The webmaster's note:
[1] ^ Publication data:

• Dictated at the Zuishoh-kaku Hall in Kameoka, Kyoto, and the Ryugu-yakata Hall in Ayabe, Kyoto.
• Dictated November 12-18, 20, 28, 29, December 6-10, Taisho 10 (1921), and January 3, Taisho 11 (1922) - a total of 15 days.
• Dictated by Mr. Toyoji Toyama, Ms. Haruko Katoh, Mr. Shigeo Sakurai, and several others.
• First edition issued on March 3, Taisho 11 (1922).
• Revised by the author at the Kandabashi Inn, Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki on the early morning of January 19, Showa 10 (1935).

[2] ^ The first sign of the Japanese eto (sexagenary cycle) zodiac. Each series of the Reikai Monogatari (except the Tensho-chizui series) consists of 12 volumes bearing the corresponding names of the following 12 zodiac signs:

1. Ne (Rat)
2. Ushi (Ox)
3. Tora (Tiger)
4. U (Hare)
5. Tatsu (Dragon)
6. Mi (Serpent)
7. Uma (Horse)
8. Hitsuji (Sheep)
9. Saru (Monkey)
10. Tori (Rooster)
11. Inu (Dog)
12. I (or Wi ) (Boar)

[3] ^ The series of the Reikai Monogatari is shown in the table below:

Series Volumes No. of Books Reishu Taiju (Spirit the Master, Flesh the Servent, or simply, Spirit over Body) 1-12 12 Nyoi Hosshu (Cintamani, or Wish-Fulfilling Gem) 13-24 12 Kaiyoh Banri (Thousands of Miles of Seas and Oceans) 25-36 12 Shashin Katsuyaku (Outstanding Performance as a Living Shrine of the Kami) 37-48 12 Shin Zen Bi Ai (Truth, Good, Beauty, and Love) 49-60 12 Sanka Sohmoku (Mountains, Rivers, Plants, and Trees) 61-72 14(*) (*) Volumes 64 Parts 1 & 2, as well as the Nyumohki (Onisaburo's Mission in Mongolia) included. Tenshoh Chizui (Auspicious Signs of the Mizu Spirit in Heaven and on Earth) 73-81 9 Total 81 83

The webmaster's note:
[4] ^ The highest peak on the Island of Taiwan; synonymous with Yu Shan, Yushan, Mount Jade or Jade Mountain. (See map below)

[5] ^ Literally "Mount Ogre Castle." It was located in the Land of Tokoyo (Eternity), which usually refers to North America. (See map below)

[6] ^ A mountain in China; synonymous with Wan Shou Shan, Wanshousan or Wanshou Mountain. (See map below)

[7] ^ A mountain in ancient India on the border with Tibet. (See map below)

[8] ^ A mountain or a mountain range in China; synonymous with Kunlun Shan or the Kunlun Mountains. (See map below)

[9] ^ A mountain in the modern-day United States; currently called Mount Rainier. (See map below)

[10] ^ A trial by ordeal where the guilt or innocence of an accused person is determined by putting the person's hand in boiling water based on the belief that the innocent will not be scalded.

Map of Locations Where 12 Jewels of Venus were Enshrined
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Excerpts from An Abstract of the Reikai Monogatari

Nao Deguchi is given a leading role in writing about subjects ranging from the fundamental origins of the three major realms of the Spirit World to their future developments, whereas Kaichoh[13] is tasked with shedding light on those subjects by providing minute details of them. When first Henjo Nanshi[14] and then Henjo Nyoshi[15] come to the fore, executive Omoto members will realize how much they have misunderstood the organization's founders, making some of them happier to serve their leaders with tremendous enthusiasm, leaving others running around like chickens with their heads cut off in agony, and prompting still others to lash out at Henjo Nanshi and Henjo Nyoshi with a vengeance for their own self-interest. Many of Omoto's intermediaries will act for self-serving purposes and walk around speaking ill of Nanshi and Nyoshi despite their worship of Omoto's Kami. (snip)

