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First published: April 4, 2021
Last updated: January 12, 2025
 Onisaburo starring in a movie where he meets the Kami Konohana-hime from Mount Tenkyo (= Mount Fuji) (November 7, Showa 10 [1935])
The webmaster may be mistaken in his translation despite his best efforts to make it as accurate as possible. Therefore, HE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS TRANSLATION. Your understanding would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
The Foundations of the Spirit
- The World of Heaven is composed of the Heavenly Kingdom and the Spiritual Kingdom. The World of Hell is composed of the Ne no Kuni (Land of the Roots) and the Soko no Kuni (Land of the Bottom).
- The World of Heaven, where the Gods of the Sun and Moon dwell
- The innermost first and highest level of the World of Heaven
- The intermediate second level of the World of Heaven
- The lowest third level of the World of Heaven
- The Intermediate World
- The Intermediate World is also called the World of Stray Spirits. The state of the material world today is virtually like a carbon copy of the Intermediate World.
- The World of Hell, where the Devil and Satan dwell
- The first and highest level of the World of Hell
- The intermediate second level of the World of Hell
- The lowest third level of the World of Hell

- Various groups on the Taka Ama Hara (Plain of High Heaven) in the World of Heaven; they are countless in size and number.
- The Spiritual Kingdom (the Kingdom of the Moon)
- Faith
- Truth
- Center
- The Lord Kami (Creator of the Universe) appears as the God of the Moon.
- The first and highest level
- The second highest level
- The third highest level
- The Heavenly Kingdom (the Kingdom of the Sun)
- Love
- Goodness
- Center
- The Lord Kami (Creator of the Universe) appears as the God of the Sun.
- The first and highest level
- The second highest level
- The third highest level
- The World of Hell filled with falsehood and evil desire
- The Ne no Kuni (Land of the Roots)
- Falsehood
- Center
- The Devil
- The Soko no Kuni (Land of the Bottom)
- Evil desire
- Center
- Satan
Part I
The Reikai (Spirit World) is made up of three major areas: the Shinkai (Divine Realm), the Chukai (Middle Realm), and the Yukai (Realm of Stray Spirits).
The Shinkai corresponds to the Taka Ama Hara (Plain of High Heaven) for Shintoists, to the Paradise of the Pure Land for Buddhists, and to Heaven for Christians.
The Chukai corresponds to the Ame no Yachimata (Eight-Way Crossroads) for Shintoists, to the Rokudo no Tsuji (Six-Way Crossroads) for Buddhists, and to the World of Spirits (Intermediate State) for Christians.
The Yukai corresponds to the Ne no Kuni (Land of Roots) and the Soko no Kuni (Land of the Bottom) for Shintoists, to the Hachiman Jigoku (Eighty Thousand Hells) for Buddhists, and to Hell for Christians.
Therefore, the Ame no Yachimata is neither the Taka Ama Hara nor the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni. It is the intermediate state located between the former and the latter. It is an area to which people go upon their deaths and is commonly known as the chu-u, the state of transitional existence between death and rebirth. A while after their stay in the chu-u, the departed are judged by their right or wrong actions in the material world. Based on this judgment, they either go up to the Taka Ama Hara or fall into the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni.
When a human spirit is in the Intermediate State (Ame no Yachimata), they are in neither Heaven nor Hell. Instead, they stand at what Buddhists call the Rokudo no Tsuji or the bank of the Sanzu no Kawa (River of Three Crossings).
A human will find the state of the Taka Ama Hara in themselves when they are conjoined with truth, good and beauty. A human will find the state of the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni in themselves when they are conjoined with evil and falsehood.
A human will go up to Heaven immediately when they are conjoined with truth, good and beauty in themselves. A human will fall into Hell instantly when they are conjoined with evil and falsehood in themselves. This kind of conjoinment takes place while humans are in the Ame no Yachimata.
There are quite many human spirits in the Ame no Yachimata (Intermediate State). That is the first meeting place for any and all spirits after they die, and it is also where those spirits are tested and prepared to move on to different realms they should belong to. The length of stay or wandering in the Ame no Yachimata varies with individual human spirits. Some go up to the Taka Ama Hara immediately while others fall into the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni instantly. Human spirits conjoined with the utmost good or utmost truth go up to the Taka Ama Hara immediately, whereas those conjoined with extreme evil or extreme falsehood crash into the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni instantly. Still others stay in the Ame no Yachimata for several days, several weeks or even several years, although there is no one who stays there for 30 years or more. A time limit set on staying in the Ame no Yachimata varies with individual human spirits, depending on whether or not there is any correspondence between their inner self and their outer self.
