Shinji Takahashi - God Light Association

God Light Association

Word of mouth had spread about Takahashi since he claimed to have experienced spiritual encounters with Jesus Christ and Moses and attained Buddhahood; people came to learn under Takahashi’s instruction. He first started to preach at his home, but by April 1969, the number had grown to about 100. Takahashi began to preach at the Yaoki Building, a building that he owned near Asakusa Station on the Toei Asakusa Line. Construction had just begun, as Takahashi had originally planned to establish a business consisting of ultrasonic hot springs and saunas there. Takahashi named this organization Shinkoukai ("Society for Incarnating the Light of God").

In August 1971, after a follower of the Zuihoukai, listened to Takahashi's teachings at a workshop at Mt. Izuru in Tochigi prefecture, the entire Zuihoukai religious association merged with, and converted to, the teachings of the Shinkoukai. Since the Zuihoukai was an organization that had obtained corporate status as a religious corporation, the Shinkoukai became known as the "Shinkoukai Religious Corporation". After the merger, Shinkoukai was renamed with an English name, the "God Light Association" (GLA), taking the internationalization of this organization into consideration. The organization became known as the GLA Religious Corporation, and the Zuihoukai became the GLA Religious Corporation Kansai Headquarters.

It was rare for an existing religious association such as the Zuihoukai to embrace an emerging organization. After the merger of the two religious organizations, the number of followers in the GLA rose to tens of thousands of people, and although the creation of a full-scale organizational structure was desired, the creation of a clear structure was shunned due to Takahashi’s dislike for forming such structures.

After Takahashi died he was succeeded by his eldest daughter Keiko, although there was a contingent of followers who withdrew from the GLA due to changes in the teachings. In addition, as a result of changes in the doctrine, the GLA splintered after a few years, and disciples that had directly studied under Takahashi established new religious organizations. Today the Tokyo and Osaka branches exist as separate organizations.

In honor of Takahashi’s death, groups and individuals gather voluntarily and carry out activities to try to learn the teachings of Takahashi, including Ryuho Okawa of the religious association Happy Science. Okawa published many books in the Takahashi Shinji Reigenshu (Collection of Shinji Takahashi’s Sayings) series before he halted the printing of that collection in 1994 due to legal threats from Keiko.