The area of Tenri is part of ancient
Yamato Province. Tenri was briefly the
capital of Japan during the reign of
Emperor Ninken. The life of the Imperial court was centered at
Isonokami Hirotaka Palace where the emperor lived in 488–498. The village of Yamanobe was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on September 26, 1893 and renamed Tambaichi (丹波市町). On April 1, 1954, Tambaichi merged with the villages of Asawa, Fukuzumi, and Nikaido and the towns of Ichinomoto and Yanagimoto to form the city of Tenri.
Relations with Tenrikyo About a quarter of the city's residents are believed to be affiliated with the
Tenrikyo religion, and the remaining residents are thought to include several thousand students belonging to Tenrikyo-affiliated educational institutions. Since almost half of the city area is occupied by non-taxable religious facilities related to Tenrikyo, the city has faced a problem of reduced revenue from property taxes, etc. To compensate for this, the religious organization has been making large donations to Tenri City since 1967. The amount of the donation is close to the total local tax revenue of Tenri City. The amount of the donation is decided in consultation between Tenri City and the religious organization when the annual budget is compiled, depending on the content of the city planning projects for that year. In addition, donations tend to increase sharply in years close to the Tenrikyo Founder's Festival, which is held every 10 years. Thus, Tenri City cannot survive as a municipality without a relationship with the religious organization. While the city emphasizes its development as a city integrated with the sect, the
Tenrikyo Church Headquarters has a policy of not fielding candidates in mayoral and city council elections. ==Government==