Once a human dies, the Kami will immediately judge their spirit based on right/wrong criteria. They will go to an ugly group in Hell if their love mostly belonged to Hell during their stay in the human world. Similarly, a good human will go to a good and beautiful group on the Taka Ama Hara because their love, their good and their truth during their stay in the human world already joined a group in Heaven.
As mentioned above, there is a clear line of demarcation between Heaven and Hell, although those spirits who were your friends, acquaintances or family members - especially husband, wife or sibling(s) - in their physical lifetimes are allowed by the Kami to interact with you in the Ame no Yachimata.
Once you part from spirits in the Ame no Yachimata, you will never ever see them again on the Taka Ama Hara or in the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni, even when they were previously your friends, acquaintances, husband, wife or sibling(s). Nor will you recognize them, and vice versa. An exception, however, is that if they had the same faith, the same love, and the same traits/feelings as you in their incarnations, you can see and recognize them again in Heaven.
All humans undergo three different phases when they die and move on to the Taka Ama Hara or Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni. The first phase is the external state of the spirit, the second phase is the internal state of the spirit, and the third phase is the preparatory state of the spirit. It is in the Ame no Yachimata (Intermediate State) that humans go through these states. As mentioned above, however, some spirits immediately go up to the Taka Ama Hara or fall into the Ne no Kuni/Soko no Kuni without passing through this sequence of stages. Those spirits who are quick to go up or be guided to the Taka Ama Hara knew that the Kami exists, believed in Him, and did good deeds when they were alive, thereby enabling them to expedite preparations to be resurrected in the Kami and go up to the Taka Ama Hara.
In addition, those humans who advocated goodness externally but harbored evil intentions internally, i.e. those hypocrites who concealed their brutality and exploited goodness to deceive others, and those humans who lacked faith and did not believe in the Kami will crash into Hell at once and endure eternal suffering indefinitely.
Some people believe that it is extremely difficult for humans to lead a spiritual life in the material world while trying to attain peaceful living on the Taka Ama Hara after death. Others cite as the reason for it the need to renounce the world and completely eliminate what are called all sexual and other worldly desires. People who hold such a view tend to reject mundane things primarily made up of wealth and honour. They think that humans can live spiritually by focusing on devout thoughts about the Kami, the Buddha, salvation, and eternal life all the time; devoting themselves to offering fervent prayers; reciting holy scriptures to accumulate good deeds; and forsaking the world and eliminating carnal desires. This, however, is not the way humans can go up to heaven. Those who strive to renounce the world, live in spirit, and leave their flesh behind tend to acquire a kind of sorrowful life and therefore absolutely cannot accept any joy or exultation from the Taka Ama Hara. That is because the way each individual lives and the mental state they are in during their lifetime continue on into the afterlife.
To go up to the Taka Ama Hara to lead a life of joy eternally, people must engage in ordinary work and commit themselves to their duties in this world, lead a moral and civil life, and only after that, get ready to embrace a spiritual life. A wrong step in this process would prevent people from completing preparations to lead a spiritual life and allow their spirits to go up to the Taka Ama Hara. Those who lead an honest inner life but fail simultaneously to engage in an external life are like a house of cards that will cave in over time, collapse or overturn with its walls fallen or its floors crumbled. Oh, kamunagara tamachi haemase [1].
The webmaster's note:
[1] ^ Literally, "May my soul prosper according to the Kami" or "May my soul be filled with happiness, protected and guided according to the Will of the Kami." Somewhat similar to "Amen," this phrase is often used to end Japanese ritual prayers.
To be continued...
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Onisaburo provides full details of how the Spirit World works in his sacred texts and writings, especially the Reikai Monogatari ("Tales of the Spirit World").
Here is a summary of some of those details:
- The physical body of a human being is like a placenta, incubator or nursery that feeds and grows a prospective heavenly being inside.
- Humans are intrinsically heavenly beings per se, albeit with varying degrees of virtue.
