Yōki-gurashi, the Joyous Life, is the purpose for which God the Parent created humanity in Tenrikyo's account — God wished to see people living joyously and share in that joy. It is a striking premise for a religion founded by a woman in nineteenth-century rural Japan who gave away her family's property to the poor and was ridiculed for it, and the community treats mutual help (hinokishin) as the practical form joy takes.