Examine individual changes

'{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} [[File:Nichiren statue Japan.jpg|thumb|A bronze garden statue of [[Nichiren|Nichiren Daishonin]] in the Honnoji Temple of [[Nichiren Shu]] in [[Teramachi Street]], [[Kyoto, Japan]]]] [[Image:Sugawara Mitsushige Lotus Sutra, 01.jpg|thumb|An illustrated image of the [[Lotus Sūtra]], which is highly revered in Nichiren Buddhism. From the [[Kamakura period]], circa 1257. Ink, color, and gold leaf on paper.]] {{JapaneseBuddhism}} {{MahayanaBuddhism}} '''Nichiren Buddhism''' is a branch of [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhism]] based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese [[Buddhist priest]] [[Nichiren]] (1222–1282) and is one of the "[[Kamakura period|Kamakura Buddhism]]" schools.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|239}}<ref>Richard K. Payne, Re-Visioning Kamakura Buddhism (Studies in East Asian Buddhism) (Studies in East Asian Buddhism, 11), University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0824820787}}, p. 24</ref> Its teachings derive from some 300–400 extant letters and treatises written by Nichiren.<ref name="Iida 1987">{{cite book|last1=Iida|first1=Shotaro|editor1-last=Nicholls|editor1-first=William|title=Modernity and Religion|date=1987|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|isbn=0-88920-154-4|pages=98–105 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=FtbfAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA89.w.13.0.34|chapter=Chapter 5: 700 Years After Nichiren}}</ref><ref name="Arai 1893">{{cite book|last1=Arai|first1=Nissatsu|title=Outlines of the Doctrine of the Nichiren Sect, Submitted to the Parliament of the World's Religions|date=1893|publisher=Central Office of the Nichiren Sect|location=Tokyo, Japan|page=vi|url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=WE0uAAAAYAAJ&rdid=book-WE0uAAAAYAAJ&rdot=1|quote=One who wants to know how high was his virtue, how profound and extensive was his learning, how heroic and grand was his character, and how gigantic and epoch-making was his mission, needs only to read his works.}}</ref><ref>http://www.totetu.org/assets/media/paper/k018_258.pdf</ref> Within Nichiren Buddhism there are two major divisions which fundamentally differ over whether Nichiren should be regarded as a [[Bodhisattvas of the Earth|bodhisattva of the earth]], a saint, great teacher—or the actual Buddha of the [[Three Ages of Buddhism|third age of Buddhism]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=GDFQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA67&dq=%22nichiren+shu%22+saint#v=onepage&q=%22nichiren%20shu%22%20saint&f=false|title=The Goddess and the Dragon: A Study on Identity Strength and Psychosocial Resilience in Japan|last=Hein|first=Patrick|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2014|isbn=9781443868723|location=|pages=67}}</ref><ref name="Ellwood&Csikszentmihalyi 2003">{{cite book|last1=Ellwood|first1=Robert S.|last2=Csikszentmihalyi|first2=Mark A.|editor1-last=Neusner|editor1-first=Jacob|title=World Religions in America: An Introduction|date=2003|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=9780664224752|page=225|url=https://books.google.com/?id=34vGv_HDGG8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=neusner+world+religions+in+america#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false|chapter=Chapter 12: East Asian Religions in Today's America}}</ref><ref name="Cornille 1998">{{cite book|editor1-last=Debeek|editor1-first=A. Van|editor2-last=Van der Toorn|editor2-first=Karel|last=Cornille|first=Catherine|title=Canonization and Decanonization|date=1998|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004112464|page=284|url=https://books.google.com/?id=VLsaTp5xYhMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cornille+nichiren#v=onepage&q=cornille%20&f=false|chapter=Canon formation in new religious movements: The case of the Japanese new religions}}</ref> Several of Japan's [[Shinshūkyō|New Religious Movements]] are Nichiren-inspired lay groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shimazono |first1=Susumu |editor-last=Clarke |editor-first=Peter |title=Encyclopedia of new religious movements |publisher=Routledge |date=2004 |page=151 |chapter=Daimoku (Invocation) |isbn=9781134499700|url=https://books.google.com/?id=DouBAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=clarke+encyclopedia+of+new+religious+movements#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false|quote=Moreover, many Nichiren-inspired new religions (see New Religious Movement) are lay Buddhist movements. The training and practices do not require advanced scholarly knowledge. They offer a type of Buddhism that ordinary people preoccupied with their families and occupations can practice without becoming priests and having to dedicate themselves exclusively to spiritual matters.}}</ref> It is practiced worldwide,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hammond|first1=Phillip|editor1-last=Macacheck and Wilson|title=Global Citizens|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=2000|isbn=0-19-924039-6|page=v|chapter=Foreword}}</ref> with practitioners throughout the United States, Brazil and Europe, as well as in South Korea and southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dobbelaere|first1=Karel|title=Soka Gakkai|date=1998|publisher=Signature Books|isbn=1-56085-153-8|page=17}}</ref> The largest sects are the [[Soka Gakkai]]/([[Soka Gakkai International]]), [[Nichiren Shu]], and [[Nichiren Shoshu]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nichiren: Fast Facts and Introduction|url=http://www.religionfacts.com/nichiren|website=Religion Facts|accessdate=14 December 2017}}</ref> Nichiren Buddhism focuses on the Lotus Sutra doctrine that all people have an innate [[Buddha-nature]] and are therefore inherently capable of attaining [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]] in their current form and present lifetime. Nichiren proposed a classification system that ranks the quality of religions<ref>{{cite book|last1=Petzold|first1=Bruno|editor1-last=Ichimura|editor1-first=Shohei|title=The classification of Buddhism : comprising the classification of Buddhist doctrines in India, China and Japan = Bukkyō-kyōhan|date=1995|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|location=Wiesbaden|isbn=9783447033732|page=627|url=https://books.google.com/?id=iZH29oiIuIkC&pg=PA627&dq=nichiren+five+fold+comparison#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20five%20fold%20comparison&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/809194690 |title= Sins and Sinners : Perspectives from Asian Religions |date=2012 |first= Jacqueline I |last=Stone |chapter= The Sin of "Slandering the True Dharma" in Nichiren's Thought |chapterurl=https://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren's%20Thought%20(2012).pdf |publisher= Brill |others= Granoff, P. E. (Phyllis Emily, 1947–), Shinohara, Koichi (1941–) |isbn= 9789004232006 |location=Leiden |oclc= 809194690}}</ref>{{rp|128}} and various Nichiren schools can be either accommodating or vigorously opposed to any other forms of Buddhism or religious beliefs. There are three essential aspects to Nichiren Buddhism: # The undertaking of faith. # The practice of chanting [[Nam Myoho Renge Kyo]] accompanied by selected recitations of the [[Lotus Sutra]] and teaching others to do the same. # The study of Nichiren’s scriptural writings called “Gosho”.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Jeaneane and Merv|year=2009|title=Chanting in the Hillsides|publisher= Sussex Academic Press|publication-place=Portland, Oregon |page=141}}</ref> The Nichiren [[Gohonzon]] is a calligraphic image which is prominently displayed in the home or temple buildings of its believers. The Gohonzon used in Nichiren Buddhism is composed of the names of key bodhisattvas and Buddhas in the Lotus Sutra as well as Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo written in large characters down the center.<ref name="Ellwood&Csikszentmihalyi 2003"/>{{rp|225}} After his death, Nichiren left to his followers the mandate to widely propagate the Gohonzon and Daimoku in order to secure the peace and prosperity of society.<ref name=Anesaki1916>{{cite book|last1=Anesaki|first1=Masaharu|title=Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet|date=1916|publisher=Harvard University Press|url= https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Ub0KAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA3}}</ref>{{rp|99}} Traditional Nichiren Buddhist temple groups are commonly associated with [[Nichiren Shoshu]] and varying [[Nichiren Shu]] schools. There are also modern 21st century lay groups not affiliated with temples such as [[Soka Gakkai]], [[Kenshokai]], [[Shoshinkai]], [[Risshō Kōsei Kai]], and [[Honmon Butsuryū-shū]]. ==Basic teachings== The basic practice of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting the invocation [[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō|Nam-myoho-renge-kyo]] to a mandala inscribed by Nichiren, called [[Gohonzon]].<ref>SGDB 2002, [http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=1321 Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law]</ref><ref>Kenkyusha 1991</ref> Embracing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo entails both chanting and having the mind of faith (''shinjin'').<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|270}} Both the invocation and the Gohonzon, as taught by Nichiren, embody the title and essence of the Lotus Sutra,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nichiren|editor1-last=Yampolsky|editor1-first=Philip B|title=Selected writings of Nichiren|date=1990|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780231072601|page=148|url=https://books.google.com/?id=JAS4Rn0RcEMC&pg=PA148&dq=gohonzon#v=onepage&q=gohonzon&f=false|quote=Nam-myoho-renge-kyo appears in the center of the Treasure Tower with the Buddhas Shakyamuni and Taho seated to the right and left and the four Bodhisattvas of the Earth, led by Jogyo, flank them.}}</ref> which he taught as the only valid scripture for The Latter Day of the Law,<ref>{{cite book|last=Metraux |first=Daniel |chapter=The Soka Gakkai: Buddhism and the Creation of a Harmonious and Peaceful Society |editor1-last=King|editor1-first=Sallie|editor2-last=Queen|editor2-first=Christopher|title=Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements In Asia|date=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany, NY|isbn=0-7914-2844-3|pages=366–367}}</ref> as well as the life state of Buddhahood inherent in all life.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Metraux|title=Engaged Buddhism|page=368}}</ref> Nichiren considered that in the [[Three Ages of Buddhism#Latter Day of the Law|Latter Day of the Law]] – a time of human strife and confusion, when Buddhism would be in decline – Buddhism had to be more than the theoretical or meditative practice it had become, but was meant to be practiced "with the body", that is, in one’s actions and the consequent results that are manifested.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|25}} More important than the formality of ritual, he claimed, was the substance of the practitioner's life<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|107}} in which the spiritual and material aspects are interrelated.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Metraux|title=Engaged Buddhism|page=367}}</ref> He considered conditions in the world to be a reflection of the conditions of the inner lives of people; the premise of his first major remonstrance, Rissho Ankoku Ron (Establishing The Correct Teaching for the Peace of The Land), is that if a nation abandons heretical forms of Buddhism and adopts [[faith in Buddhism|faith]] in the Lotus Sutra, the nation will know peace and security. He considered his disciples the "[[Bodhisattvas of the Earth]]" who appeared in the Lotus Sutra with the vow to spread the correct teaching and thereby establish a peaceful and just society.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|22–23}} The specific task to be pursued by Nichiren's disciples was the widespread propagation of his teachings (the invocation and the Gohonzon) in a way that would effect actual change in the world's societies<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|47}} so that the sanctuary, or seat, of Buddhism could be built.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hurst|first1=Jane|title=Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai|date=1998|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkely|isbn=0-520-20460-3|page=86}}</ref> Nichiren saw this sanctuary as a specific seat of his Buddhism, but there is thought that he also meant it in a more general sense, that is, wherever his Buddhism would be practiced.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Montgomery|first1=Daniel|title=Fire In The Lotus|date=1991|publisher=Mand ala (Harper Collins)|location=London|isbn= 1-85274-091-4|page=133|quote="Basically, the Hommon No Kaidan is any place where a believer keeps the sutra."}}</ref><ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|111}} This sanctuary, along with the invocation and Gohonzon, comprise "[[Three Great Secret Laws|the three great secret laws (or dharmas)]]" found in the Lotus Sutra.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hurst|title=The Faces of Buddhism IN America|page=84}}</ref> ==Nichiren== ===Nichiren and his time=== Nichiren Buddhism originated in 13th-century [[feudal]] Japan. It is one of six new forms of ''Shin Bukkyo'' (English: "New Buddhism") of [[Kamakura period#Flourishing of Buddhism|"Kamakura Buddhism."]]<ref name="Payne 1998">{{cite book|last1=Payne|first1=Richard K.|title=Re-visioning "Kamakura" Buddhism|date=1998|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|location=Honolulu|isbn=0824820789|pages=1–2|chapter=Introduction}}</ref> The arrival of these new schools was a response to the social and political upheaval in Japan during this time as power passed from the nobility to a [[Shōgun|shogunate]] military dictatorship led by the [[Minamoto clan]] and later to the [[Hōjō clan]]. A prevailing pessimism existed associated with the perceived arrival of the [[Three Ages of Buddhism#Latter Day of the Law|Age of the Latter Day of the Law]]. The era was marked by an intertwining relationship between Buddhist schools and the state which included clerical corruption.