- Heavenly beings are humans whose virtue levels have so advanced as to meet the requirements as denizens of heaven.
- Celestial beings can retain eternal life through love, goodness, trust and truth.
- Once humans end their lives in the physical world and are "resurrected" to heaven, they will live there just as they did during their former sojourns.
- Humans were created by the Great Kami to assist Him in making heaven's harmounious wholeness even more harmonious.
(Volume 48 of the Reikai Monogatari)
- The Great Kami has created all humans so that they can improve themselves during their earthly sojourns and win admission to heaven upon their return.
- Humans are equipped with virtuous qualities of the Great Kami and therefore have what it takes to become celestial beings.
- In short, celestial beings are the most sublimated spiritual form of humans, wheres humans are a kind of organ that mediates between heaven and hell.
(Volume 49 of the Reikai Monogatari)
The general overview of the Spirit World is as follows:
Reikai ("Spirit World") | Tenkai ("Heaven") / Shinkai ("Divine Realm"): - Three levels of Ten no Shinkai ("Divine Realm in Heaven") - Three levels of Chi no Shinkai ("DivineRealm on Earth") |
Chu-u-kai ("Bardo") / Seireikai ("World of Ghosts"): - Jozaikai ("Purgatory") |
Jigokukai ("Hell") / Yukai ("World of Lost Spirits"): - Three levels of Ne no Kuni ("Land of Roots") - Three levels of Soko no Kuni ("Land of the Bottom") |
The Reikai ("Spirit World") is composed of three major realms: the Shinkai ("Divine Realm"), the Chu-u-kai ("Bardo"), and the Yukai ("World of Lost Spirits").
The Shinkai corresponds to the Taka Ama Hara ("Plain of High Heaven") for Shintoists, to the Pure Land for Buddhists, and to Heaven for Christians.
The Chu-u-kai corresponds to the Ame no Yachimata ("Eight-way Crossroads") for Shintoists, to the Rokudo no Tsuji ("Six-way Crossroads") for Buddhists, and to Purgatory for Christians.
The Yukai corresponds to the Ne no Kuni ("Land of Roots") and the Soko no Kuni ("Land of the Bottom") for Shintoists, to the Hachiman Jigoku ("Eighty Thousand Hells") for Buddhists, and to Hell for Christians.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Volume 56 of the Reikai Monogatari provides the following illustrations of the Spirit World:
- The World of Heaven is composed of the Heavenly Kingdom and the Spiritual Kingdom.
The World of Hell is composed of the Ne no Kuni ("Land of the Roots") and the Soko no Kuni ("Land of the Bottom").
- The World of Heaven, where the Gods of the Sun and Moon dwell
- The innermost first and highest level of the World of Heaven
- The intermediate second level of the World of Heaven
- The lowest third level of the World of Heaven
- The Intermediate World
- The Intermediate World (= Purgatory, Bardo, etc.) is also called the World of Stray Souls.
The state of the real world is virtually like a carbon copy of the Intermediate World.
- The World of Hell, where the Devil and Satan dwell
- The first and highest level of the World of Hell
- The intermediate second level of the World of Hell
- The lowest third level of the World of Hell

- Various groups in the Taka-ama-hara ("Plain of High Heaven") of the World of Heaven; they are countless in size and number.
- The Spiritual Kingdom (the Kingdom of the Moon)
- Faith
- Truth
- Center
- The Lord Kami (Creator of the Universe) appears as the God of the Moon.
- The first and highest level
- The second highest level
- The third highest level
- The Heavenly Kingdom (the Kingdom of the Sun)
- Love
- Goodness
- Center
- The Lord Kami (Creator of the Universe) appears as the God of the Sun.
- The first and highest level
- The second highest level
- The third highest level
- The World of Hell filled with falsehood and evil desire
- The Ne no Kuni ("Land of the Roots")
- Falsehood
- Center
- The Devil
- The Soko no Kuni ("Land of the Bottom")
- Evil desire
- Center
- Satan
(Volume 56 of the Reikai Monogatari)
People who have successfully harmonized with truth, good, and beauty while they are alive will go to heaven after they die.
People who have become attuned to wickedness and falsehood while they are alive will go to hell after they die.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Anyone wishing to go to Heaven needs to have created a heaven of love and faith in their own mind and body while on Earth; otherwise, they would not be able to accept or absorb true, external Heaven after death.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Male residents in Heaven are aged between their late 20s and early 30s by the standards of the material world.
