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Sparked by his meeting with some Bahai followers in 1922,
Onisaburo developed an interest in the new language of
Esperanto. Esperanto was founded in 1887 by Dr. Ludoviko
Zamenhof as a universal language intended to transcend
any one nationality or culture.
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Onisaburo initiated Esperanto courses at Oomoto in 1923
and wrote a series of 31-syllable poems using a pun in
Japanese for each of the 3600 original official Esperanto
words, to help in learning the vocabulary.
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From 1925 until the Second Oomoto Incident in December 1935,
the European Oomoto Center in Paris disseminated information
about Oomoto through Esperanto.
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During the Cold War, Oomoto used Esperanto as one of the
few means of free communication with thinkers and religious
people living behind the Iron Curtain.
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In recent years, Oomoto has participated in each annual
World Esperanto Congress, presenting an Oomoto program
concerning traditional arts and joint worship. Oomoto
also uses Esperanto for interaction with people in other
East Asian countries, sending delegations abroad and
welcoming many guests.
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In order to support its many Esperanto activities,
Oomoto has a full time staff of Esperantists
working at the Headquarters. Oomoto´s Esperanto
journals are edited by Joel Brozovsky, who has
been with the International Department since 1988.
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With over 70 years of history in the movemente
to establish a universal language, Oomoto´s
commitment to Esperanto is a cornerstone of its
international activity.
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