Kilo Lingo
Esperanto grammar Part of Chapter 29

CEFR B2

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Test yourself (15 questions)

Oomoto and the Bahá'ís: Two Faiths That Took Up Esperanto

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

Two faiths took up without being asked. Oomoto, a Japanese religion, made it part of its mission in 1923 and still teaches it. The Bahá'ís call for a world language and encourage Esperanto, but have never chosen it. Between them stands Lidia Zamenhof, the author's daughter. The religions page has the Christian story.

FaithTook it upHow far
OomotoJune 1923part of the on; still taught
Bahá'íencourageduseful now; not chosen as the world language

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Which faith is it?

  1. Founded in Japan in 1892 by a poor peasant woman.

  2. Its scripture calls for a world language but names none.

  3. Its motto is Unu Dio, Unu Mondo, Unu Interlingvo.

Oomoto takes up Esperanto, 1923

Oomoto was founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao, a poor peasant woman in Ayabe, in Kyoto Prefecture. Her son-in-law Onisaburo Deguchi built it into a movement with a universal mission. On 28 June 1923 it founded an Esperanto study society, renamed the Esperanto- that October; its successor still runs in Kameoka.

  1. 1892Oomoto founded in Ayabe

  2. 1923Esperanto study society founded, 28 June

  3. 1935the Second Oomoto Incident; the Esperanto work stops

  4. 1946Oomoto refounded

  5. 1963the motto monument raised

Its motto stands on a raised in 1963 at Kameoka:

  • , , . - One God, one world, one international language.

Oomoto's own pages give Onisaburo's short poems of 1923 in Esperanto. One:

/ influpovo / vortanim' / / misiad'.

Esperanto, precisely, with the strong influence of the word-spirit, becomes a great help to the noble mission.

  • Onisaburo Deguchi, 1923, in Oomoto's Esperanto version

The key word is vortanimo: plus , word-soul, which seems to render the Japanese idea of a spirit living in words. A prose note dated 1 July 1923 says: , so I sincerely wish that everyone would study this language well.

In December 1935 the state moved against Oomoto. Its own history records the result in four words: is Oomoto, the Esperanto movement of Oomoto was interrupted. It came back after the war.

Esperant', vortanim': the poet's apostrophe

clippedWhat do the colours mean?

The poems clip words to fit the . Rule 16 of the lets you drop a noun's final -o, and the final letter of , marking the gap with an apostrophe:

Full formIn the poemMeaning
vortanimovortanim'the word-spirit
omisiad'the on work
the

The stress stays where it was: is still stressed on the . The rule allows it anywhere, but it lives mainly in and song; in everyday prose it sounds poetic. Poetic Esperanto has the full rule.

The Bahá'ís: encouraged, not chosen

The scripture calls for a world language and names none. Bahá'u'lláh asks the nations to consult and choose one language from among the existing ones, or create a new one, to be taught in every school. That is a procedure, not a product.

'Abdu'l-Bahá encouraged warmly. In on 12 February 1913 he told the Esperanto society that it has all the potential qualities of becoming the international means of communication.

Then the line was drawn in writing. A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi in 1937 says that while 'Abdu'l-Bahá repeatedly encouraged the language, there is "no reference either from Him or from Bahá'u'lláh" that it will necessarily become the international language. Bahá'ís should study it for communicating with each other meanwhile.

EncouragedChosen
  1. encouraged’Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913
  2. useful nowthe 1937 letter
  3. chosennever: the choice is still open

The Bahaa - was approved on 19 March 1973, after nine Bahá'í Esperantists met at the 1972 World Congress in Portland, Oregon.

Lidia Zamenhof

Lidia was the youngest child of L. L. Zamenhof, born in Warsaw in 1904. She became a Bahá'í, worked as an Esperanto teacher and translated Bahá'í books into the language, among them Bahá'u'lláh's Book of Certitude, o.

YearWhat happened
1937goes to the United States to teach
1938immigration problems send her back to Poland
1942murdered at Treblinka; the exact date is not known
  • Lidia . - Lidia translated many books into Esperanto.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
the object takes -n
plural and object: -jn

What to do next

  1. Read the poem aloud, with every clipped word stressed where its full form is.
  2. Build vortanimo and from their pieces.
  3. Go back to the religions page for the Catholics and Protestants.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/3

Build the word from its pieces.

  1. the word-spirit (word + soul)

    Accents optional - cx, gx, ux work for ĉ, ĝ, ŭ

    Your word is empty.

  2. love of humanity (person + love)

    Accents optional - cx, gx, ux work for ĉ, ĝ, ŭ

    Your word is empty.

  3. a missionary

    Accents optional - cx, gx, ux work for ĉ, ĝ, ŭ

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/6

Full form or the poet's clipped form?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/4

Which faith is it?

  1. Founded in Japan in 1892 by a poor peasant woman.

  2. Its scripture calls for a world language but names none.

  3. Its motto is Unu Dio, Unu Mondo, Unu Interlingvo.

  4. Lidia Zamenhof joined it.

Spot the mistake

0/2

Tap the word that is wrong.

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Frequently asked questions

Why did a Japanese religion adopt Esperanto?
Oomoto, founded in 1892, is universalist, and its co-founder Onisaburo Deguchi saw in Esperanto a language for a mission to the whole world. An Esperanto study society was founded on 28 June 1923, renamed the Esperanto- that October. Its motto, in Esperanto, is , , : one God, one world, one international language.
What did Onisaburo Deguchi say about Esperanto?
Oomoto publishes his short poems of 1923 in Esperanto versions. One says that Esperanto, with the strong influence of the vortanimo, the word-spirit, becomes a great help to the noble mission. A prose note dated 1 July 1923 says do : so I sincerely wish that everyone would study this language well.
Why do the poems write and vortanim'?
Poetry may drop the final -o of a noun and mark it with an apostrophe, to save a syllable for the : for Esperanto, vortanim' for vortanimo. The article can likewise become . This is Rule 16 of the . It is allowed anywhere, but you meet it mostly in and song.
Do Bahá'ís have to learn Esperanto?
No. Bahá'u'lláh's writings call for a world language to be chosen or created, without naming one. 'Abdu'l-Bahá encouraged Esperanto warmly, but a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi in 1937 says there is no reference from either of them that Esperanto will necessarily become the international language. Bahá'ís are encouraged to use it for communication in the meantime.
Who was Lidia Zamenhof?
The youngest child of L. L. Zamenhof, born in Warsaw in 1904. She became a Bahá'í, taught Esperanto and translated Bahá'í books into it. She went to the United States at the end of 1937, had to return to Poland in 1938 because of immigration problems, and was murdered at Treblinka in 1942.