In 1880, Nakayama's eldest son, Shuji traveled to the Jifuku Temple at the foot of Mount Kongō, a Buddhist temple belonging to the Shingon sect. The Jifuku Temple agreed to Shuji's request to establish a church, and on September 22, 1880, the Tenrin-O-Kosha church was formally inaugurated with a Buddhist fire rite and sermons by Buddhist priests.