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|1–5}} By Nichiren's time the Lotus Sūtra was firmly established in Japan. From the ninth century, Japanese rulers decreed that the Lotus Sūtra be recited in temples for its "nation-saving" qualities. It was the most frequently read and recited sutra by the literate lay class and its message was disseminated widely through art, folk tales, music, and theater. It was commonly held that it had powers to bestow spiritual and worldly benefits to individuals.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/255015350|title=Readings of the Lotus Sūtra|date=2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|others=Teiser, Stephen F., Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse. |first1=Stephen F. |last1=Teiser |first2=Jacqueline I. |last2=Stone |pages=3–4|chapter=Interpreting the Lotus Sutra|isbn=9780231142892|location=New York|oclc=255015350}}</ref><ref name=Habito1999 /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/255015350|title=Readings of the Lotus Sūtra, Kindle Edition|date=2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|others=Teiser, Stephen F., Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse. |first=Ruben L. F. |last=Habito |chapter=Bodily Reading of the Lotus Sutra |at=4727 (Kindle locations) |isbn=9780231520430|location=New York|oclc=255015350}}</ref> However, even [[Mount Hiei]], the seat of [[Tiantai]] Lotus Sutra devotion, had come to adopt an [[Vajrayana|eclectic]] assortment of esoteric rituals and Pure Land practices as "expedient means" to understand the sutra itself.<ref name=Lopez2016>{{Cite book|title=The Lotus Sūtra : a biograph|first=Donald S.| last=Lopez Jr.|isbn=9781400883349|location=Princeton |date=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTL9CwAAQBAJ&dq=lopez+biography+of+the+lotus+sutra&source=gbs_navlinks_s |oclc=959534116}}</ref>{{rp|79}}<ref name=Stone1999d>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39930710|first=Jacqueline I. |last=Stone |chapter=Priest Nisshin's Ordeals |title=Religions of Japan in practice|date=1999|publisher=Princeton University Press|others=Tanabe, George J., Jr., 1943–|isbn=9780691057897|location=Princeton, NJ|oclc=39930710}}</ref>{{rp|385}} ===Development during Nichiren's life=== {{See also|Nichiren}} Nichiren developed his thinking in this midst of confusing Lotus Sutra practices and a competing array of other "Old Buddhism" and "New Buddhism" schools.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtTc_Aa22MwC&dq=kamakura+buddhism+honen&source=gbs_navlinks_s|title=The Cambridge history of Japan|date=1988–1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|first=Kazuyo |last=Osumi |chapter=Buddhism in the Kamakura period |others=Hall, John Whitney, 1916–1997., 山村, 耕造.|isbn=9780521223546|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=17483588}}</ref>{{rp|544–574}} The biographical development of his thinking is sourced almost entirely from his extant writings as there is no documentation about him in the public records of his times. Modern scholarship on Nichiren's life tries to provide sophisticated textual and sociohistorical analyses to cull longstanding myths about Nichiren that accrued over time from what is actually concretized.<ref name=Stone1999c />{{rp|441–442}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Heine|first=Steven|date=January 2005|title=Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History (review)|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/176412|journal=Philosophy East and West|volume=55/1|pages=125–126|via=Project MUSE}}</ref><ref name=Bowring2005 />{{rp|334}} It is clear that from an early point in his studies Nichiren came to focus on the [[Lotus Sutra]] as the culmination and central message of [[Gautama Buddha|Shakyamuni]]. As his life unfolded he engaged in a "circular [[hermeneutics|hermeneutic]]" in which the interplay of the Lotus Sutra text and his personal experiences verified and enriched each other in his mind.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|198}} As a result, there are significant turning points as his teachings reach full maturity.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|239–299}} Scholar Yoshirō Tamura categorizes the development of Nichiren's thinking into three periods: * An early period extending up to Nichiren's submission of the "''Risshō Ankoku Ron''" ("''Establishment of the Legitimate Teaching for the Protection of the Country''") to [[Hōjō Tokiyori]] in 1260; * A middle period bookmarked by his first exile (to [[Izu Peninsula]], 1261) and his release from his second exile (to [[Sado Island]], 1273); * A final period (1274–1282) in which Nichiren lived in [[Minobu, Yamanashi|Mount Minobu]] directing his movement from afar.<ref name=Stone1999c />{{rp|448–449}} ==== Early stage: From initial studies to 1260 ==== For more than 20 years [[Nichiren]] examined Buddhist texts and commentaries at Mount Hiei's [[Enryaku-ji]] temple and other major centers of Buddhist study in Japan. In later writings he claimed he was motivated by four primary questions: (1) What were the essentials of the competing Buddhist sects so they could be ranked according to their merits and flaws?<ref name=Stone1999c />{{rp|451}} (2) Which of the many Buddhist scriptures that had reached Japan represented the essence of Shakyamuni's teaching?<ref name=Habito2009>{{Cite book |title=Readings of the Lotus Sūtra|date=2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|first=Ruben L. F.|last=Habito |others=Teiser, Stephen F., Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse.|url=https://books.google.com/?id=wVaFa_8Dj-AC&pg=PT204&dq=nichiren+%22twenty+years%22#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20%22twenty%20years%22&f=false |isbn=9780231520430|location=New York|oclc=255015350}}</ref>{{rp|190}} (3) How could he be assured of the certainty of his own enlightenment? (4) Why was the Imperial house defeated by the Kamakura regime in 1221 despite the prayers and rituals of Tendai and Shingon priests?<ref name=Kitagawa2010>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=lani3dFCC9UC&pg=PA105&dq=Mount+Hiei+monasteries+politically+powerful+kamakura#v=onepage&q=Hiei&f=false|title=Religion in Japanese History|last=Kitagawa|first=Joseph M.|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780231515092}}</ref>{{rp|119}} He eventually concluded that the highest teachings of [[Gautama Buddha|Shakyamuni Buddha]] ({{circa|563}} – {{circa|483 BC}}) were to be found in the [[Lotus Sutra]]. Throughout his career Nichiren carried his personal copy of the Lotus Sutra which he continually annotated.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|193}} The [[mantra]] he expounded on 28 April 1253, known as the ''Daimoku'' or ''Odaimoku'', [[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō]], expresses his devotion to the Lotus Sutra.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|34}}<ref name=Stone1999c />{{rp|451}} From this early stage of his career, Nichiren started to engage in fierce polemics criticizing the teachings of Buddhism taught by the other sects of his day, a practice that continued and expanded throughout his life. Although Nichiren accepted the [[Tendai]] theoretical constructs of "original enlightenment" (''hongaku shisō'') and "attaining Buddhahood in one's present form" (''sokushin jobutsu'') he drew a distinction, insisting both concepts should be seen as practical and realizable amidst the concrete realities of daily life. He took issue with other Buddhist schools of his time that stressed [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendence]] over [[immanence]]. Nichiren's emphasis on "self-power" (Jpn. ''ji-riki'') led him to harshly criticize Honen and his [[Pure Land Buddhism]] school because of its exclusive reliance on Amida Buddha for salvation which resulted in "other-dependence." (Jpn. ''ta-riki'')<ref name=See2014>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/893739540 |last=See |first=Tony |chapter=Deleuze and Mahayana Buddhism: Immanence and Original Enlightenment Thought |title=Deleuze and Asia.|editor-last=Hanping.|editor-first=Chiu,|date=2014|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|others=Lee, Yu-lin., Bogue, Ronald.|isbn=9781443868884|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|oclc=893739540}}</ref>{{rp|39}}<ref name=Stone2013>{{Cite book|last=Stone|first=Jacqueline|date=2013|title=Nenbutsu Leads to the Avici Hell: Nichiren's Critique of the Pure Land Teachings|url=https://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/Nenbutsu%20Leads%20to%20the%20Avici%20Hell--Nichiren%27s%20Critique%20of%20the%20Pure%20Land%20Teachings%20%20(2013).pdf|journal=Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Lotus Sutra |publisher=Rissho University|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref> In addition to his critique of Pure Land Buddhism, he later expanded his polemics to criticisms of the [[Zen]], [[Shingon]], and [[Risshū (Buddhism)|Ritsu]] sects. These four critiques were later collectively referred to as his "four dictums."<ref>cf. "four dictums" (四箇の格言 ''shika no kakugen'') entries in ''The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism'', p. 215, and ''Kyōgaku Yōgo Kaisetsu Shū'', p. 54</ref> Later in his writings, Nichiren referred to his early exegeses of the Pure Land teachings as just the starting point for his polemics against the [[Japanese esoteric Buddhism|esoteric teachings]], which he had deemed as a far more significant matter of concern.<ref name=Stone2013 />{{rp|127}} Adding to his criticisms of esoteric [[Shingon]], Nichiren wrote detailed condemnations about the [[Tendai]] school which had abandoned its Lotus Sutra-exclusiveness and incorporated esoteric doctrines and rituals as well as faith in the [[Soteriology|soteriological]] power of [[Amitābha|Amida Buddha]].<ref name=Yampolsky1990>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/21035153|title=Selected writings of Nichiren |date=1990|chapter=Introduction|publisher=Columbia University Press|others=Yampolsky, Philip B. (Philip Boas), 1920–1996. Rogers D. Spotswood Collection.|isbn=0231072600|location=New York|oclc=21035153}}</ref>{{rp|3–4}} The target of his tactics expanded during the early part of his career. Between 1253 and 1259 he proselytized and converted individuals, mainly attracting mid- to lower-ranking samurai and local landholders<ref name=Stone1999c />{{rp|445}} and debated resident priests in Pure Land temples. In 1260, however, he attempted to directly reform society as a whole by submitting a treatise entitled "''Risshō Ankoku Ron''" ("''Establishment of the Legitimate Teaching for the Protection of the Country''") to [[Hōjō Tokiyori]], the ''[[de facto]]'' leader of the nation. In it he cites passages from the [[Humane King Sutra|Ninnō]], [[Bhaisajyaguru|Yakushi]], [[Mahasamnipata Sutra|Daijuku]], and [[Golden Light Sutra|Konkōmyō]] sutras. Drawing on Tendai thinking about the nonduality of person and land, Nichiren argued that the truth and efficacy of the people's religious practice will be expressed in the outer conditions of their land and society. He thereby associated the natural disasters of his age with the nation's attachment to inferior teachings, predicted foreign invasion and internal rebellion, and called for the return to legitimate dharma to protect the country.<ref name=Yampolsky1990 />{{rp|6–7,12}}<ref name=Habito1999 /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/255015350|title=Readings of the Lotus Sūtra, Kindle Edition|date=2009|publisher=Columbia University Press|others=Teiser, Stephen F., Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse. |first=Ruben L. F. |last=Habito |chapter=Bodily Reading of the Lotus Sutra |at=5585–5590 (Kindle locations) |isbn=9780231520430|location=New York|oclc=255015350}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A Forum for Peace: Daisaku Ikeda's Proposals to the UN|editor-last=Urbain|editor-first=Olivier|publisher=I. B. Taurus|year=2014|isbn=9781780768397|location=New York|pages=479–486}}</ref> Although the role of Buddhism in "nation-protection" (''chingo kokka'') was well-established in Japan at this time, in this thesis Nichiren explicitly held the leadership of the country directly responsible for the safety of the land.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|250–251}} ==== Middle stage: 1261–1273 ==== During the middle stage of his career, in refuting other religious schools publicly and vociferously, Nichiren provoked the ire of the country's rulers and of the priests of the sects he criticized. As a result, he was subjected to persecution which included two assassination attempts, an attempted beheading and two exiles.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/865579062|title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism|last=Swanson|first=Paul|publisher=|others=Keown, Damien, 1951–, Prebish, Charles S.|year=|isbn=9781136985881|location=London|pages=548|oclc=865579062}}</ref> His first exile, to [[Izu Peninsula]] (1261–1263), convinced Nichiren that he was "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra (''Jpn. Hokke shikidoku'')," fulfilling the predictions on the [[Lotus Sutra#Outline|13th chapter]] (''Fortitude'') that votaries would be persecuted by ignorant lay people, influential priests, and their friends in high places.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|252}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/809194690|title=Sins and sinners : perspectives from Asian religions|date=2012|first=Jacqueline I |last=Stone |chapter=The sin of slandering the true Dharma in Nichiren's thought |pages=128–130 |chapterurl=http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren's%20Thought%20(2012).pdf |publisher=Brill|others=Granoff, P. E. (Phyllis Emily), 1947–, Shinohara, Koichi, 1941–|isbn=9789004232006|location=Leiden|oclc=809194690}}</ref> Nichiren began to argue that through "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra," rather than just studying its text for literal meaning, a country and its people could be protected.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|190–192}} According to Habito, Nichiren argued that bodily reading the Lotus Sutra entails four aspects: :<li> The awareness of Śākyamuni Buddha’s living presence. "Bodily reading the Lotus Sutra" is equivalent to entering the very presence of the Buddha in an immediate, experiential, and face-to-face way, he claimed. Here Nichiren is referring to the primordial buddha revealed in Chapter 16 ("Life Span of the Thus Come One") who eternally appears and engages in human events in order to save living beings from their state of unhappiness.