō im The Religious Movements Homepage Project — http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/konkokyo.html open ↗
  • 「内務省告示第61号」『官報』1900年6月18日 — https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2948380/1 open ↗
  • Kawabata, Akira; Tamura, Takanori (April 2007). — https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/12/3/999/4583025?login=false open ↗

We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.

Change history

Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.

  1. 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
  2. 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
  3. 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.

Relevant hubs

Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.

Found something wrong on this profile?

We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.

Disclaimer. This profile is an educational summary based on publicly available reports. Many members of this group do not experience the patterns described. Individual congregations and chapters vary widely. If you or someone you know needs support, contact a licensed therapist or the International Cultic Studies Association.