A “Grand Sumo Tournament”

Šowqī Effendi Rabbānī vs. Deguchi Onisaburō

Abstract

In 1929, Šowqī Effendi Rabbānī—Guardian of the Bahā’ī Faith, and a great-grandson of Bahā’ Allāh, the Bahā’ī founder—indicated that he was “very surprised to learn that the Oomoto religion of Japan has published a statement to the effect that the Bahá'í Revelation is a branch of their religion.” His reference was to 1923 dictations by Deguchi Onisaburō, the Co-Founder of Ōmoto, introducing a Bahā’ī character called “Bahā’ Allāh” into a fictional dialogue about the coming messiah (hinted to be Onisaburō himself). The episode reveals some of the limitations and unacknowledged agendas of inter-religious dialogue.