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|191–192,201}}</li> :<li>One contains all. Nichiren further developed the [[Zhiyi|Tiantai]] doctrine of [[Ten realms#three thousand realms in a single moment|"three thousand realms in a single thought-moment"]]. Every thought, word, or deed contains within itself the whole of the three thousand realms; reading even one word of the sūtra therefore includes the teachings and merits of all buddhas. Chanting [[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō]], according to Nichiren, is the concrete means by which the principle of the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment is activated and assures the attainment of enlightenment as well as receiving various kinds of worldly benefit.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|190,192,201}}</li> :<li>The here and now. Nichiren held that the bodily reading of the sūtra must be applicable to time, place, and contemporary events. Nichiren was acutely aware of the social and political turmoil of his country and spiritual confusion of people in the [[Three Ages of Buddhism#Latter Day of the Law|Latter Day of the Law]].<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|193,201}} :<li>Utmost seriousness. True practitioners must go beyond mental or verbal practices and actively speak up against and oppose prevailing thoughts and philosophies that denigrate the message of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren set the example and was willing to lay down his life for its propagation and realization.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|201}}</li> His three-year exile to [[Sado, Niigata|Sado Island]] proved to be another key turning point in Nichiren's thinking.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Writings of Nichiren Shōnin|page=345 |first=Nichiren |last=Shonin |date=2002|publisher=Nichiren Shū Overseas Propagation Promotion Association|others=Tanabe, George Joji |isbn=9780824825515|location=Tokyo, Japan|url= |oclc=54472063}}</ref> Here he began inscribing the [[Gohonzon]] and wrote several major theses in which he claimed that he was functioning, at first, in the role of [[Sadāparibhūta|Bodhisattva Never Disparaging]] of the 20th chapter of the Lotus Sutra and, later, as [[Visistacaritra|Bodhisattva Superior Practices]], the leader of the [[Bodhisattvas of the Earth]]. In his work ''The True Object of Worship'', he identified himself as functioning as the primordial Buddha, one and the same as the eternal Law represented by the mantra [[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō|Nam-myoho-renge-kyo]] which he physically embodied as the [[Gohonzon]] mandala. This has been described as embodying the same condition or state he attained in a physical object of devotion worship so that others could attain that equivalent condition of enlightenment.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chanting in the hillsides : the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin in Wales and the Borders|first=Jeaneane|last=Fowler|date=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXwV-pGobWcC&pg=PA28&dq=nichiren+izu+peninsula&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwtIWNvPrYAhUIrFMKHXySD-sQ6AEIPTAE#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20izu%20peninsula&f=false |publisher=Sussex Academic Press|others=Fowler, Merv |isbn=9781845192587|location=Brighton [England]|oclc=235028985}}</ref>{{rp|28–30}}<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|39–42,61–68}}<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|258–259}} During this time the ''daimoku'' becomes the means to directly access the Buddha's enlightenment.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|260}} He concludes his work ''The Opening of the Eyes'' with the declaration "I will be the pillar of Japan; I will be they eyes of Japan; I will be the vessel of Japan. Inviolable shall remain these vows!"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy|last1=Carr|first1=Brian|first2=Indira|last2=Mahalingam|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=9781134960583|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwrBgAAQBAJ&dq=nichiren+vow&q=nichiren#v=snippet&q=nichiren&f=false|pages=702}}</ref> His thinking now went beyond theories of karmic retribution or guarantees of the Lotus Sutra as a protective force. Rather, he expressed a resolve to fulfill his mission despite the consequences.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|259}} All of his disciples, he asserted, should emulate his spirit and work just like him in helping all people open their innate Buddha lives even though this means entails encountering enormous challenges.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|75}} ==== Final stage: 1274–1282 ==== Nichiren’s teachings reached their full maturity between the years 1274 and 1282 while he resided in primitive settings at Mount [[Minobu, Yamanashi|Minobu]] located in today's [[Yamanashi Prefecture]]. During this time he devoted himself to training disciples,<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|261}} produced most of the Gohonzon which he sent to followers,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dolce|first=Lucia|date=1999|title=Criticism and Appropriation Nichiren's Attitude toward Esoteric Buddhism|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2689|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=26/3–4|pages=|via=}}</ref>{{rp|377}} and authored works constituting half of his extant writings<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|191}}<ref name=Christensen2001 />{{rp|115}} including six treatises that were categorized by his follower Nikkō as among his ten most important.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/T/58|title=ten major writings – Dictionary of Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism Library|website=www.nichirenlibrary.org}}</ref> In 1278 the “Atsuhara Affair” (“Atsuhara Persecution”) occurred, culminating three years later.<ref name=Stone2014>{{Cite journal|last=Stone|first=Jacqueline I.|date=2014|title=The Atsuhara Affair: The Lotus Sutra, Persecution, and Religious Identity in the Early Nichiren Tradition|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4334|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=41/1|pages=153–189|via=}}</ref>{{rp|153}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/A/109|title=Atsuhara Persecution – Dictionary of Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism Library|website=www.nichirenlibrary.org}}</ref> In the prior stage of his career, between 1261 and 1273, Nichiren endured and overcame numerous trials that were directed at him personally including assassination attempts, an attempted execution, and two exiles, thereby “bodily reading the Lotus Sutra” (''shikidoku'' 色読). In so doing, according to him, he validated the 13th ("Fortitude") chapter of the Lotus Sutra in which a host of bodhisattvas promise to face numerous trials that follow in the wake of upholding and spreading the sutra in the evil age following the death of the Buddha: slander and abuse; attack by swords and staves; enmity from kings, ministers, and respected monks; and repeated banishment.<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|154}} On two occasions, however, the persecution was aimed at his followers. First, in 1271, in conjunction with the arrest and attempted execution of Nichiren and his subsequent exile to Sado, many of his disciples were arrested, banished, or had lands confiscated by the government. At that time, Nichiren stated, most recanted their faith in order to escape the government’s actions. In contrast, during the Atsuhara episode twenty lay peasant-farmer followers were arrested on questionable charges and tortured; three were ultimately executed. This time none recanted their faith.<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|155–156}} Some of his prominent followers in other parts of the country were also being persecuted but maintained their faith as well.<ref name=Christensen2001>{{Cite book|lay-url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43030590|title=Nichiren : leader of Buddhist reformation in Japan|last=Christensen |first=Jack Arden|date=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KsztCdAZo9oC&q=izu#v=onepage&q=hermitage&f=false |publisher=Jain Publishing Co|isbn=9780875730868|location=Fremont, Calif.|oclc=43030590}}</ref>{{rp|117}} Although Nichiren was situated in Minobu, far from the scene of the persecution, the [[Fuji, Shizuoka|Fuji district]] of present-day [[Shizuoka Prefecture]], Nichiren held his community together in the face of significant oppression through a sophisticated display of legal and rhetorical responses. He also drew on a wide array of support from the network of leading monks and lay disciples he had raised, some of whom were also experiencing persecution at the hands of the government.<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|165, 172}} Throughout the events he wrote many letters to his disciples in which he gave context to the unfolding events by asserting that severe trials have deep significance. According to Stone, “By standing firm under interrogation, the Atsuhara peasants had proved their faith in Nichiren’s eyes, graduating in his estimation from ‘ignorant people’ to devotees meriting equally with himself the name of ‘practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.’”<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|166, 168–169}} During this time Nichiren inscribed 114 mandalas that are extant today, 49 of which have been identified as being inscribed for individual lay followers and which may have served to deepen the bond between teacher and disciple. In addition, a few very large mandalas were inscribed, apparently intended for use at gathering places, suggesting the existence of some type of [[conventicle]] structure.<ref name=Stone1999c>{{Cite journal|last=Stone|first=Jacueline I.|date=|title=Biographical Studies on Nichiren|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/Biographical%20Studies%20of%20Nichiren%20(1999).pdf|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=26/3–4|pages=|via=}}</ref>{{rp|446}} The Atsuhara Affair also gave Nichiren the opportunity to better define what was to become Nichiren Buddhism. He stressed that meeting great trials was a part of the practice of the Lotus Sutra; the great persecutions of Atsuhara were not results of karmic retribution but were the historical unfolding of the Buddhist Dharma. The vague “single good of the true vehicle” which he advocated in the ''Risshō ankoku ron'' now took final form as chanting the Lotus Sutra’s ''daimoku'' or title which he described as the heart of the “origin teaching” (''honmon'' 本門) of the Lotus Sutra. This, he now claimed, lay hidden in the depths of the 16th (“The Life Span of the Tathāgata”) chapter, never before being revealed, but intended by the Buddha solely for the beginning of the Final Dharma Age.<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|175–176, 186}} ===Nichiren's writings=== A prolific writer, Nichiren's personal communiques among his followers as well as numerous treatises detail his view of the correct form of practice for the ''Latter Day of the Law'' (''[[Three Ages of Buddhism|mappō]]''); lay out his views on other Buddhist schools, particularly those of influence during his lifetime; and elucidate his interpretations of Buddhist teachings that preceded his. These [[Nichiren#Writings|writings]] are collectively known as ''Gosho'' (御書) or ''Nichiren ibun'' (日蓮遺文).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/G/66|title=Gosho – Dictionary of Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism Library|website=www.nichirenlibrary.org}}</ref><ref name=Mori2003>{{Cite journal|last=Mori|first=Ichiu|date=2003|title=Nichiren's View of Women|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2816|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=30/3–4|pages=280|via=Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture}}</ref> Out of 162 historically identified followers of Nichiren, 47 were women. Many of his writings were to women followers in which he displays strong empathy for their struggles, and continually stressed the Lotus Sutra's teaching that all people, men and women equally, can become enlightened just as they are. His voice is sensitive and kind which differs from the strident picture painted about him by critics.<ref name=Matsunaga1988>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/137242947|title=Foundation of Japanese Buddhism. Vol. II, The mass movement (Kamakura & Muromachi periods)|last=Alicia.|first=Matsunaga,|date=1988|publisher=Buddhist Books International|others=Matsunaga, Daigan.|isbn=0914910280|location=Los Angeles|oclc=137242947}}</ref>{{rp|165}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/974496695|title=Finding peace: an Oriental quest|last=Koushiki,|first=Choudhury,|isbn=9788193315040|location=London|oclc=974496695}}</ref>{{rp|141}}<ref name=Mori2003 />{{rp|280–281}} Which of these writings, including the ''Ongi Kuden'' (orally transmitted teachings), are deemed authentic or [[apocryphal]] is a matter of debate within the various schools of today's Nichiren Buddhism.<ref>Stone, Jacqueline I. (1990).[http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Dissertation/Some%20Disputed%20Writings%20in%20the%20Nichiren%20Corpus%20Textual,%20Herme.pdf Some disputed writings in the Nichiren corpus: Textual, hermeneutical and historical problems], dissertation, Los Angeles: University of California; retrieved 26 July 2013</ref><ref>Sueki Fumehiko: Nichirens Problematic Works, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 26/3-4, 261-280, 1999</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nichirenscoffeehouse.net/gosho.html|title=Listing of Authenticated Gosho (Goibun) of Nichiren DaiShonin|publisher=}}</ref> One of his most important writings the ''Rissho Ankoku Ron'', preserved at Shochuzan [[Hokekyō-ji (Ichikawa)|Hokekyo-ji]], is one of the [[National Treasures of Japan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Nichiren and His Time: Rissho ankoku ron|url=http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/tokubetsu/091010/shoukai/02_index_02.htm|publisher=Kyoto National Museum|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211215156/http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/tokubetsu/091010/shoukai/02_index_02.htm|archivedate=11 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nichiren-shu.org/AboutUs/major/hokekyoji.html|title=Nichiren Shu Portal|website=www.nichiren-shu.org}}</ref> ==Post-Nichiren development In Japan== === Development of Nichiren Buddhism in Medieval Japan === After Nichiren’s death in 1282 the [[Kamakura shogunate]] weakened largely due to financial and political stresses resulting from defending the country from the Mongols. It was replaced by the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga (Muromachi) shogunate]] (足利幕府 or 室町幕府, 1336–1573), which in turn was succeeded by the [[Azuchi–Momoyama period]] (安土桃山時代, 1573–1600), and finally the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] (江戸幕府, 1600–1868). During these time periods, collectively comprising the Japan's medieval history, Nichiren Buddhism experienced considerable fracturing, growth, turbulence and decline. A prevailing characteristic of the movement in medieval Japan was its lack of understanding of Nichiren's own spiritual realization. Serious commentaries about Nichiren's theology did not appear for almost two hundred years. This contributed to divisive doctrinal confrontations that were often superficial and dogmatic.