Former Overseas Department Head Yoshikazu Terada, who had served the overseas mission for over forty years, passed away on April 19. He was 87. The funeral service was performed on the 21st at Moya 2, with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama presiding as chief officiant.
Honbu-in Terada was born on March 23, 1934, and received the truth of the Sazuke in 1952. He completed a Master’s program at Tokyo University in 1959.
He was appointed as Honbu-seinen in 1965 and served as secretary at the Mission Headquarters in America for five and a half years, starting in June 1966. From 1971, he served as chief of Translation Section of what is now Tenrikyo Overseas Department for over twenty-one years, promoting the motto “Our translation work is salvation work.” He was appointed as Honbu-jun’in in 1977. The following year, he was appointed as Besseki Lecturer and was allowed to deliver the lecture in English as well as in Japanese. He became head minister of Amijima Branch Church in 1980. He was made Honbu-in and vice-head of the Overseas Mission Department in 1992. In 1998, he was appointed as responsible officer of Religious Corporation Tenrikyo, member of Church Headquarters’ Executive Board, and head of the Overseas Mission Department.
He was president of Tenri Seminary from 2001 before serving as bishop of the Mission Headquarters in South Korea from 2007 to 2012. He also became head of the Sacred Rice Section of the Divine Gifts and Sanction Bureau in 2014.