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In the Tenrikyo religion, the Service (otsutome おつとめ)　is the most important prayer ritual, along with the Sazuke. The Service comes in fundamental forms (i.e. the Kagura Service and Teodori) and several variant forms (such as the Morning and Evening Service).

Kagura Service
The most important Service is the Kagura Service (Kagura zutome). This service is the masked dance that is performed around the Kanrodai where Church Headquarters – located in Tenri City, Japan – is situated.

In developing the structure and meaning of the Kagura Service one Tenrikyo scholar illustrates that there are at least three meanings made explicit through the performance of this service.

Performance
The Kagura Service is performed by ten people, five males and five females, who surround the Kanrodai. Each person represents an different model or instrument that participated in the creation, wearing a unique kagura mask and dancing to unique hand movements (see diagram).

The performers of the Kagura Service are chosen from the inner circle of the administrative staff at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. The ten performers and the musical instrument players switch roles on a monthly basis. However, the roles of the Shinbashira and his wife remain the same throughout all performances and that is to represent Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto and Omotari-no-Mikoto respectively.

The song text for the Kagura Service is exactly the same as that of the Seated Service (the first, second, and third sections of the Mikagura-uta); the only difference between them is the number of repetitions of the third section. The first section is repeated twenty-one times, the second section is performed only once, and the third section is performed seven times in sets of three, amounting to a total of twenty-one times.

Kagura masks
The kagura masks were first produced around or before 1874 by Nakayama's brother, Kyosuke Maegawa, but the masks he made have since been lost. However, it is assumed that the later masks preserve the essential features of the original masks since the Osashizu instructed followers to model new masks after the original ones. The masks currently in use are made of wood, but earlier ones seem to have been made of papier-mâché.

Seated Service
The Seated Service takes the place of the Kagura Service at places of worship besides Church Headquarters. The Seated Service and Kagura Service use the same text (first, second, and third sections of the Mikagura-uta) and the same instrumentation.

However, unlike the Kagura Service, the Seated Service is performed by six people, three men and three women, sitting in a line facing the shrine and performing the same hand movements as one another. In the Seated Service, the third section of the Mikagura-uta is performed three times in sets of three, which is different from the Kagura Service, where the same section is performed seven times in sets of three.

The Seated Service embodies "the truth of six fundamental aspects of divine providence," which can be understood to mean the "six fundamental aspects of God's providence during creation" or "six fundamental aspects of God's providence in the human body."

Teodori
The Teodori refers to the part of the Service that is sung, danced, and played to the text of the Eight Verses of the Yorozuyo and the Twelve Songs, or the fourth and fifth sections of the Mikagura-uta.

A performance of the Teodori requires six dancers, three males on the left and three females on the right, who form a single line facing the shrine. The six Teodori dancers perform exactly the same hand and foot movements in unison, expressing the meaning of the songs through the dance. The choreography of the Teodori is called Otefuri. The Teodori also requires the full set of musical accompaniment: six men's instruments (hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, kotsuzumi, and fue), three women's instruments (koto, shamisen, kokyū), and one or two singers (jikata).

Monthly Service
The original Japanese term for "Monthly Service" is tsukinamisai, which translates to "a regular or recurring monthly festival." During the Monthly Service, which is the central liturgy of a Tenrikyo church, the entire text of the Mikagura-uta ("The Songs for the Service") is sung to specific choreography and instrumental accompaniment.

The monthly Service performed at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters is different from Monthly Services performed at other churches due to the cosmological significance of the spot around which the Headquarters was constructed. The monthly service at Headquarters begins with the Kagura Service followed by the Teodori, and is always performed on the twenty-sixth of each month.

A monthly service at other churches begins with the Seated Service followed by the Teodori, and can be performed at any fixed day of the month determined by each church (e.g. third Sunday, every month on the 8th).

From late 1888 through the following year, a number of churches were established in various districts, and some of them requested permission to perform the Service when their sanctuaries were completed. In response, the Divine Directions made it clear that the Kagura Service could not be performed anywhere other than at the Jiba for the Kanrodai. The kagura masks were not to be worn--or even merely placed in front of the performers--at local churches, though the use of all the other implements including the musical instruments was allowed. Local churches' monthly services, performed on the days sanctioned by Church Headquarters, include the seated service--which is performed by six people seated on the raised floor performing the same hand movements as those used in the morning and evening services--followed by the Teodori.