<ref name=Matsunaga1988 />{{rp|174}} The long history of foundings, divisions, and mergers have led to today's 37 legally incorporated Nichiren Buddhist groups.<ref name=Stone2005 /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=nichiren+temples+merge&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimjIa79rzZAhUvwlkKHaCmBa84FBDoAQhbMAk#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false|title=An introduction to Buddhism : teachings, history and practices|last=Harvey|first=Peter|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521859424|edition=Second edition|location=Cambridge|oclc=822518354}}</ref>{{rp|312}} After the era, in the modern period, Nichiren Buddhism experienced a revival, largely initiated by lay people and movements.<ref name=Kitagawa2010 />{{rp|93–95,122}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/828618014|title=Historical dictionary of new religious movements|last=Chryssides|first= George D.|date=2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810861947|edition=Second edition|location=Lanham, Md.|oclc=828618014}}</ref>{{rp|251}}<ref name=Hardacre1984/> ===Development of the major lineages of Nichiren Buddhism=== Several denominations comprise the umbrella term "Nichiren Buddhism" which was known at the time as the ''Hokkeshū'' (Lotus School) or ''Nichirenshū'' (Nichiren School).<ref name=Bowring2005>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzeODCVG26UC&pg=PA428&dq=hokkeshu&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjiy4zS1ajZAhViZN8KHRv1AOQQ6AEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=hokkeshu&f=false|title=The religious traditions of Japan, 500–1600|last=Bowring|first= Richard John|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521851190|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=60667980}}</ref>{{rp|383}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MJrFwCHJQkC&pg=PA166&dq=nichiren+shu&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimgbHg16jZAhXpRt8KHVf4Bjs4ChDoAQhDMAU#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20shu&f=false|title=World religions in America : an introduction|date=2003|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|first=Robert S.|last=Ellwood |chapter=East Asian religions in today's America |others=Neusner, Jacob, 1932–2016.|isbn=9780664224752|edition=3rd ed|location=Louisville, Ky.|oclc=51613938}}</ref>{{rp|166}} The splintering of Nichiren's teachings into different schools began several years after Nichiren's passing. Despite their differences, however, the Nichiren groups shared commonalities: asserting the primacy of the Lotus Sutra, tracing Nichiren as their founder, centering religious practice on chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, using the Gohonzon in meditative practice, insisting on the need for propagation, and participating in remonstrations with the authorities.<ref name=Bowring2005 />{{rp|398}} The movement was supported financially by local warlords or stewards (''jitõ'') who often founded tightly-organized clan temples (''ujidera'') that were frequently led by sons who became priests.<ref name=Matsunaga1988 />{{rp|169}} Most Nichiren schools point to the founding date of their respective head or main temple (for example, [[Nichiren Shū]] the year 1281, [[Nichiren Shōshū]] the year 1288, and [[Kempon Hokke|Kempon Hokke Shu]] the year 1384) although they did not legally incorporate as religious bodies until the late 19th and early 20th century. A last wave of temple mergers took place in the 1950s.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} The roots of this splintering can be traced to the organization of the Nichiren community during his life. In 1282, one year before his death, Nichiren named "six senior priests" (''rokurōsō'') disciple to lead his community: [[Nikkō Shonin]] (日興), [[Nisshō]] (日昭), [[Nichirō]] (日朗), [[Nikō]] (日向), [[Nitchō]] (日頂), and [[Nichiji]] (日持). Each had led communities of followers in different parts of the [[Kantō region|Kanto]] region of Japan and these groups, after Nichiren's death, ultimately morphed into lineages of schools.<ref>''Shimpan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Daijiten'', p. 1368</ref><ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|303}} Nikkō Shonin, Nichirō, and Nisshō were the core of the Minobu (also known as the Nikō or Kuon-ji) ''monryu'' or school. Nikō became the second chief abbot of Minobu (Nichiren is considered by this school to be the first). Nichirō's direct lineage was called the Nichirō or Hikigayatsu ''monryu''. Nisshō's lineage became the Nisshō or Hama ''monryu''. Nitchō formed the Nakayama lineage but later returned to become a follower of Nikkō. Nichiji, originally another follower of Nikkō, eventually traveled to the Asian continent (ca. 1295) on a missionary journey and some scholarship suggests he reached northern China, Manchuria, and possibly Mongolia. [[Kuon-ji]] Temple in [[Minobu, Yamanashi|Mount Minobu]] eventually became the head temple of today's [[Nichiren Shū]], the largest branch among traditional schools, encompassing the schools and temples tracing their origins to Nikō, Nichirō, Nisshō, Nitchō, and Nichiji. The lay and/or [[Japanese new religions|new religious movements]] [[Reiyūkai]], [[Risshō Kōsei Kai]], and [[Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga]] stem from this lineage.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|303}}<ref name="Fogel">Joshua A. Fogel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fDGsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA29 ''The literature of travel in the Japanese rediscovery of China, 1862–1945''] {{ISBN|0-8047-2567-5}}. Stanford University Press, 1996. p. 29.</ref><ref>仏敎哲学大辞典 — ''Shim-pan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Dai-Jiten'', [[Soka Gakkai]] publications. Shinomachi, Tokyo. pp. 1365–1368</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/N/47#para-0|title=Nichiren school – Dictionary of Buddhism – Nichiren Buddhism Library|website=www.nichirenlibrary.org}}</ref> [[Nikkō (priest)|Nikkō]] left [[Kuon-ji]] in 1289 and became the founder of what was to be called the Nikkō ''monryu'' or lineage. He founded a center at the foot of Mount Fuji which would later be known as the [[Taisekiji]] temple of [[Nichiren Shōshū]].<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|335–336}} The [[Soka Gakkai]] is the largest independent lay organization that shares roots with lineage.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57531548|title=New religious movements : a documentary reader|date=2005|publisher=New York University Press|others=Daschke, Dereck., Ashcraft, W. Michael, 1955–|isbn=9780814707029|location=New York|oclc=57531548}}</ref>{{rp|119–120}} Fault lines between the various Nichiren groups crystallized over several issues: :'''Local gods'''. A deeply embedded and ritualized part of Japanese village life, Nichiren schools clashed over the practice of honoring local [[kami]] by lay disciples of Nichiren. Some argued that this practice was a necessary accommodation. The group led by the monk Nikkō objected to such [[syncretism]].<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|335–336}} :'''Content of Lotus Sūtra'''. Some schools (called ''Itchi'') argued that all chapters of the sūtra should be equally valued and others (called ''Shōretsu'') claimed that the latter half was superior to the former half. (See below for more details.) :'''Identity of Nichiren'''. Some of his later disciples identified him with [[Visistacaritra]], the leader of the [[Bodhisattvas of the Earth]] who were entrusted in Chapter Twenty-Two to propagate the Lotus Sūtra. The Nikkō group identified Nichiren as the [[Adi-Buddha|original and eternal Buddha]].<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|355}}<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56456928|title=From salvation to spirituality : popular religious movements in modern Japan |author= Shimazono, Susumu (島薗, 進, 1948–) |date=2004 |publisher= Trans Pacific Press |isbn= 978-1876843120 |edition= English |location= Melbourne, Vic. |oclc= 56456928 }}</ref>{{rp|117–119}}<ref name=Lopez2016 />{{rp|102–104}} :'''Identification with Tiantai school'''. The Nisshō group began to identify itself as a [[Tiantai]] school, having no objections to its esoteric practices, perhaps as an expedient means to avoid persecution from Tiantai, Pure Land, and Shingon followers. This deepened the rift with Nikkō.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDH-CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141&dq=nichiren+lineages&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyzPPOraXZAhXPzlkKHcwJBrAQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20lineages&f=false|title=A cultural history of Japanese Buddhism|last=E.|first=Deal, William|others=Ruppert, Brian Douglas, 1962–|isbn=9781118608319|location=Chichester, West Sussex, UK|oclc=904194715}}</ref>{{rp|141}} :'''The Three Gems'''. All schools of Buddhism speak of the concept of [[Refuge (Buddhism)|The Three Gems]] (the Buddha, the [[Dharma]], and the [[Sangha]]) but define it differently. Over the centuries the Nichiren schools have come to understand it differently as well. The Minobu school has come to identify the Buddha as Shakyamuni whereas the Nikkō school identifies it as Nichiren. For Minobu the Dharma is Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, the Nikkō school identifies it as the Namu-myoho-renge-kyo that is hidden in the 16th "Lifespan" Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (the [[Gohonzon]]. Currently, [[Nichiren Shoshu]] claims this specifically refers to the [[Dai Gohonzon]] whereas the [[Soka Gakkai]] holds it represents all Gohonzon. The Sangha, sometimes translated as "the priest") is also interpreted differently. Minobu defines it as Nichiren; Nichiren Shoshu as Nikkō representing its priesthood; and the Soka Gakkai as Nikkō representing the harmonious community of practitioners.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqwzJt9XGpoC&pg=PA123&dq=dharma+in+nichiren+shu+gohonzon&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJr5btxKbZAhXPY98KHdV9A2cQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=soka%20gakkai&f=false|title=The Buddhist experience in America|last=Morgan |first=Diane,|date=2004|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313324918|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=55534989}}</ref>{{rp|120–123,132}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ex4pG4KuW1MC&pg=PA106&dq=nichiren+"triple+refuge"&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnmqz36afZAhUH2FMKHf2_CdkQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20%22triple%20refuge%22&f=false|title=Buddhism in America|last=Hughes,|first=Seager, Richard|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231159739|edition=Rev. and expanded ed|location=New York|oclc=753913907}}</ref>{{rp|106}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GDFQBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA71&dq=nakayama+nichiren&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjl3qau7afZAhUvTd8KHfWrDzcQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=nakayama%20nichiren&f=false|title=The Goddess and the Dragon : a Study on Identity Strength and Psychosocial Resilience in Japan |first= Patrick |last=Hein |date=2014 |publisher= Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn= 978-1443868723 |location= Newcastle upon Tyne |oclc= 892799135}}</ref>{{rp|71}}<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA355&dq="origin+teaching"+"trace+teaching"&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwuKmNoqXZAhWQk1kKHQNPCDkQ6AEIQzAF#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false |title= The Princeton dictionary of Buddhism |others= Buswell, Robert E., Jr., 1953–, Lopez, Donald S., 1952– |isbn= 978-1400848058 |location= Princeton |oclc= 864788798}}</ref>{{rp|582–583}} The cleavage between Nichiren groups has also been classified by the so-called ''Itchi'' (meaning unity or harmony) and ''Shoretsu'' (a contraction of two words meaning superior/inferior) lineages.<ref name=Stone1999a>Stone, Jaqueline. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jbO_KctXdecC&pg=PA325&lpg=PA325&dq=Shoretsu+lineage+stone&source=bl&ots=vK0sXXZ0Tb&sig=cDC21UGAiDwkAa0NC6nOIfSVoUQ&hl=de&sa=X&ei=jv7nUtr9B4jAtQa22YCgCw&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Shoretsu%20lineage%20stone&f=false Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism], Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999</ref>{{rp|304–366}} *The ''Itchi'' lineage today comprises most of the traditional schools within Nichiren Buddhism of which the [[Nichiren Shū]] is the biggest representative although it also includes some Nikkō temples. In this lineage the whole of the Lotus Sutra, both the so-called theoretical (''shakumon'' or "Imprinted Gate") and essential (''honmon'' or "Original Gate") chapters, are venerated.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/574561654|title=A dictionary of Buddhism|last=Keown |first=Damien|date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191579172 |location=Oxford |oclc=574561654}}</ref>{{rp|192}} While great attention is given to the 2nd and 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, other parts of the sutra are recited. *The ''Shoretsu'' lineage comprises most temples and lay groups following the Nikkō ''monryu''. The ''Shoretsu'' group values the supremacy of the essential over the theoretical part of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, solely the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra are recited.