Believer who met at an alumni visit… “Anyone who makes a wrong move” – Trap of new religion solicitation

My job search wasn’t going well… I was having a real mental breakdown, so I thought, ‘Maybe that’s what’s going on.

The film “Yurushi,” based on a second-generation religious leader’s suicide note and dealing with “religious abuse,” will be released in theaters on March 22.

The film is directed by and stars Urara Hirata (22). Hirata, who speaks briskly and cheerfully, is strong-willed and confident, and it is curious that she was taken in by religion.

Why did she become addicted to religion? Following the story of the movie in the first part, in the second part we hear about Mr. Hirata’s own story of joining and leaving a religion.

I had been looking for a job since I was a sophomore in college, but things didn’t work out. According to the only company that gave me a reason, it was that I was ‘uncooperative. I spent the most important period of my personality development, from 4th to 6th grade in elementary school, in Shanghai, so I became assertive and strong-minded. After returning to Japan, I spent junior high and high school at a young lady’s school called Rikkyo Jogakuin, but I didn’t fit in very well.”

Furthermore, I felt like I was being totally rejected because I kept failing in my job search. It was during this time that she met a believer in a new religion during an alumni visit to one of her companies.

He said, “‘You have a great personality and a wonderful life, and you should be proud of it. If there is a company that doesn’t understand that, you don’t have to be in it,’ and he gave me full affirmation.

Then he told me stories like, ‘Thanks to God, I got accepted at this company,’ or how his injuries were healed by a miracle, but normally no one would believe that. But my mentality was really down, so I thought, ‘Maybe that’s possible.

I went to a Protestant school for six years, and God was close to me, which may have been one of the reasons I believed in him, but when I asked him to pray with me, I happened to get accepted for a job. From there, it just became more and more where I belonged.”

Forced to break up with friends and boyfriends…

However, when she was forced to break up with friends and boyfriends, she began to feel uncomfortable.

They were taken aback when I countered, “I’m not cooperative, so why should I break up with them? That’s when the bullying started. They told me they wouldn’t let me attend any more meetings, ignored me, and wouldn’t even let me sing the chants. What do you think would happen to a person who has always been isolated, if he or she is shunned in a place where he or she is supposed to be?

They become very anxious and say, ‘I’m sorry,’ just like a woman who can’t escape domestic violence, and then they get sick again, and then they start failing at finding a job again. On the other hand, when I have faith, I am confident that I have God’s power, so I am okay, and I get accepted.

Thinking about it now, it’s obvious, but at the time I thought it all happened because I rebelled against God. I was isolated in society, told to disown my friends and boyfriend, I rebelled, but they bullied me, I gave in, and eventually I disowned them, and I had no place to return to, so I went back.”