Out of the twelve monthly services of the year, two of them carry particular significance and are referred to as "grand services" (taisai, "grand festival"). The spring grand service held in January commemorates the withdrawal of the physical life of the foundress (January 26), and the autumn grand service held in October commemorates the founding of Tenrikyo (October 26). However both services are performed in the same manner as the other monthly services.

The performance of a Monthly Service requires a minimum of six dancers (three men and three women), six men's instruments (hyoshigi, chanpon, surigane, taiko, kotsuzumi, and fue), three women's instruments (koto, shamisen, kokyū), and one or two singers (jikata).

Variations
The New Year's Service (gantansai), held on the first day of the year, is performed exactly in the same manner as a monthly service.

The Memorial Service (mitamasai), dedicated to ancestors and predecessors of the Tenrikyo faith, is performed at Church Headquarters twice every year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. Memorial Services have also been held to commemorate the passing of Shinbashiras. These services consist of a monthly service like gathering with the performance of the Teodori but not the Kagura Service.

On the 26th of each month, a Service called Yohaishiki is held at churches and missions away from Church Headquarters to coincide with the Monthly Service at Church Headquarters. This service consists of a performance of the Seated Service, dancing of the "Eight Verses of the Yorozuyo," and a reading of Tenrikyo's creation story.

Morning and Evening Services
The Morning and Evening Services are performed every day at all Tenrikyo places of worship: Church Headquarters, regional churches, mission stations, and fellowships. The times of the morning and evening services at Church Headquarters are based on sunrise and sunset, as are those at other places of worship. During the Morning and Evening Services, the same hand movements and the same sections of the Mikagura-uta are performed the same numbers of times as in the Seated Service. However, the Morning and Evening Services use a reduced set of instruments – surigane, chanpon, hyoshigi, counter (kazutori), and taiko – which are placed next to one another in a line in order of mention from left to right as one faces the altars. Many followers perform their Morning and Evening Services at their homes, often using only their wooden clappers or no musical instrument at all.

Immediately after the Morning Service, two songs from the Teodori are usually danced. Afterwards, a selection from the Ofudesaki is read aloud by the members of the congregation.

Variations
Another type of service is the onegai zutome, a prayer service or a petition service. This is a type of service that asks distinctively for God’s intervention for a specific purpose. The most common form of a prayer service is when a community makes an appeal or petition to God to save a person from a particular illness. Other forms of a prayer service is that of asking God that a particular church activity, such as a spiritual retreat, a pilgrimage trip, or even a church association event that involves recreation, goes well. The prayer service is performed together with two instruments on the upper dais – the wooden clappers and the counter – with the other members of the congregation praying from the worship hall.

Service instruments
Tenrikyo utilises traditional musical instruments in its otsutome (lit. service or duty), Hyoshigi (wooden clappers), Chanpon (cymbals), Surigane (small gong), Taiko (large drum), Tsuzumi (shoulder drum), Fue (bamboo flute), Shamisen, Kokyū, and Koto. These are used to play music from the Mikagura-uta, a body of music, dances and songs created by Nakayama.

The Hyoshigi, Chanpon, Surigane, Taiko, and Fue were traditionally the men's instruments but are now acceptable for women to play. The Shamisen, Kokyu, and Koto were traditionally women's instruments and, although not very popular, are now acceptable for men to play as well.

Most of the world's foremost authorities on Gagaku music (the ancient classical Shinto music of the imperial court of Japan) are also Tenrikyo followers, and Gagaku music is actively promoted by Tenrikyo, although, strictly speaking, the Mikagura-Uta and Gagaku are separate musical forms.

Eleven different Services
In addition to the Services already mentioned, Nakayama taught eleven different Services (juichi-tori no tsutome 十一通りのつとめ) to her followers for specific purposes. Each Service has an unique set of words and hand movements performed in place of Section One from the Songs for the Kagura. Shozen Nakayama, the second Shinbashira (spiritual and administrative leader of Tenrikyo), has suggested three categories for these Services:


 * Services associated with the human body: Service for Safe Childbirth, Service against Smallpox, Service for Conception of a Child, Service to Cure Cripples
 * Services associated with crops: Service of Fertilizer, Service for Germination, Service against Insect Pests, Service for Rain, Service for Cessation of Rain, Service for Harvest
 * Service to settle circumstances: Service against Rebellion

Only the Service for Safe Childbirth and Service for Germination are still performed today. The only other Services that have supporting evidence indicating they were ever conducted at all are the Service against Smallpox, the Service for Fertilizer, and the Service for Rain.

