Ritual as Self-Cultivation in Motion and Self- Healing Practice: The case of Tenrikyo's Mikagura-uta in Taiwan

This paper explores self-cultivation in motion in the context of a Japanese new religion, Tenrikyo. Mikagura-uta (or 'Songs for the Service' to use Tenrikyo's term), is a ritual based around bodily movement. It contains a wealth of religious idioms and cultural references that express issues including self-cultivation, health, world-renewal and cosmic unity. The article will show that Mikagura-uta has, since its inception, offered adherents a realistic route to physical health through accessible activities, which embody the landscape of a utopian society, reconfigured in accordance with the cosmological terms of Tenrikyo's doctrine. This article will then suggest various theoretical approaches to Mikagura-uta through a discussion of bodies in respect of medical anthropology, religion and East-Asian philosophy, showing the interplay between ritual, health and environment. The research adopts a qualitative approach, providing ethnographic accounts of the significant role played by Mikagura-uta in the daily life of Tenrikyo members in Taiwan, and suggests that this self-cultivation in motion is an essential part of their lives, as a means to personal health, to personal life changes amidst an uncertain environment, and to develop social identity. In conclusion, this study discusses the implications of Mikagura-uta for understanding medical anthropology, religion, East-Asian philosophy and as well as suggestions for further research within this discipline.