On October 28, Tenrikyo Language Institute (TLI) held a ceremony in the Home of the Parent to mark its 10th anniversary, which drew 260 people including graduates, students, and staff members.
Following Overseas Department Head Yoshiaki Mihama’s opening address, Director-in-Chief of Administrative Affairs Masahiko Iburi, who was the first principal of TLI, took the podium to deliver a congratulatory address. He first mentioned that there are various educational institutions designed to train human resources within Tenrikyo. Regarding the importance of training human resources, he said: “It is us human beings–or us Yoboku, to be precise–who are to realize the world of the Joyous Life. It is for this reason that we have laid stress on training human resources to this extent.” Having explained how the institute developed from the Special Department of Languages of Tenri University, Director-in-Chief Iburi shared his own dream with the audience by saying: “The more advanced the overseas mission becomes, the more people will seek to follow the path, thus requiring more facilities to be established for those people. At present, we only have 90 to 100 students at TLI, but who knows how much this institute will grow by the time we observe Oyasama’s 130th Anniversary or 150th Anniversary? We might even have branch schools of TLI overseas. I hope that TLI will continue to develop in such a way that it may become Tenrikyo’s seminary for advancing the overseas mission.” This was followed by a video presentation illustrating the annual school activities. The ceremony ended with a closing address delivered by Principal Hideharu Nakajima. Photos showing various events and activities were also exhibited in the venue.