• The first half of Volume 3 was dictated by Co-Founder Deguchi to his scribes at the Zuishoh-kaku Hall in Kameoka while the second half at the Ryugu-yakata Hall in Ayabe to complete the whole volume. Of the fixed scribes for the Reikai Monogatari, Mr. Masaharu Taniguchi left the scribe team at the completion of Volume 2 to take charge of editing a detailed biography of Co-Founder Deguchi. The entire scribe team regrets his complete departure from the Monogatari project but would like to express their profound gratitude for his hard work and dedication to Volumes 1 and 2.
  
  
• Volume 1 features a long tough three-sided battle between Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's group, the Great Kami Pangu's group, and Mahesvara's group, plunging the divine realm of the Spirit World into chaos. Readers of the Holy Annals might be interested in knowing the truth about the Great Kami Pangu and Mahesvara, so we would like to give them a brief description of who those deities are.
  
  The terms 'banko daijin' (Great Kami Pangu), 'banko shinnoh' (Divine King Pangu), and 'banko shinnoh' (True King Pangu) appear in the Morokoshi Taikoden Seibun (Written Legend of Ancient Chinese History) authored by Atsutane Hirata[20]. The book describes the True King Pangu as follows:

  Of old, Heaven and Earth were not yet separated. They formed a chaotic mass like an egg. It contained Pangu inside. When he was 98,000 years old, Heaven and Earth were separated. The clearer and lighter part went up and formed Heaven, while the heavier and grosser element settled down and became Earth. Pangu was in between the two worlds. He shape-shifted nine times a day to become a God in Heaven and a Holy Being on Earth. Heaven grew higher one joh (approx. 3.03 m or 9.94 ft) a day while Earth grew thicker one joh a day. Pangu grew taller one joh a day. In this way, he grew extremely tall, Heaven grew extremely high, and Earth grew extremely deep when another 98,000 years passed. Numbers began with one, were established with three, were perfected by five, multiplied with seven, and fixed with nine.
  
  Yin and yang originated from Pangu and his wife, neither of whom knew about the beginning of the primordial chaos because they were born after its outset. They were indeed the supreme lords of creation and cultivation, hence the progenitors of all that was in Heaven and on Earth. They were also known as the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Holy Mother of Supreme Origin. Pangu preceded the emergence of the Three Sovereign Divinities. They were the origins of Heaven, Earth, and Humans.

  It is none other than the Great Kami Pangu who was revered by the people in ancient China as the Lord of Heaven or the Holy Mother.
  
  And the Great Kami Pangu is a taishu reiju (literally "body over spirit" or "spirit subordinated to flesh"), i.e. egocentric deity, whereas Kunitokotachi no Mikoto is a reishu taiju (literally "spirit over body" or "flesh subordinated to spirit"), i.e. altruistic deity.
  
  Next, Mahesvara is a ryokushu tairei (literally "power overrides flesh/ spirit" or "power over flesh/spirit"), i.e. muscle-flexing deity who condones the law of the jungle. Buddhist scriptures say that adherents of Brahmanism worship this deity as the creator of all things in the world, that he is the substance of this ultimate reality, and that he is revered as the target of worship, commanding as much deference as possible, as he is believed to give different blessings to his adherents depending on how deeply they are committed to their faith under his rule. With the rise of Buddhism, however, Mahesvara was named 'Mahesvara Deva' and, at long last, was given quite a mediocre treatment as the ruler of the Sixth Heaven.
  
  
• Finally, we would like to make a brief comment on the Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity). The book titled the Keiko Yoryaku, or An Overview of Kokugaku (Studies of Japanese Classics) Practices, reads as follows:

  Sukunahikona no Kami rode on a foxtail millet stalk (i.e. small ship) and sailed to the Tokoyo no Kuni. This Land of Eternity is thought to be a secluded, mysterious place in the world of clairvoyant immortals, mountain wizards and other supernatural beings, hence a distant foreign land with limited human accessibility.