<ref name="philtar1">{{cite web|url=http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/easia/nich.html |title=Nichiren Buddhism |publisher=Philtar.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2 October 2013}}</ref> There are additional subdivisions in the ''Shoretsu'' group which splintered over whether the entire second half was of equal importance, the eight chapters of the second half when the assembly participates in “The Ceremony of the Air,” or specifically Chapter Sixteen (Lifespan of the Tathāgata).<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|304–366}} ==== Origin of the Fuji School ==== Although there were rivalries and unique interpretations among the early Hokkeshũ lineages, none were as deep and distinct as the divide between the Nikkō or Fuji school and the rest of the tradition.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|334}} Animosity and discord among the six senior disciples started after the second death anniversary of Nichiren's 100th Day Memorial ceremony (23 January 1283) when the rotation system as agreed upon the "''Shuso Gosenge Kiroku''" (English: Record document of founder's demise) and ''Rimbo Cho'' (English: Rotation Wheel System) to clean and maintain Nichiren's grave.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}} By the third anniversary of Nichiren's passing (13 October 1284), these arrangements seemed to have broken down. Nikkō claimed that the other five senior priests no longer returned to Nichiren's tomb in Mount Minobu, citing signs of neglect at the gravesite. He took up residency and overall responsibility for [[Kuonji]] temple while Nikō served as its doctrinal instructor. Before long tensions grew between the two concerning the behavior of Hakii Nanbu Rokurō Sanenaga, the steward of the Minobu district and the temple's patron.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|335}} Nikkō accused Sanenaga of unorthodox practices deemed to be [[heretical]] such crafting a standing statue of [[Shakyamuni Buddha]] as an object of worship, providing funding for the construction of a [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land]] stupa in Fuji, and visiting and worshiping at the [[Mishima Taisha]] Shinto shrine which was an honorary shrine of the [[Hōjō clan]] [[Kamakura shogunate|shogunate]]. Nikkō regarded the latter as a violation of Nichiren's ''Rissho ankoku ron''.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|335}} In addition, Nikkō made accusatory charges that after Nichiren's death, other disciples slowly began to gradually deviate from what Nikkō viewed as Nichiren's orthodox teachings. Chief among these complaints was the [[syncretism|syncretic]] practices of some of the disciples to worship images of [[Shakyamuni Buddha]]. Nikkō admonished other disciple priests for signing their names "Tendai Shamon" (of the [[Tendai]] Buddhist school) in documents they sent to the [[Kamakura]] government. Furthermore, Nikkō alleged that the other disciples disregarded some of Nichiren's writings written in [[Katakana]] rather than in [[Classical Chinese]] syllabary.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}} Sanenaga defended his actions claiming that it was customary for his political family to provide monetary donations and make homage to the Shinto shrine of the Kamakura shogunate. Nikō tolerated Sanenaga's acts, claiming that similar incidents occurred previously with the knowledge of Nichiren. Sanenaga sided with Nikō and Nikkō departed in 1289 from Minobu. He returned to his home in [[Suruga Province]] and established two temples: [[Taiseki-ji]] in the Fuji district and [[Ikegami Honmon-ji|Honmonji]] in Omosu district. He spent most of his life at the latter where he trained his followers.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|335–336}} According to Stone, it is not absolutely clear that Nikkō intended to completely break from the other senior disciples and start his own school. However, his followers claimed that he was the only one of the six senior disciples who maintained the purity of Nichiren's legacy. Two documents appeared, first mentioned and discovered by Taiseki-ji High Priest Nikkyo Shonin in 1488, claiming Nichiren transferred his teaching exclusively to Nikkō but their authenticity has been questioned. Taiseki-ji does not dispute that the original documents are missing but holds that certified copies are preserved in their repositories. In contrast, other Nichiren sects vehemently claim them as forgeries since they are not in the original handwriting of Nichiren or Nikkō, holding they were copied down by Nikkō’s disciples after his death."<ref name=Montgomery1991 />{{rp|169}}<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|336}} In addition to using the letters to defend its claim to othodoxy, the documents may have served to justify Taiseki-ji's claimed superiority over other Nikkō temples, especially [[Ikegami Honmon-ji]], the site of Nichiren's tomb. Even though there had been efforts by temples of the Nikkō lineage in the late 19th century to unify into one single separate Nichiren school the ''Kommon-ha'', today's Nichiren Shōshū comprises only the Taiseki-ji temple and its dependent temples. It is not identical to the historical Nikkō or Fuji lineage. Parts of the ''Kommon-ha'', the ''Honmon-Shu'', eventually became part of Nichiren Shu in the 1950s. [[Shinshukyo|New religious movements]] like [[Sōka Gakkai]], [[Shōshinkai]], and [[Kenshōkai]] trace their origins to the Nichiren Shōshū school.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} ==== 15th Century through the Early 19th century ==== In the early 14th century Hokkeshū followers spread the teachings westward and established congregations (Jpn. ''shū'') into the imperial capital of [[Kyoto]] and as far as [[Bizen Province|Bizen]] and [[Bitchū Province|Bitchu]]. During this time there is documentation of face-to-face public debates between Hokkeshū and [[Nianfo|Nembutsu]] adherents.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xb3BImNUdRAC&pg=PA101&dq=nichiren+kanto+kyoto&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC2aT_mbTZAhULnOAKHce6ARYQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20kanto%20kyoto&f=false|title=Jōdo Shinshū : Shin Buddhism in medieval Japan|last=1949-|first=Dobbins, James C.,|date=2002|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|isbn=9780824826208|location=Honolulu|oclc=48958350}}</ref>{{rp|101}} By the end of the century Hokkeshū temples had been founded all over [[Kyoto]], only being outnumbered by Zen temples. The demographic base of support in Kyoto were members of the merchant class (Jpn. ''machishū''), some of whom had acquired great wealth. Tanabe hypothesizes they were drawn to this faith because of Nichiren's emphasis on the "third realm" (Jpn. ''daisan hōmon'') of the Lotus Sutra, staked out in chapters 10-22, which emphasize practice in the mundane world.<ref name=Tanabe1989 />{{rp|43–45,50}} In the 15th century, the political and social order began to collapse and Hokkeshū followers armed themselves. The ''Hokke-ikki'' was an uprising in 1532 of Hokke followers against the followers of the [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land]] school in 1532. Initially successful it became the most powerful religious group in Kyoto but its fortunes were reversed in 1536 when Mt. Hiei armed forces destroyed twenty-one Hokkeshū temples and killed some 58,000 of its followers. In 1542 permission was granted by the government to rebuild the destroyed temples and the Hokke ''machishū'' played a crucial role in rebuilding the commerce, industry, and arts in Kyoto. Their influence in the arts and literature continued through the Momoyama (1568–1615) and Edo (1615–1868) periods and many of the most famous artists and literati were drawn from their ranks.<ref name=Kitagawa2010 />{{rp|122}}<ref name=Tanabe1989 />{{rp|50}} Although the various sects of Nichiren Buddhism were administratively independent, there is evidence of cooperation between them. For example, in 1466 the major Hokke temples in Kyoto signed the Kanshō-era accord (Kanshō ''meiyaku'') to protect themselves against threats from Mt. Hiei.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|304}}<ref name=Montgomery1991>Montgomery, Daniel (1991). Fire in the Lotus, The Dynamic Religion of Nichiren, London: Mandala, {{ISBN|1852740914}}</ref>{{rp|160}} Despite strong sectarian differences, there is also evidence of interactions between Hokkeshū and Tendai scholar-monks.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|352}} During the [[Edo period]], with the consolidation of power by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], increased pressure was placed major Buddhist schools and Nichiren temples to conform to governmental policies. Some Hokkeshū adherents, the followers of the so-called [[Fuju-fuse]] lineage, adamantly bucked this policy based on their readings of Nichiren's teachings to neither take (''fuju'') nor give (''fuse'') offerings from non-believers. Suppressed, adherents often held their meetings clandestinely which led to the [[Fuju-fuse#The persecution|Fuju-fuse persecution]] and numerous executions of believers in 1668.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsLDwvmnt_oC&pg=PA150&dq=fuju+fuse&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqg-ryvrTZAhWsnOAKHcIkCdkQ6AEIODAC#v=onepage&q=fuju%20fuse&f=false|title=Religion in Japan : arrows to heaven and earth|date=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|first=Peter |last=Nosco |chapter=Keeping the faith: ''Bakuhan'' policy towards religions in seventeenth century Japn |others=Kornicki, Peter F. (Peter Francis), McMullen, James, 1939-|isbn=9780521550284|location=New York|oclc=32236452}}</ref>{{rp|150}} During this time of persecution, most likely to prevent young priests from adopting a passion for propagation, Nichiren seminaries emphasized Tendai studies with only a few top-ranking students permitted to study some of Nichiren's writings.<ref name=Stone1994>{{Cite journal|last=Stone|first=Jacqueline|date=1994|title=Rebuking the Enemies of the Lotus: Nichirenist Exclusivism in Historical Perspective|url=https://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/Rebuking%20the%20Enemies%20of%20the%20Lotus%20-%20Nichirenist%20Exclusivism%20in.pdf|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=21/2–3|pages=231–259|via=}}</ref> During the [[Edo period]] the majority of Hokkeshū temples were subsumed into the shogunate's [[Danka system]], an imposed nationwide parish system designed to ensure religious peace and root out Christianity. In this system Buddhist temples, in addition to their ceremonial duties, were forced to carry out state administrative functions. Thereby they became agents of the government and were prohibited to engage in any missionary activities.<ref name="philtar1"/> Hokkeshū temples were now obligated, just like those of other Buddhist schools, to focus on funeral and memorial services (''Sōshiki bukkyō'') as their main activity.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/657757860|title=Death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhism|date=2008|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|first=Mariko Namba |last=Walter |chapter=The structure of Japanese Buddhist funerals |others=Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse,, Walter, Mariko Namba,|isbn=9780824832049|location=Honolulu|oclc=657757860}}</ref>{{rp|247}} Stagnation was often the price for the protected status.<ref name=Matsunaga1988 />{{rp|306}} ==== 19th Century: From Tokugawa to Meiji Periods ==== Nichiren Buddhism was deeply influenced by the transition from the Tokugawa (1600–1868) to Meiji (1868–1912) periods in nineteenth-century Japan. The changeover from early modern (''kinsei'') to modern (''kindai'') was marked by the transformation of late-feudal institutions into modern ones as well as the political transition from shogunal to imperial rule and the economic shift from national isolation to integration in the world economy. This entailed creating a centralized state, stitching together some 260 feudal domains ruled by hereditary leaders (''daimyo''), and moving from a caste social system to a meritocracy based on educational achievement. Although commonly perceived as a singular event called the [[Meiji Restoration]], the transition was full of twists and turns that began in the [[Bakumatsu|later Tokugawa years]] and continued decades after the 1867–1868 demise of the shogunate and launch of imperial rule.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7b_AwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Japan in Transition : From Tokugawa to Meiji.|last1=Jansen |first1=Marius B. |last2=Rozman |first2=Gilbert|chapter=Overview |date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|others=Marius B. Jansen and Gilbert Rozman |isbn=9781400854301|location=Princeton|oclc=884013523}}</ref>{{rp|3–4,14}} By this time Japanese Buddhism was often characterized by [[syncretism]] in which local [[kami|nativistic]] worship was incorporated into Buddhist practice. For example, Tendai, Shingon, Jodō, and Nichiren temples often had chapels within them dedicated to [[Inari Ōkami|Inari]] Shinto worship.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybljDQAAQBAJ&dq=hardacre+shinto&source=gbs_navlinks_s|title=Shinto : a history|last=Hardacre|first= Helen,|isbn=9780190621728|location=New York|oclc=947145263}}</ref>{{rp|266}} Within Nichiren Buddhism there was a phenomenon of ''Hokke Shintō'' (Lotus Shinto), closely influenced by [[Yoshida Shintō]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=355|title=Hokke Shinto|last=|first=|date=|website=Encyclopedia of Shinto}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Hokke Shinto: Kami in the Nichiren tradition|last=Hardacre|first=Helen|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dw9_ov-GxtQC&pg=PT267&dq=hokke+shinto&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja8tW-hsbZAhUkw1kKHdSSAY8Q6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=hokke%20shinto&f=false |title=Buddhas and Kami in Japan: Honji Suijaku as a Combinatory Paradigm |others=Fabio Rambelli, Mark Teeuwen (eds.) |pages=222–254 |isbn=9781134431236|location=}}</ref> Anti-Buddhist sentiment had been building throughout the latter part of the Tokugawa period (1603–1868). Scholars such as [[Tominaga Nakamoto]] and [[Hirata Atsutane]] attacked the theoretical roots of Buddhism. Critics included promoters of Confucianism, nativism, Shinto-inspired Restorationists, and modernizers. Buddhism was critiqued as a needless drain on public resources and also as an insidious foreign influence that had obscured the indigenous Japanese spirit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thezensite.com/ZenBookReviews/Of-Heretics_and_Martyrs.html|title=Zen Books Reviewed: Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan: Buddhism and Its Persecution by James Edward Ketelaar|last=Stone|first=Jacqueline I.