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Happy Science Founder, Anime Producer Ryuho Okawa Passes Away

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Founder of controversial organization, creator of several anime films was 66

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The Mainichi news outlet reported on Thursday that Ryuho Okawa, the founder of the Happy Science religious organization, passed away on Thursday. He was 66.

Okawa was born in 1956 in Tokushima prefecture, and founded Happy Science in 1986. He served as the controversial organization's CEO until his death. The organization has more than 700 branches and temples and 10,000 missionary houses in more than 166 countries according to its website.

Okawa was also the founder and leader of Japan's conservative Happiness Realization political party, which Happy Science supports. Okawa, under the religious title El Cantare, claims to channel spirits from various religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Okawa also authored dozens of books.

Happy Science has sponsored a number of animated films. These films include: Hermes - Winds of Love (1997), The Laws of the Sun (2000), The Golden Laws (2003), The Laws of Eternity (2006), The Rebirth of Buddha (2009), The Mystical Laws (2012), The Laws of the Universe Part 0 (2015), and The Laws of the Universe: The Age of Elohim (2021, pictured at right). Okawa is credited as the original creator for all of these films, and also served as the chief production supervisor and executive producer on some of them.

Source: The Mainichi


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