Hideo Oyamada, former National Leader of Japan
Rev. Oyamada gave this testimony almost 30 years ago on October 27, I 992 in Kodiak, Alaska at the missionary workshop in the presence of True Father and many missionary brothers and sisters.
Part 4 (Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3)
Twenty-one-day workshop
Then, they advised me, “You should go to the twenty-one-day workshop.” I gave up everything and agreed to go. Rev. Ken Sudo and Mrs. Sakurai were the lecturers. Mr. Sasakawa[1] arranged for us to use the Olympic training center for free during that workshop. Some members complained, “That was the only one contribution to the Unification Church Mr. Sasakawa made. That was the only time he did something wonderful for the sake of others.”
We would wake up early in the morning, put on suitable clothing, and until midnight we couldn’t sit down and rest. I was very moved by the purpose of creation.
At that time, the members referred to Father as a great teacher. When people asked questions about him, they would respond, “First of all, you pray!” They would tell us only his name. “What’s the last name?” we would ask. “Moon.” That means truth. Then they told us, “Sun Myung.” That represents the universe, because the characters contain the meaning of fish, sheep, sun, and moon. Wow, such a deep meaning!
An agonizing decision
When I came back from the twenty-one-day workshop, John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, and the world had changed a lot. The following day I went back to school and found that my professor was just like a living Satan. “What are you doing?” he asked. “What did you do during the time you were gone?” I had never known a person to be so unreasonable. My minister had the same kind of reaction, as well as the peopIe at my dormitory. They all became Satan. I wondered what was wrong with me. I was just seeking the truth!
My mother dreamed that her son had done some extraordinary action. In the dream I had asked my mother if I could go to the twenty-one-day workshop, and I promised to come back. “My son went toward the high mountains,” she concluded. My mother always received such revelations about me, but my elder brother got very angry.
After the twenty-one-day workshop, I couldn’t go to the university or the church without everyone accusing me: “What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?” My only concern was a Sunday school girl who had become a member of a gang. Otherwise, it was okay. Then finally I prayed.
One of my teachers tempted me with the news that I had been accepted at graduate school. “They have a scholarship waiting for you,” he said. You have decided to become a professor, haven’t you?” I was also tempted by a beautiful girl. I had to reach a decision.
I told the dormitory master that I would stay at my friend’s house and not to worry if I didn’t come back that night. Actually, I had decided to go to a mountainside or a deep valley, where I could commit suicide if I couldn’t find a solution. I prayed. I had heard the Divine Principle three times and recognized the depth of its teaching. On the other hand, over the past four years I had been learning many things. What is the truth?
That night I prayed and I thought. I was almost too tired to think, so I felt like going to sleep, but I wandered around a deep, dark valley. Finally, I went to sleep in the garbage bin at a bus stop, thinking that before morning came I would decide.
After a little nap I woke up. In the Bible I had read some advice about facing trials or temptations: “Just trust. Calm yourself and you will feel safe. That’s the way the voice of God always comes.” I had to decide whether to choose the path of that unknown Mr. Kwak, who was younger than me, or the secure, glorious way of becoming a professor. My original mind felt safe and calm just following Mr. Kwak, so I said, “Okay, I will choose Mr. Kwak’s way.”
I made up my mind to take the difficult course, in spite of the persecution I was facing at the university, at the Sunday school, at the dormitory, and at the high school where I was teaching. My professor said, “I’ve never seen such a foolish student in all my life!” My minister said something similar.
“It’s okay,” I thought. Instead of going home, I went back to the church. I finished the paper I was writing and gave up half a semester at the university. I had enough units to graduate, so I decided to become a full-time member.
When I came to the Unification Church, I didn’t like public speaking. If I stood up to talk to people, everything would become black around me and I could not speak. I told Rev. Ken Sudo as I joined, “I only have one condition to ask before becoming a full-time member.”
“What is that condition?” he asked.
“Please don’t make me do any street-speaking.”
“Okay,” he said. Then I became a member.
Right after that, Rev. Sudo said, “Now you go out and do street-speaking.”
“Oh, you betrayed me,” I protested.
“You have signed; you go,” he replied. Of course, I was not so grateful.
I never imagined that I would ever do public speaking. I never thought of myself as a natural speaker. Until high school, if I stood up to speak, I’d say a couple of words and then forget the rest. Some people say I am a born public speaker, but that’s not true at all. I really didn’t like it; I never wanted to do it at all. I was trained in the Unification Church.
After joining in 1963, I went pioneering for three years. That was a very special experience for me. My life became constant street-speaking in front of the train station. The police would come, and there always was some fighting. Also, I would go door-to-door visiting, which I didn’t mind. Some Buddhist ladies from Mr. Osami Kuboki’s group had already laid a foundation for me. I would give a lecture and automatically a donation would come, so I didn’t have to worry about finances. I just had to lecture; then I would get nice food and a donation, and also a donation for the headquarters. It was very wonderful.
Pioneering in Kagoshima
Headquarters sent me to do forty-day pioneering in Kagoshima. At that time there were less than one hundred members in all of Japan. Finally the day of departure came. We said good-bye and three great big manseis. We arrived in Kagoshima, which is the hottest region of Japan, located near a volcano in Kyushu. The weather was unbearably hot. We couldn’t eat anything, except ice cream. We had ice bars instead of bread.
Following the tradition which we inherited from Korea, we went to the highest mountain and prayed, “Heavenly Father, we came to save this city. Please guide us until the end of this period.”
We had no place to sleep. One senior member had a very small house with a roof so low that even I could touch it. It was just like an apple box, and very hot. Still, we stayed there. Kagoshima is a very special, isolated place. The older generation speaks quite a different dialect. Not every Japanese person can understand it. Kagoshima seems like a completely different country.
We began street speaking and collecting wastepaper. We went to a wastepaper shop and asked them to lend us a cart and a measuring stick so we could earn a little money. Early in the morning, we went door to door. That is a very good experience. We wore sneakers and jumpers and went to the back doors, never to the front doors. If we went to some gorgeous house, most of the time they would be very stingy and say: “Nothing. Go away.” In poor houses, however, people would sometimes welcome us, invite us to come in, sit down and have something to drink. The way they treated us was so different.
Continued next week….
[1] Ryōichi Sasakawa (May 4, 1899 – July 18, 1995) was a suspected war criminal, businessman, far-right politician, and philanthropist. After Japan’s defeat he was imprisoned for a time, accused of war crimes [and released], and then found financial success in various business ventures, including motorboat racing and ship building. He supported anticommunist activities, including the World Anti-Communist League. In 1951 he helped found the Nippon Foundation and became its first president. The foundation has done charitable work around the world, for which it and Sasakawa have received many official honors. [Credit: Wikipedia]
(Rev. Ken Sudo mentioned him in his testimony that was posted some months ago.)