|date=|website=The Zen Site|access-date=}}</ref> Under attack by two policies of the day, ''[[shinbutsu bunri]]'' (Separation of Shinto Deities and Buddhas) and ''[[haibutsu kishaku]]'' (Eradication of Buddhism), Japanese Buddhism during the Tokugawa-to-Meiji transition proved to be a crisis of survival. The new government promoted policies that reduced the material resources available to Buddhist temples and downgraded their role in the religious, political, and social life of the nation.<ref name=Collcutt2014>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7b_AwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Japan in Transition : From Tokugawa to Meiji.|last=Collcutt |first=Martin |chapter=Buddhism: The threat of eradication |date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|others=Marius B. Jansen and Gilbert Rozman |isbn=9781400854301|location=Princeton|oclc=884013523}}</ref>{{rp|143,153–156}} The policies of ''shibutsu bunri'' were implemented at the local level throughout Japan but were particularly intense in three domains that were the most active in the Restoration: Satsuma, Choshii, and Tosa. In Satsuma, for example, by 1872 all of its 1000+ Buddhist temples had been abolished, their monks laicized, and their landholdings confiscated. Throughout the country thousands of Buddhist temples and, at a minimum, tens of thousands of Buddhist sutras, paintings, statues, temple bells and other ritual objects were destroyed, stolen, lost, or sold during the early years of the restoration.<ref name=Collcutt2014 />{{rp|157,160}} Starting in the second decade of the restoration, pushback against these policies came from Western powers interested in providing a safe harbor for Christianity and Buddhist leaders who proposed an alliance of Shinto and Buddhism to resist Christianity. As part of this accommodation, Buddhist priests were forced to promote key teachings of Shinto and provide support for national policies.<ref name=Collcutt2014 />{{rp|98}} Nichiren Buddhism, like the other Buddhist schools, struggled between accommodation and confrontation. The Nichiren scholar Udana-in Nichiki (1800–1859) argued for a policy of co-existence with other schools of Buddhism, Confucianism, Nativism, and European religions.<ref name=Stone1994 />{{rp|246–247}} His disciple Arai Nissatsu (1830–1888) forged an alliance of several Nichiren branches and became the first superintendent of the present [[Nichiren Shū]] which was incorporated in 1876. Nissatsu was active in Buddhist intersect cooperation to resist the government's hostile policies, adopted the government's "Great Teaching" policy that was Shinto-derived, and promoted intersectarian understanding. In the process, however, he reinterpreted some of Nichiren's important teachings.<ref name=Stone1994 />{{rp|248–249}} Among those arguing against accommodation were Nichiren scholar and lay believer Ogawa Taidō (1814–1878) and the cleric Honda Nisshō (1867–1931) of the [[Kempon Hokke]] denomination.<ref name=Stone1994 />{{rp|249–250}} After the above events and centuries of splintering based on dogma and institutional histories, the following major Nichiren temple schools, according to Matsunaga, were officially recognized in the Meiji era: *1874: [[Nichiren-shū]] (formerly ''Minobu monryū''). This school's headquarters was at [[Kuon-ji]] temple and held the ''Itchi'' perspective that advocated the equal treatment of all sections of the Lotus Sutra. However, it also included five schools that maintained the ''Shoretsu'' perspective which emphasized the latter half of the Lotus Sutra: Myōmanji, Happon, Honjōji, Honryūji, and Fuji-ha *1876: The Fuju-fuse-ha was recognized by the government after years of clandestine operation following episodes of persecution. In 1882 a second ''Fuju-fuse'' sect was recognized, the Fuju-Fuse Kōmon-ha. *1891: The five ''Shoretsu'' schools changed their names :Myōmanji-ha became [[Kempon Hokke]] based at Myōmanji, Kyoto :Happon-ha became Honmon Hokkeshū based in Honjōji, Niigata :Honjōji-ha became Hokkeshū based in Honryūji, Kyoto :Honryūji-ha became Honmyō Hokkeshū, also based in Honryūji, Kyoto :Fuji-ha became Honmonshū in Monmonji, [[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]] *1900: The [[Taisekiji]] temple of Shizuoka broke off from the Honmonshū and became Nichirenshū Fuji-ha. In 1913 this group was renamed itself [[Nichiren Shōshū]] which was popularized by the [[Soka Gakkai]] lay organization. Although the latter has a sizeable membership and it is an important [[Japanese new religions|one of the New Religions of Japan]] (''shinshūkyō''), it is not included in many treatments of Nichiren lineages.<ref name=Matsunaga1988 />{{rp|180–181}} === Development of Nichiren Buddhism in modern Japanese history === Nichiren Buddhism went through many reforms in the [[Meiji Period]] during a time of persecution, [[Haibutsu kishaku]] (廃仏毀釈), when the government attempted to eradicate mainstream Japanese Buddhism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/transcultural/article/view/733 |title=Transcultural Studies |publisher=Archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de |date= |accessdate=28 April 2014}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2014}}</ref> As a part of the [[Meiji Restoration]], the interdependent [[Danka system]] between the state and Buddhist temples was dismantled which left the latter without its funding. Buddhist institutions had to align themselves to the new nationalistic agenda or perish.<ref name=Covell2006/>{{rp|220,226–227}}<ref name=Gier2016>{{cite book |last1=Gier |first1=Nicholas F. |title=The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective |date=2016 |publisher=Lexington Books |chapter= Buddhism and Japanese Nationalism: A Sad Chronicle of Complicity |url=https://books.google.at/books?id=0LBhBAAAQBAJ&dq=gier+the+origins+of+religious+violence&q=nichiren#v=snippet&q=nichiren&f=false |isbn=9781498501880 |location=Lanham, MD}}</ref>{{rp|184–185}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Religious dynamics under the impact of imperialism and colonialism : a sourcebook|others=Bentlage, Björn, 1979-|isbn=9789004329003|first=Hans M. |last=Kraemer |chapter=Shimaji Mokurai: Petition in Criticism of the Three Articles of Instruction |url=https://books.google.com/?id=ZtY6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=shimaji+mokurai#v=onepage&q=shimaji%20mokurai&f=false|location=Leiden|oclc=951955874|date=17 November 2016}}</ref>{{rp|237–241}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yoshinaga|first=Shin'ichi|date=July 2009|title=Theosophy and Buddhist Reformers in the Middle of the Meiji Period|url=|journal=Japanese Religions|volume=24 |issue=2|pages=122|via=}}</ref> Many of these reform efforts were led by lay people.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/875895206|title=Practical pursuits : religion, politics, and personal cultivation in nineteenth-century Japan|last=1953-|first=Sawada, Janine Anderson,|isbn=9780824827526|location=Honolulu|oclc=875895206 |page=181 }}</ref><ref name=Hardacre1984>{{Cite book|title=The Lotus Sutra in Japanese culture|date=1989|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|first=helen |last=Hardacre |chapter=The Lotus Sutra in Modern Japan|others=Tanabe, George J., Jr., 1943–, Tanabe, Willa J. (Willa Jane), 1945–, International Conference on the Lotus Sutra and Japanese Culture (1st : 1984 : University of Hawaii)|isbn=9780824811983|location=Honolulu|oclc=18960211 |url=https://books.google.at/books?id=O03rvTi0vwAC&lpg=PA209&dq=meiji%20buddhism%20lay%20nichiren&pg=PA209#v=onepage&q=meiji%20buddhism%20lay%20nichiren&f=false |quote=In all areas of Japanese religions, the trend to lay centrality is among the most conspicuous historical developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By lay centrality I mean an increasingly important role for laity in all aspects of religious life and a weakening of the distinction between clerical and lay status. Lay centrality characterizes the nineteenth- and twentieth-century history of both Buddhism and Shinto and is closely related to the appearance of new religious groups outside the ecclesiastical hierarchy of either tradition. Lay centrality in Buddhism was stimulated after the Meiji Restoration by haibutsu kishaku (movement to destroy Buddhism), which became the occasion for serious reform within temple Buddhism. Early Meiji Buddhism witnessed the appearance of popularizers, ecumenical thought, and moves to initiate laity in the precepts, all aspects of the trend to lay centrality. }}</ref>{{rp|209}}<ref name=Stone2005>{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nichiren-school|title=Nichiren School|last=Stone|first=Jacqueline I|date=|website=Encyclopedia.com|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref> The trend toward lay centrality was prominent in Nichiren Buddhism as well, predating the Meiji period.<ref name=Hardacre1984/>{{rp|209}}<ref name=Tanabe1989>{{cite web|last=Tamura|first=Yoshio|title=The Ideas of the Lotus Sutra, In: George Joji Tanabe; Willa Jane Tanabe, eds. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture|url=https://books.google.at/books?id=O03rvTi0vwAC&lpg=PA209&dq=meiji%20buddhism%20lay%20nichiren&pg=PA51#v=snippet&q=nichiren&f=false|year=1989|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-1198-3|pages=50–51}}</ref> Some Nichiren reformers in the Meiji period attempted to inject a nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings; others called for globalist perspectives. According to Japanese researcher ''Yoshiro Tamura'', the term "[[Nichirenism]]" applies broadly to the following three categories: # The ultranationalistic preoccupation with Nichiren that contributed to Japan's militaristic effort before [[World War II]]. # Socialist activists and writers during the prewar and postwar eras who promoted a vision of an ideal world society inspired by the [[Lotus Sutra]] and according to their own views of Nichiren. # Organized religious bodies that were inspired by Nichiren’s teachings.<ref name=Habito1999>{{Cite journal|last=Habito|first=Ruben L.F.|date=1994|title=The Uses of Nichiren in Modern Japanese History|url=http://www.hbsitalia.it/public/materiale/554.pdf|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=26/3–4|pages=|via=}}</ref>{{rp|424}} ==== Nichiren Buddhism as a form of nationalism ==== {{See also|Criticism of Buddhism#Nationalism}} {{See also|Nichirenism}} Both Nichiren and his followers have been associated with fervent [[Japanese nationalism]] specifically identified as [[Nichirenism]] between the [[Meiji period]] and the conclusion of [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2682|title=Revisiting Nichiren; Ruben L. F. Habito and Jacqueline I. Stone|publisher=}}</ref><ref name=kodera>{{cite journal|last=Kodera|first=Takashi James|title=Nichiren and His Nationalistic Eschatology|journal=Religious Studies|date=March 1979|volume=15|issue=1|pages=41–53|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/s0034412500011057|jstor=20005538}}</ref> The nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings were inspired by lay Buddhist movements like [[Kokuchūkai]] or [[Kenshōkai]] and resulted in violent historical events such as the [[May 15 Incident]] and the [[League of Blood Incident]].<ref>Tanaka Chigaku: What is Nippon Kokutai? Introduction to Nipponese National Principles. Shishio Bunka, Tokyo 1935–36</ref><ref>[http://www.globalbuddhism.org/2/victoria011.html Brian Daizen Victoria, Senior Lecturer Centre for Asian Studies, University of Adelaide, ''Engaged Buddhism: A Skeleton in the Closet?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531021739/http://www.globalbuddhism.org/2/victoria011.html |date=31 May 2013 }}{{full citation needed|date=January 2015}}</ref><ref>Pokorny, Lukas (2011).[https://web.archive.org/web/20131214064924/https://www.abdn.ac.uk/staffpages/uploads/dhp028/Neue_religiose_Bewegungen_in_Japan_heute_-_Ein_Uberblick_Lukas_Pokorny.pdf Neue religiöse Bewegungen in Japan heute: ein Überblick] [New Religious Movements in Japan Today: a Survey]. In: Hödl, Hans Gerald and Veronika Futterknecht, ed. Religionen nach der Säkularisierung. Festschrift für Johann Figl zum 65. Geburtstag, Wien: LIT, p. 187</ref> Among the key proponents of this interpretation are [[Tanaka Chigaku|Chigaku Tanaka]] who founded the [[Kokuchūkai]] (English: Nation's Pillar Society). Tanaka was charismatic and through his writings and lecturers attracted many followers such as [[Kanji Ishiwara]].<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|427–428}} Nisshō Honda advocated the unification Japanese Buddhists to support the imperial state.<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|428}}<ref name=Covell2006>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70136919|title=Buddhism in world cultures : comparative perspectives|date=2006|publisher=ABC-CLIO|first=Stephen G |last=Covell |chapter=8: Buddhism in Japan, The creation of traditions |others=Berkwitz, Stephen C., 1969– |isbn=9781851097821|location=Santa Barbara|oclc=70136919}}</ref>{{rp|230}} Other ultra-nationalist activists who based their ideas on Nichiren were [[Ikki Kita]] and [[Nisshō Inoue]].<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|429}} ==== Nichiren Buddhism as a form of socialism ==== Nichirenism also includes several intellectuals and activists who reacted against the prewar ultranationalistic interpretations and argued for an egalitarian and socialist vision of society based on Nichiren's teachings and the Lotus Sutra. These figures ran against the growing tide of Japanese militarism and were subjected to political harassment and persecution.