  Seen from Japan, North America is a distant foreign land and is thus the Tokoyo no Kuni. Seen from North America, Japan is a distant foreign land and is thus the Tokoyo no Kuni. We therefore deem it crucially important to do a comparative study of the Reikai Monogatari and ancient literature.
  
  

The True Primordial Deity living since time immemorial appeared in this world when the time was ripe, and has possessed the body-soul entity with which He is profoundly connected by fate to propagate things that have neither been said nor written since primeval times to the world through her writing brush and mouth. It is little wonder that the people of the world have doubts about His messages and dismiss them as false.

What this Primordial Deity is saying cannot convince anyone at all unless they are a body-soul entity with which He is profoundly connected by fate.

Chapter 1: The Appointment of Multiple Deities  〔101〕

You shall not eat this fruit.

Thou shalt:

1. Examine thyself,
   
   
2. Feel ashamed,
   
   
3. Repent,
   
   
4. Revere heaven and earth, and
   
   
5. Awaken to truth.

Thou shalt:

1. Strictly observe the way of husband and wife, and maintain a monogamous relationship,
   
   
2. Serve God, respect thy elders, and show love and affection for all that is, and
   
   
3. Be strictly forbidden to commit such immoralities as envy, slander, falsehood, larceny, and murder.

1. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto
2. Kototama-wake no Mikoto
3. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto
4. Oh Daru-hiko
5. Hanamori-hiko
6. Iwakusu-hiko
7. Mototeru-wake
8. Michitsura-hiko
9. Takaharu-hiko
10. Arikuni-hiko
11. Magane-hiko
12. Iwatama-hiko
13. Tokiyo-hiko
14. Adzuma-wake
15. Kamuzumi-hiko, and
16. Takayama-hiko

Chapter 2: Guardians of the Yatsuoh Rulers  〔102〕

Map of Locations Where 12 Jewels of Venus were Enshrined
(Click on the image to enlarge)
Excerpts from An Abstract of the Reikai Monogatari

Chapter 3: A Tragedy in the Valley 〔103〕

The webmaster's note:
[11] ^ The ages mentioned in this sacred text are based on the kazoedoshi method of age counting where a baby is counted as one year old at birth (after only nine months in the womb) and thereafter becomes a year older at every New Year, rather than on its birthday. This results in people usually being one or two years older than by western calendar.

[12] ^ A collection of holy messages from the Great Kami Kunitokotachi no Mikoto as automatically written by the poor and illiterate Foundress Nao Deguchi. These writings had reached nearly 10,000 folios, or 100,000 sheets, by her death in Taisho 7 (1918).

[13] ^ One of Onisaburo's pseudonyms.

[14] ^ Literally "a man's spirit in a woman's body," it refers to the Foundress Nao Deguchi.

[15] ^ Literally "a woman's spirit in a man's body," it refers to the Co-Founder Onisaburo Deguchi.

[16] ^ The shaku is a traditional Japanese unit of length. One shaku is roughly 30.3 centimeters or one foot.

[17] ^ The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.

[18] ^ 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.

[19] ^ Shorthand for 'Onisaburo Deguchi.'

[20] ^ An 18th- to 19th-century Japanese thinker, Shintoist, and leader of the Fukkoh Shinto (Restoration Shinto), who contributed to the Kokugaku (National Learning) movement with a strong emphasis on Japanese classical studies. For details, see Britannica: Hirata Atsutane.

[21] ^ The Omoto Shinyu is a compilation of Nao Deguchi's Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush) messages from the August Deity Kunitokotachi no Mikoto that have been edited by Onisaburo Deguchi.

[22] ^ Another name for Yu Shan (Mount Jade), the highest peak on the modern-day island of Taiwan.

[23] ^ The modern-day island of Taiwan.