Within Tenrikyo, the Jiba is revered as the most sacred locus of faith, understood as the very place where God the Parent first conceived and created human beings. It is described as the spiritual “navel” or center of the world, the original home from which humanity emerged and to which it is continually called to return. At this spot, marked by the Kanrodai at the Main Sanctuary in Tenri, the divine presence of God the Parent is regarded as especially immediate. Because it is seen as the origin of all humanity, the Jiba is not merely a local or sectarian shrine, but a universal spiritual center that symbolically embraces all people.

The liturgical and devotional life of Tenrikyo is oriented toward this single point. The Kagura Service is performed encircling the Jiba, ritually reenacting the story of creation and petitioning for universal salvation and the realization of the Joyous Life. Other forms of service, including sacred dance and musical accompaniment, likewise take the Jiba as their focal direction. In this way, the Jiba functions as the axis of salvation: the place where divine intention for humanity is most clearly expressed and where the path toward a world of joy and mutual help is continually renewed.

Pilgrimage to the Jiba, often called a “return” to the original home, holds profound spiritual significance for believers. By traveling there, followers seek to purify the mind, to loosen and resolve burdens that cloud the heart, and to receive healing, guidance, and what is described as marvelous providence from God the Parent. Standing at the place of humanity’s origin, pilgrims reaffirm their connection to the divine parenthood that undergirds Tenrikyo’s vision of existence. Through participation in the services at the Jiba, they understand themselves to be joining in the work of salvation for all humanity, while also deepening their own capacity to live the Joyous Life in daily affairs.

The Jiba thus gathers together origin and goal, memory and aspiration. It is both the point from which human life first unfolded and the destination to which the human heart is invited to return for renewal. For Tenrikyo adherents, to face the Jiba in prayer and to visit it in pilgrimage is to align one’s life with the creative intention of God the Parent, to seek a mind cleansed of self-centered thoughts, and to participate in a communal movement toward a world characterized by joy, gratitude, and mutual care.