<ref name=Habito1999 />{{rp|425}} A leading figure in this group was [[Girō Seno’o|Girō Seno]] who formed the [[Girō Seno’o#Youth League for Revitalizing Buddhism|New Buddhist Youth League]] (''Shinkō Bukkyō Seinen Dōmei''). Originally influenced by the ideals of Tanaka and Honda, Giro Seno came to reject ultra-nationalism and argued for humanism, socialism, pacifism, and democracy as a new interpretation of Nichiren's beliefs. He was imprisoned for two years under the [[Peace Preservation Law#Public Security Preservation Law of 1925|National Security Act]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Buddhism and the political process|first=James Mark |last=Shields |page=223 |chapter=Opium Eaters: Buddhism as Revolutionary Politics |url=https://books.google.com/?id=YZAYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223&dq=nichiren+lay+pre-war#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20lay%20pre-war&f=false |others=Kawanami, Hiroko,|isbn=9781137574008|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire|oclc=949365321|date=29 April 2016 }}</ref> The same fate was also endured by [[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi]], who at the time supported the Japanese war effort of [[Emperor Showa]] during [[World War II]] but refused the religious dictum of [[Shinto]] display towards his religion, [[Nichiren Shoshu]]. Makiguchi would found the ''Soka Kyoiku Gakkai'', a lay organization composed of primarily secretaries and teachers until it grew to become [[Soka Gakkai]] after [[World War II]]. ==== Nichiren Buddhism within new social and religious movements ==== Several Nichiren-inspired religious movements arose and appealed primarily to this segment of society with a message of alleviating suffering salvation for many poor urban workers.<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|425}} [[Honmon Butsuryū-shū]], an early example of lay-based religious movements of the modern period inspired by Nichiren, was founded several years before the Meiji Restoration. [[Reiyukai]], [[Rissho Koseikai]] stemming from [[Nichiren Shu]] while [[Kenshokai]] and [[Soka Gakkai]] stemming from [[Nichiren Shoshu]] are more recent examples of lay-inspired movements drawing from Nichiren's teachings and life.<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|433}} ==== Nichiren Buddhism in culture and literature ==== Accordingly, Nichiren Buddhism has had a major impact on Japan's literary and cultural life. Japanese literary figure [[Takayama Chogyū]] and children's author [[Kenji Miyazawa]] praised Nichiren's teachings. Another prominent researcher, [[Masaharu Anesaki]] was encouraged to study Nichiren which led to the latter's work ''Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet'' which introduced Nichiren to the West.<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|430–431}} Non-Buddhist Japanese individuals such as [[Uchimura Kanzō]] listed Nichiren as one of five historical figures who best represented Japan while [[Tadao Yanaihara]] described Nichiren as one of the four historical figures he most admired.<ref name=Habito1999/>{{rp|430–433}} == Globalization of Nichiren Buddhism == While various sects and organizations have had a presence in nations outside Japan for over a century, the ongoing expansion of Nichiren Buddhism overseas started in 1960 when Soka Gakkai president [[Daisaku Ikeda]] initiated his group's worldwide propagation efforts growing form a few hundred transplanted Japanese to over 3500 families just by 1962.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Montgomery|first1=Daniel|title=Fire In The Lotus|date=1991|publisher=Mandala|location=London|isbn=1-85274-091-4|pages=210}}</ref> Nichiren Buddhism is now practiced in many countries outside of Japan. In the United States Prebish coined the typology of "two Buddhisms" to delineate the divide between forms of Buddhism that appealed either primarily to people of the Asian diaspora or to Euro-American converts.<ref>{{Cite book|title=American Buddhism|last=Prebish|first=Charles S.|publisher=Duxbury Press|date=1979|isbn=|location=North Scituate, Massachusetts|pages=51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Prebish|first=Charles S.|date=1993|title=Two Buddhisms Reconsidered|url=|journal=Buddhist Studies Review|volume=10| issue = 2|pages=187–206|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America|last=Prebish|first=Charles S.|publisher=University of California Press|date=1999|isbn=|location=Berkeley, CA|pages=57–63}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47793242|title=Old wisdom in the New World : Americanization in two immigrant Theravada Buddhist temples|last=Numrich|first=Paul David,|date=1999|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|isbn=9781572330634|page=144|location=Knoxville|oclc=47793242}}</ref> Nattier, on the other hand, proposes a three-way typology. "Import" or "elite" Buddhism refers to a class of people who have the time and means to seek Buddhist teachers to appropriate certain Buddhist techniques such as meditation. "Export or evangelical" Buddhism refers to groups that actively proselytize for new members in their local organizations. "Baggage" or "ethnic" Buddhism refers to diaspora Buddhists, usually of a single ethnic group, who have relocated more for social and economic advancement than for evangelical purposes.<ref name=Cheah >{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m95oAgAAQBAJ&q=prebish#v=snippet&q=nattier&f=false/oclc/774295742|title=Race and religion in American Buddhism : white supremacy and immigrant adaptation|last=Cheah|first=Joseph|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199843152|date=2011|location=Oxford|oclc=774295742}}</ref>{{rp|16}} Another taxonomy divides Western Buddhist groups into three different categories: evangelical, church-like, and meditational.<ref name=Hickey2010>{{Cite journal|last=Hickey|first=Wakoh Shannon|date=2010|title=Two Buddhisms, Three Buddhisms, and Racism|url=http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/view/112|journal=Journal of Global Buddhism|volume=11|pages=5–6}}</ref> Nichiren Shu has been classified into the church-like category.<ref name=Hickey2010 />{{rp|5}} One of several Japanese Buddhist schools that followed in the wake of Japanese military conquest and colonization, Nichiren Shu opened a temple in Pusan, Korea in 1881. Its fortunes rose and diminished with the political tides but eventually failed.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTtC-pyVg9sC&pg=PA46&dq=nichiren+korea&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false|title=Asian perceptions of nature : papers presented at a workshop, NIAS, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 1991|date=1992|publisher=Nordic Institute of Asian Studies|first=Henrik Hjort |last=Sorensen |others=Henrik Hjort Sorensen, Ole Bruun, Arne Kalland, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.|chapter=Japanese Missionaries and Their Impact on the Revival of Korean Buddhism at the Close of the Choson Dynasty |pages=50, 53 |isbn=9788787062121|location=Copenhagen|oclc=28815678}}</ref> It also established missions in Sakhalin, Manchuria, and Taiwan.<ref name="Hirai 2015"/> A Nichiren Shu mission was established in Hawaii in 1900. By 1920 it established temples at Pahala, Honolulu, Wailuku and Maui.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZJFAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&vq=Nichiren#v=onepage&q=Nichiren&f=false|title=A Survey of Education in Hawaii|last=|first=|publisher=Department of the Interior: Bureau of Education|others=Commissioner of Education|date=1920|isbn=|volume=1920 #16|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=111}}</ref> In 1955 it officially started a mission in Brazil.<ref name=Usarski&Shoji2016>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWgbDQAAQBAJ&q=nichiren+shu#v=snippet&q=nichiren%20shu&f=false|title=Handbook of contemporary religions in Brazil|first1=Frank|last1=Usarski|first2=Rafael|last2=Shoji |others=Schmidt, Bettina E.,|isbn=9789004322134|date=2016|location=Leiden|chapter=Buddhism, Shinto and Japanese New Religions in Brazil |oclc=953617964}}</ref>{{rp|283}} In 1991 it established the Nichiren Buddhist International Center in 1991 and in 2002 built a center in Hayward, California, to help overseas missions.<ref name="Hirai 2015">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=taNZCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA682&dq=nichiren+shu+mission&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZ4J2L_53aAhXhp1kKHQPZBrEQ6AEIPTAE#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false|title=Asian American religious cultures|first=Chishin|last=Hirai|page=682|others=Lee, Jonathan H. X.,, Matsuoka, Fumitaka,, Yee, Edmond, 1938–, Nakasone, Ronald Y.,|isbn=9781598843316|date=2015|chapter=Nichiren shū |location=Santa Barbara|oclc=895731298}}</ref> However, Nichiren Shu does not widely propagate in the West.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/892799135|title=The Goddess and the Dragon : a Study on Identity Strength and Psychosocial Resilience in Japan|last=Patrick.|first=Hein,|date=2014|page=71 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=9781443868723|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|oclc=892799135}}</ref> Some have characterized the [[Soka Gakkai]] as evangelical<ref name=Hickey2010 />{{rp|5}} but others claim that it broke out of the "Two Buddhisms" paradigm. It is quite multi-ethnic and it has taken hold among native populations in locations including Korea, Malaysia, Brazil, Europe, parts of Africa, India, and North America.<ref name=Metraux2016>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oe0GDAAAQBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s|title=Global Religious Movements Across Borders: Sacred Service|last=Metraux|first=Daniel A.|publisher=Routledge|others=Stephen M. Cherry, Helen Rose Ebaugh|date=2016|page=87|isbn=9781317127338|location=|pages=|chapter=Soka Gakkai International: Nichiren Japanese Buddhism}}</ref> The growth of the Soka Gakkai was sparked by repeated missionary trips beginning in the early 1960s by [[Daisaku Ikeda]], its third president.<ref name=Usarski&Shoji2016 />{{rp|285}} In 1975 the [[Soka Gakkai International]] was launched in Guam.<ref name=Marshall2013>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852158691|title=Global institutions of religion : ancient movers, modern shakers|last=Marshall|first=Katherine|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136673443|location=London|oclc=852158691}}</ref>{{rp|107–108}} In the United States it has attracted a diverse membership including a significant demographic of African Americans.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eedw2JKjkIUC&pg=PA50&dq=nichiren+shoshu+temple&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZs4HIsavaAhXDdd8KHaknAHkQ6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20shoshu%20temple&f=false|title=The African American religious experience in America|last=Pinn |first=Anthony G.|date=2006|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=9780313325854|page=52|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=71065068}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/844350971|title=Engaged Buddhism in the west|date=2000|publisher=Wisdom Publications|others=Queen, Christopher S. |first=David W. |last=Chappell |chapter=Racial Diversity in the Soka Gakkai|pages=184, 190, 203|isbn=9780861711598|location=Boston, MA|oclc=844350971}}</ref> Since the 1970s it has created institutions, publications and exhibitions to support its overall theme of "peace, culture, and education."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/897907045|title=Religion and American cultures : tradition, diversity, and popular expression|others=Gary Laderman, Luis D. León |first=Richard |last=Seager|isbn=9781610691109|edition=Second edition|location=Santa Barbara, California|oclc=897907045}}</ref> There is academic research on various national organizations affiliated with this movement:<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZiScvbS6-cC&pg=RA3-PA116&dq=nichiren+shu+mission&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwishvH9gp7aAhWko1kKHXsJD1Q4ChDoAQhYMAk#v=snippet&q=abundance%20of%20academic&f=false|title=Introduction to new and alternative religions in America|date=2006|chapter=Soka Gakkai: A Human revolution |publisher=Greenwood Press|first=David W.|last=Machacek |others=Gallagher, Eugene V., Ashcraft, W. Michael, 1955-|isbn=9780313050787|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=230763437}}</ref>{{rp|54}} the United States,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Szm2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA68&dq=soka+gakkai+"peace+culture+and+education"&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjz5Y2w1bTaAhXB5YMKHRA9Db44ChDoAQg_MAQ#v=onepage&q=soka%20gakkai%20"peace%20culture%20and%20education"&f=false|title=Encountering the Dharma : Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the globalization of Buddhist humanism|last=Seager|first=Richard H. |chapter=Soka Gakkai International-USA |page=68 |date=2006|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520939042|location=Berkeley, Calif.|oclc=808600561}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40298264|title=Soka Gakkai in America : accommodation and conversion|last1=E.