Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi’s Message at New Year’s Celebration
Stresses Importance that in Promoting the Movement, All Organizations Cooperate with One Another, While Each Brings Out Its Uniqueness
On January 1, 2011, the New Year’s Celebration was held at the Seicho-No-Ie Headquarters in Harajuku, Tokyo. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, gave a New Year’s message to the 508 attendees in the capacity of the Superintendent. He spoke for about 12 minutes.
Rev. Taniguchi began by touching upon the news of heavy snowfalls in western Japan and the Hokuriku District. He explained that a temperature rise caused by global warming does not occur by a fixed rate and that it accompanies a drastic change in weather patterns. He said that how we deal with such climate changes is the problem that faces humanity in the future.
The President next said that he was born in the “Year of the Rabbit” and will turn 60 this year. He introduced a personal episode: about a year ago he was called “an old man” by a boy aged about five years in an elevator in a hotel.
Rev. Taniguchi then introduced two proverbs which feature rabbits.
One is: “The rabbit dies and the fox grieves over it.” Rev. Taniguchi explained that it means that seeing the rabbit die, the fox is saddened because he will also die sooner or later. He rephrased it, from the position of the Sundial Way of Life, to “The rabbit rejoices and the fox is also happy.”
The President next referred to the Seicho-No-Ie Movement and pointed out that for a long time we had three separate organizations: Brotherhood Association, White Dove Association, and Youth and Young Adult Association. He said that this was detrimental in a way and that it is being corrected through the Movement Policy and so forth. He cautioned that it is not normal for Seicho-No-Ie followers who believe in the same faith to continue the Movement without knowing what the other organizations are doing.
The President said that this was not keeping in step with changes occurring in the Japanese society, such as the fact that a new term, a “construction work-type women,” is coined to refer to women who work at construction sites and men are also changing and getting involved in child-rearing and housework. Rev. Taniguchi stressed that Seicho-No-Ie is changing its Movement in such a way that men and women cooperate with one another in an analog fashion and share the joy of one another’s growth, rather than being separated in a digital fashion.
At the end of his message, Rev. Taniguchi introduced another proverb, “rabbit’s uphill rise.” The proverb points to those who are on the rise by bringing out their inherent talent and ability, just as a rabbit climbs a hill with great ease, using its back legs. He asked that each of our organizations makes good use of its characteristics and helps the Movement expand.
The New Year’s Celebration started at 10:00 a.m., with Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, serving as the Superintendent. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi was also present. The Ceremony began with a deep bow to the Imperial Palace and the singing of the national anthem. This was followed by the New Year’s message by Rev. Kazuo Isobe, Chairman and CEO of Seicho-No-Ie. The Celebration ended at 10:34 a.m. with the President’s message.