On April 25, Tenrikyo Boys and Girls Association Headquarters held a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Sansai-no-Sato with the presence of the Shinbashira and the former Shinbashira.
Sansai-no-Sato, which is a Tenrikyo outdoor activity center located in Nara City, was opened in 1971 as a training center for the successors of the path. Ever since, it has been utilized for such things as summer camps, the Children’s Pilgrimage to Jiba, and camp training for students who attend schools in the Home of the Parent, all of which are conducted under the theme of “Helping Each Other And Being Creative.” So far, a total of over 114,000 people have visited this place.
The ceremony, conducted in the Assembly Hall at Sansai-no-Sato, was attended by 259 people including leaders from each directly supervised church and diocese, people concerned with organizations that own Tenrikyo campsites in various parts of Japan, former staff members of the Boys and Girls Association Headquarters, and people concerned with schools in the Home of the Parent as well as representatives from Administrative Headquarters.
The Shinbashira delivered an address, in which he said, “Sansai-no-Sato is a place where people who have been drawn to this path can train themselves by sharing the experience of staying here.” He went on to say, “The significance of staying here is to realize the providence of God the Parent through camping as well as to learn how to help one another through living together, and thereby learn the basis for the Joyous Life.” He closed his address by asking the participants for their cooperation so that various camping activities would continue to be held.
Following the Shinbashira’s address, Tenrikyo Boys and Girls Association Headquarters Chairman Zentaro Fukaya expressed gratitude on behalf of all the participants. He said, “We are resolved to make thorough and united efforts to utilize Sansai-no-Sato ever more actively for the sake of nurturing members of the association so as to meet the Shinbashira’ s expectation.”