|first1=Hammond, Phillip|date=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|last2=Machacek |first2=David |isbn=9780198293897|location=Oxford [England]|oclc=40298264}}</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson and Dobbelaere |first=Bryan and Karel |date=1994|title=A Time to Chant|publisher=Oxford University Press |publication-place=Great Britain |pages=243–4}}</ref> Italy,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Macioti|first1=Maria Immacolata|last2=Capozzi (tr)|first2=Richard|title=The Buddha within ourselves : blossoms of the Lotus Sutra|date=2002|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lanham|isbn=0-7618-2189-9}}</ref> Canada,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34076743 |title= The lotus and the maple leaf : the Soka Gakkai Buddhist movement in Canada |last=Alfred |first= Metraux, Daniel |date=1996 |publisher= University Press of America |isbn=978-076180271-6 |location= Lanham, Md. |oclc= 34076743}}</ref> Brazil,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OlDP1OXl_zEC&pg=PA133&dq=nichiren+brazil&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiF3rO6hp_aAhXps1kKHYdJDDkQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20brazil&f=false|title= Buddhist missionaries in the era of globalization |publisher= University of Hawaiì Press |chapter= Globalization and the Pursuit of a Shared Understanding of the Absolute: The Case of Soka Gakkai in Brazil |first=Peter B. |last= Clarke |pages=123–139 |others= Learman, Linda, 1950-|isbn= 978-082482810-3 |location= Honolulu |oclc= 56648172 |date=2006 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1MljDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA305&dq=nichiren+brazil&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjj6uWDjZ_aAhVGx1kKHcxKC7QQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20&f=false |title= Oxford Handbook of contemporary Buddhism |others= Jerryson, Michael K. |first= Cristina |last=Rocha |page=306 |chapter= Buddhism in Latin America |isbn= 978-019936239-4 |location=New York |date= 2016}}</ref> Scotland,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/235028985 |title= Chanting in the Hillsides : the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin in Wales and the Borders |author= Fowler, Jeaneane D. |date= 2009 |publisher= Sussex Academic Press |others= Fowler, Merv. |isbn= 184519258-3 |location= Brighton [England] |oclc= 235028985 }}</ref> Southeast Asia,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45195856 |title= The international expansion of a modern Buddhist movement : the Soka Gakkai in Southeast Asia and Australia |last=Alfred |first= Metraux, Daniel |date=2001 |publisher= University Press of America |isbn= 978-076181904-2 |location= Lanham, MD |oclc= 45195856}}</ref> Germany,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/862613119 |title= Japanese New Religions in Global Perspective |last=Ionescu |first=Sandra |date= 2013 |chapter= Adapt or Perish: The Story of Soka Gakkai in Germany |publisher= Taylor and Francis |others= Clarke, Peter B. |isbn= 978-1136828652 |location= Hoboken |oclc= 862613119 }}</ref> and Thailand.<ref>Pratom Prasertsak Angurarohita, 'Soka Gakkai in Thailand: A Sociological Study of its Emergence, World View, Recruitment Process, and Growth' (Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1993)</ref> The [[Rissho Kosei Kai]] focuses on using its teachings to promote a culture of religiosity through inter-religious dialogue. In 1967, it launched the "Faith to All Men Movement" to awaken a globalized religiosity. It has over 2 million members and 300 Dharma centers in 20 countries throughout the world including Frankfurt and Moorslede. It is active in interfaith organizations, including the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) and Religions for Peace (WCRP). It has consultative states with the United Nations and since 1983 issues an annual Peace Prize to individuals or organizations worldwide that work for peace and development and promote interreligious cooperation.<ref name=Clarke2013 />{{rp|23}}<ref name=Marshall2013 />{{rp|108}} The [[Reiyukai]] conducts more typical missionary activities in the West. It has a membership of between five hundred and one thousand members in Europe, concentrated in Italy, Spain, England and France. The approximately 1,500 members of the [[Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga|Nihonzan Myohoji]] have built peace pagodas, conducted parades beating the drum while chanting the daimoku, and encouraged themselves and others to create world peace.<ref name=Clarke2013>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/862613119|title=Japanese New Religions in Global Perspective.|last=Clarke|first=Peter B.|date=2013|page=23|publisher=Taylor and Francis|others=Clarke, Peter B.|isbn=9781136828652|location=Hoboken|oclc=862613119}}</ref> [[Nichiren Shoshu]] has six temples in the United States led by Japanese priests and supported by lay Asians and non-Asians.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bd_AICOMwccC&pg=PA112&dq=nichiren+shoshu+temple&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP78-ct6vaAhWBTd8KHVE3DH04ChDoAQgtMAE#v=onepage&q=nichiren%20shoshu%20temple&f=false|title=Religions of the United States in practice|date=2001|publisher=Princeton University Press|others=McDannell, Colleen.|first=Richard |last=Seager |chapter=Buddhist Chanting in Soka Gakkai International |page=112 |isbn=9780691010014|location=Princeton, N.J.|oclc=47160933}}</ref> There is one temple in Brazil and the residing priest serves as a "circuit rider" to attend to other locations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26503746|title=Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai in America : the ethos of a new religious movement|last=Hurst|first=Jane D.|date=1992|publisher=Garland Pub|isbn=9780815307761|page=322|location=New York|oclc=26503746}}</ref> == Lists of major Nichiren Buddhist schools and organizations == <!--Please see the talk page before making changes to this section --> The following lists are based on English-language Wikipedia articles and the [[Japanese Wikipedia]] article on [[:ja:日蓮宗|Nichiren Buddhism]]. === Clerical Nichiren Buddhist schools and their head temples === In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia). <!--This listing was arrived at after much painstaking consensus building on the talk page and elsewhere. Please do not change it --> {| class="wikitable" !Romanized English !Japanese |- |[[Fuju-fuse|Fuju-fuse Nichiren Kōmon Shū]] |不受不施日蓮講門宗 本山本覚寺 |- |Hokke Nichiren Shū |法華日蓮宗 総本山 [[:ja:宝龍寺]] |- |Hokkeshū, Honmon Ryū |法華宗（本門流）大本山光長寺・鷲山寺・本興寺･本能寺 |- |Hokkeshū, Jinmon Ryū |法華宗（陣門流）総本山本成寺 |- |Hokkeshū, Shinmon Ryū |法華宗（真門流）総本山本隆寺 |- |Hompa Nichiren Shū |本派日蓮宗 総本山宗祖寺 |- |Honke Nichiren Shū (Hyōgo) |本化日蓮宗（兵庫） 総本山妙見寺 |- |Honke Nichiren Shū (Kyōto) |[[:ja:本化日蓮宗]]（京都）本山石塔寺 |- |[[Hommon Butsuryu|Honmon Butsuryū Shū]] |[[:ja:本門佛立宗]] 大本山宥清寺 |- |Honmon Hokke Shū: Daihonzan Myōren-ji |本門法華宗 大本山妙蓮寺 |- |Honmon Kyōō Shū |[[:ja:本門経王宗]] 本山日宏寺 |- |[[Kempon Hokke]] Shu: Sōhonzan Myōman-ji |総本山妙満寺 |- |Nichiren Hokke Shū |[[:ja:日蓮法華宗]] 大本山正福寺 |- |Nichiren Honshū: Honzan Yōbō-ji |[[:ja:日蓮本宗]] 本山 [[:ja:要法寺]] |- |Nichiren Kōmon Shū |日蓮講門宗 |- |[[Nichiren Shōshū]]:Sōhonzan [[Taiseki-ji]] |日蓮正宗 総本山 大石寺 |- |Nichiren Shū [[Fuju-fuse]]-ha: Sozan Myōkaku-ji |日蓮宗不受不施派 祖山妙覚寺 |- |[[Nichiren Shu|Nichiren Shū]]: Sozan Minobuzan [[Kuon-ji]] |日蓮宗 祖山身延山 [[:ja:久遠寺]] |- |Nichirenshū Fuju-fuse-ha |日蓮宗不受不施派 |- |Shōbō Hokke Shū |正法法華宗 本山 [[:ja:大教寺]] |} === Nichiren Buddhist 20th century movements and lay organizations === In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia): * [[Bussho Gonenkai Kyōdan]], founded in 1950 by Kaichi Sekiguchi and Tomino Sekiguchi * [[Kenshōkai|Fuji Taisekiji Kenshōkai]] (also, just ''Kenshōkai'') [[:ja:富士大石寺顕正会]], founded in 1942 and expelled from Nichiren Shoshu in 1978 * [[Hokkekō]], lay organization closely affiliated with Nichiren Shōshū * [[Kokuchūkai]] [[:ja:国柱会]] (also 國柱会), a nationalist group founded in 1914 by [[Tanaka Chigaku]] * [[Myōchikai Kyōdan]], founded in 1950 by Miyamoto Mitsu * [[Myōdōkai Kyōdan]], founded in 1951 * [[Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga]], founded in 1917 by [[Nichidatsu Fujii]] * [[Reiyūkai]] (Spiritual-Friendship-Association), founded in 1920 by Kakutaro Kubo and Kimi Kotani, Reiyūkai considers itself the grandfather of lay-based new religions devoted to the Lotus Sutra and ancestor veneration. * [[Risshō Kōsei Kai]], founded in 1938 by [[Nikkyō Niwano]] and [[Myōkō Naganuma]] * [[Shōshinkai]], founded in 1980. * [[Soka Gakkai]], founded in Japan in 1930 by [[Tsunesaburō Makiguchi]] and [[Soka Gakkai International]] founded in 1975 by [[Daisaku Ikeda]]. ==Bibliography== ===Translations of Nichiren's writings=== * The Gosho Translation Committee: ''The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume I'', Soka Gakkai, 2006. {{ISBN|4-412-01024-4}} * The Gosho Translation Committee: ''The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume II'', Soka Gakkai, 2006. {{ISBN|4-412-01350-2}} * Kyotsu Hori (transl.); Sakashita, Jay (ed.): ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 1, University of Hawai'i Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-8248-2733-3}} * Tanabe Jr., George (ed.), Hori, Kyotsu: ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 2, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002, {{ISBN|0-8248-2551-9}} * Kyotsu Hori (transl.), Sakashita, Jay (ed.): ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 3, University of Hawai'i Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8248-2931-X}} * Kyotsu Hori (transl.), Jay Sakashita (ed.): ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 4, University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-8248-3180-2}} * Kyotsu Hori (transl.), Sakashita, Jay (ed.): ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 5, University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-8248-3301-5}} * Kyotsu Hori (transl.), Sakashita, Jay (ed.): ''Writings of Nichiren Shonin'', Doctrine 6, University of Hawai'i Press, 2010, {{ISBN|0-8248-3455-0}} *''Selected Writings of Nichiren''. Burton Watson et al., trans.; Philip B. Yampolsky, ed. Columbia University Press, 1990 *''Letters of Nichiren''. Burton Watson et al., trans.; Philip B. Yampolsky, ed. Columbia University Press, 1996<br><small>'''Full disclosure statement:''' Although Soka Gakkai retains the copyrights on the foregoing two <!--Not two: Nichiren Shoshu International Center has been subsumed by SGI since the 1992 split between Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, and despite its name it was never directly affiliated with Nichiren Shoshu--> works and financed their publication, they show some deviation from similar works published under Soka Gakkai's own name.</small> *''Website for English-language translations of works essential to the study of Nichiren Buddhism (Soka Gakkai) [https://www.webcitation.org/6XPCdLtC8?url=http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/ Nichiren Buddhism Library] *''Die Schriften Nichiren Daishonins'', Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer, trans., Verlag Herder, 2014, {{ISBN|978-3451334542}} ===English=== ==== Recent scholarship ==== * Bowring, Paul. Kornicki, Peter, ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan''. eds. Cambridge University Press, 1993. {{ISBN|0-521-40352-9}} (Referred to in text as ''Cambridge''.) * Causton, Richard, "Buddha in Daily Life, An Introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin", 1995. {{ISBN|071267456X}} * ''The Doctrines and Practice of Nichiren Shoshu''. Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau, 2002<!--this is a valid reference; do not remove it--> * Ikeda, Daisaku, ''Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death'', Little, Brown, 1988. {{ISBN|9780356154985}} * ''Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia''. Kondansha, 1993, {{ISBN|4-06-205938-X}}; CD-ROM version, 1999. (Referred to in text as ''Illustrated''.) * ''Lotus Seeds – The Essence of Nichiren Shu Buddhism''. Nichiren Buddhist Temple of San Jose, 2000. {{ISBN|0-9705920-0-0}} * Matsunaga, Daigan, Matsunaga, Alicia (1988), Foundation of Japanese Buddhism, Vol. 2: The Mass Movement (Kamakura and Muromachi Periods), Los Angeles; Tokyo: Buddhist Books International, 1988 (fourth printing). {{ISBN|0-914910-28-0}} * Metraux, Daniel, ''The Soka Gakkai International: Global Expansion of a Japanese Buddhist Movement'', http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec3.12070/abstract, Religion Compass, v. 7#10. * Montgomery, Daniel B., ''Fire In The Lotus – The Dynamic Buddhism of Nichiren''. Mandala – HarperCollins, 1991. {{ISBN|1-85274-091-4}} * ''The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism''. Soka Gakkai, 2002, {{ISBN|4-412-01205-0}} [http://www.sgilibrary.org/dict.html online] * Stone, Jacqueline I., Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Studies in East Asian Buddhism), University of Hawaii Press 2003, {{ISBN|978-0824827717}} ==== Early English-language scholarship ==== (listed in chronological order) * Asai, Nissatsu (1893), ''Outlines of the Doctrine of the Nichiren Sect: With the Life of Nichiren, the Founder of the Nichiren Sect'', edited by the Central Office of the Nichiren Sect. https://books.google.at/books/about/Outlines_of_the_Doctrine_of_the_Nichiren.html?id=WE0uAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y (free download) * Lloyd, Arthur (1912), ''The Creed of Half of Japan 1912''. New York: E.P. Dutton & company. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/chj/chj26.htm * Anesaki, Masaharu (1916), ''Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet'', Cambridge: Harvard University Press. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Ub0KAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PR3 * Reischauer, August Karl (1917), ''Studies in Japanese Buddhism'', New York: Macmillan. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=muAEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA2 *Takakusu, Junjiro (1947), ''The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy'', Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. https://books.google.at/books?id=oyJjCx_tEiMC&pg=PR3&dq=Junjir%C5%8D+Takakusu:+The+Essentials+of+Buddhist+Philosophy&hl=de&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q=nichiren&f=false ===Japanese=== *''Nichiren Shōshū yōgi'' (日蓮正宗要義; "The essential tenets of Nichiren Shoshu"). Taiseki-ji, 1978, rev. ed. 1999 *''Shimpan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Daijiten'' (新版　仏教哲学大辞典: "Grand dictionary of Buddhist philosophy, rev. ed."). Seikyo Shimbunsha, 1985. No ISBN. *''Nichiren Shōshū-shi no kisoteki kenkyū'' (日蓮正宗史の基礎的研究; "A study of fundaments of Nichiren Shoshu history"). (Rev.) Yamaguchi Handō. Sankibo Bussho-rin, 1993. {{ISBN|4-7963-0763-X}} *''Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten'' (岩波　日本史辞典: "Iwanami dictionary of Japanese history"). Iwanami Shoten, 1999. {{ISBN|4-00-080093-0}} (Referred to in text as ''Iwanami''.) *''Nichiren Shōshū Nyūmon'' (日蓮正宗入門; "Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu"). Taiseki-ji, 2002 *''Kyōgaku Yōgo Kaisetsu Shū'' (教学解説用語集; "Glossary of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist terms"). (Rev.) Kyōdō Enoki, comp. Watō Henshūshitsu, 2006. ==See also== * [[Kotodama]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * Encyclopedia Britannica, "[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/552747/Soka-gakkai Soka Gakkai]" * [http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/easia/nich.html East Asian Religions: Nichiren Buddhism] * Shoryo Tarabini (undated). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130602093417/http://nichiren-shu.org/NONA/comparison.pdf A response to questions from Soka Gakkai practitioners regarding the similarities and differences among Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai]'' {{Lotus Sutra}} {{Buddhism topics}} [[Category:Buddhism in Japan]] [[Category:Nichiren Buddhism|*]] [[Category:Buddhism articles needing expert attention]]'