Female residents in Heaven are aged between their late teens and early 20s by the standards of the material world.
Residents in Heaven are generally young because their souls and affectivity remain young, immortal and immutable unlike residents in the material world who get older year by year under physical laws. Therefore, heavenly beings never age, defying the passage of time.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Groups of residents in Heaven range in size from 40 - 50 to 5,000, 10,000, 30,000, 50,000 and even 100,000.
Heavenly beings in each group are eager to expand their membership, so they greet newcomers from the material world with open arms.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Celestial beings who live in Heaven, or the souls of humans who have returned from the material world, also have intercourse with other celestial beings to give birth to "spiritual babies." Those spiritual babies enter the wombs of humans they are related to and are born as material babies.
That is why humans are called the "children of the Kami" or the "shrines of the Kami."
Incidentally, the way celestial beings make love is to let one being's cheek touch the cheek of the other being. That's it! It's not at all like what most people do.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Anyone who passes away and leaves the material world will retain exactly the same sate (mental, emotional, etc.) as they were in when they enter the other world.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Celestial beings living in Heaven are anxious to greet newcomers returning from the human world by playing beautiful, ear-pleasing music. Heaven is the true home of souls.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
As the Izu Soul, the Kami Kunitokotachi no Mikoto (Earthly-Eternally-Standing-Deity) is responsible for spiritual aspects of kami, humans, souls and other beings.
As the Mizu Soul, the Kami Toyokumonu no Mikoto (Luxuriant-Integrating-Master-Deity) is responsible for physical aspects of kami, humans, souls and other beings.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Souls are immortal. But when they are reincarnated in the material world, they are under such physical pressure that they lose their past-life memories. This is good in that it will benefit no one to remember their past lives, and that such memories will adversely affect people's current lifetimes.
Meanwhile, when souls return to heaven, their past memories, wills and thoughts will become all the clearer as they approach it. That is why the return to heaven is not termed "being reincarnated," but "being resurrected."
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
Babies or children who die young on earth continue to grow up in heaven.
Therefore, when you are resurrected in heaven after returning to it, you may not easily notice your deceased children because they have grown up.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
It is when a person's lungs and heart stop moving that the person's soul leaves their physical body (i.e. the person's death in the material world but their resurrection in the spirit world).
(Volume 47 of the Reikai Monogatari)
Loving yourself is NOT bad.
Loving ONLY yourself IS bad (= bad love).
It is aizen ("good love") to love others just as you love yourself.
It is divine love to expand the scope of your love from yourself to the whole universe, thereby loving all creation.
(Volume 47 of the Reikai Monogatari)
The Great Spirit World is a world of thoughts and ideas where spiritual beings - as they lack physical bodies - have outward appearances based directly on their inner thoughts and ideas.
For this reason, all members of each group in the Great Spirit World look alike because they think alike.
(Volume 47 of the Reikai Monogatari)
Atheists tend to feel greatly baffled and regretful when they go to heaven and learn that there is life after death in the spirit world.
Those missionaries of whatever faith who have preyed on their gods or supreme beings in this world often find themselves lost in the intermediate world (between heaven and hell) or even fallen down to hell after they die.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
In the eyes of the Kami, all people - saints, the wise, the foolish, small fry or otherwise - are seen as equals. This is divine love and benevolence, or the Consciousness of the Great Maitreya Kami.
(The Foundations of the Spirit)
- A human is a combination of an inner spirit shrouded in an outer physical body. They have to remain in an intermediate good-and-bad, ugly-and-beautiful state between their inner self and their outer self during their earthly sojourn. For this reason, they cannot perform complete goodness unlike celestial beings in heaven.
- The Kami does all He can to save as many departed souls as possible and send them to heaven after judging them by their past good/bad deeds and stripping them of their evil elements.
- The Kami treats the whole universe like an individual and rules it accordingly. Just as an individual uses every way to treat a tumor, wound, ache, etc., the Kami naturally takes great pains to cure His tumor, wound, ache, etc. (= wicked souls that will likely go to hell), no matter how ugly they may be.
(Volume 52 of the Reikai Monogatari)
To be continued...
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