Miki Nakayama
The earliest account of the Service occurs in the year 1863, when follower Chusaku Tsuji prayed for the recovery of his sister's insanity. Nakayama taught Tsuji and other followers at the time to chant the divine name, "Namu, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto! Namu, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto!" while beating the hyoshigi (wooden clappers). The length of the service was determined by burning an entire incense stick.

The Place for the Service, which might be regarded as a sanctuary, was not built until 1864, some twenty-six years after Tenrikyo's founding in 1838.

In the autumn of 1866, Nakayama taught the first section of the Mikagura-uta, along with the melody and hand movements. This section was originally worded,
 * あしきはらいたすけたまい / てんりわうのみこと Ashiki harai, tasuke tamae, / Tenri-O-no-Mikoto.
 * Sweep away evils and save us, / Tenri-O-no-Mikoto.

In January of 1867, Nakayama composed Songs One, Two, and Three of the Mikagura-uta. By August, she wrote the rest of the Twelve Songs (十二下り目), completing the fifth section of the Mikagura-uta. Over the next three years, She devoted her time to adapting melodies and dance movements to these songs as well as teaching them to her followers. An account of how Nakayama began to instruct the followers in the melody and dance of the Service goes:

"'When the sacred songs of twelve chapters were completed, Oyasama told her attendants: 'These are the songs for the Service. Try singing them to the best tune you can find.' Each of them sang to his own tune. After listening to it, Oyasama said, 'Thank you for your singing, but none of them will do. You should sing them this way.' She sang loudly Herself. Then She told her attendants: 'These are the songs of truth. So you must dance to the truth. Try dancing the best way you can.' Each of them arranged the dance and showed it to Oyasama. Afterward, She said: 'Thank you for your dancing, but no one danced to the truth. You should dance in this way. You should not just dance. You should dance the truth.' So saying, She stood up and performed the dance movements Herself in order to teach the attendants. In this way, Oyasama Herself taught the singing and the dancing after having all the attendants try on their own' (Anecdotes of Oyasama, #18)"

In 1869, Nakayama started the Ofudesaki (one of Tenrikyo's three scriptures), which explained the significance of the Service as the basis for salvation.

In 1870 she taught her followers the second section of the Mikagura-uta, which begins,
 * ちよとはなしかみのいふこときいてくれ Choto hanashi Kami no yu koto kiite kure...
 * Just a word: Listen to what God says...

In the same year, Nakayama composed the fourth section of the Mikagura-uta, the Eight Verses of the Yorozuyo, and taught it to her followers. Then in 1874, the kagura masks, completed some time previously, were collected by Nakayama.

Several events transpired in 1875. In that year, Nakayama identified the Jiba, the precise spot where, according to the Tenrikyo's creation story, humankind was conceived 900,099,999 years before the founding of the teaching on October 26, 1838. Nakayama taught the third section of the Mikagura-uta, completing the entire set of songs for the Service as initially composed. This section was initially worded,
 * あしきはらいたすけたまい / いちれつすますかんろふだい Ashiki harai, tasuke tamae, / Ichiretsu sumasu Kanrodai.
 * Sweep away evils and save us, / The Kanrodai which purifies all humankind equally.

Also in the same year she taught the hand movements for eleven different services to address specific issues.

In 1877, she began to teach the stringed instruments for the service. She also urged her followers to perform the service. It was on the lunar calendar date of 26 August 1880 that the service was performed for the first time with the full set of instruments, it might be said that this marked the provisional completion of the followers' implementation of what oyasama had taught about the service.

In 1881, the bottom two layers of the stone Kanrodai, which was to serve as the center for the Service, were completed. The following year, however, those layers were confiscated by the police. In the wake of this incident, Oyasama made alterations in the wording of the first and third sections of the Mikagura-uta, though she made no change to the hand movements:


 * あしきをはらうてたすけたまえ / てんりわうのみこと Ashiki o harote tasuke tamae, / Tenri-O-no-Mikoto.
 * Sweeping away evils, please save us, / Tenri-O-no-Mikoto.


 * あしきをはらうてたすけせきこむ / いちれつすましてかんろだい ''Ashiki o harote, tasuke sekikomu / Ichiretsu sumashite Kanrodai.
 * Sweeping away evils, hasten to save us. / All humankind equally purified, / The Kanrodai.