History of Nichiren Buddhism

Mission to Kyoto

Nichizo (1269-1342) was the half-brother of Nichiro, and he became Nichiro’s disciple in 1275. On his deathbed, Nichiren Shonin commissioned Nichizo with the task of converting the emperor in Kyoto to the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Teaching. From November 1, 1293 until February 10, 1294 he chanted the Jigage 100 times every night at Yuigahama Beach. This was the inspiration for the practice of Aragyo which occurs annually at Nakayama Hokekyoji. After completing these prayers and a pilgrimage to the important places in Nichiren’s life, Nichizo finally arrived in Kyoto on April 1, 1294. Due to pressure from the Tendai sect, Nichizo was exiled in 1307, 1310, and in 1321. None of these exiles were very severe. The first exile lasted two years, but Nichizo spent them in the suburbs of Kyoto. Nichizo was quickly pardoned from the other two exiles. After the third exile, the Emperor Godaigo permitted the propagation of Odaimoku and Nichizo was allowed to found the Myokenji Temple. In the following years, the Emperor Godaigo and his son Prince Morinaga intrigued to overthrow the shogunate and restore the imperial family to power. In 1333, Myokenji Temple joined in the pray for Emperor Godaigo’s success. Fortunately for Nichizo, the emperor was successful and the Kamakuran Shogunate fell in 1333. In 1334, the emperor recognized Myokenji Temple as an Imperial Prayer Temple. In this way, Nichiren Buddhism was finally given official recognition. Nichizo’s lineage would later be known as the Shijo Lineage due to the location of Myokenji Temple in Kyoto. The Myokenji Temple was burned down by Tendai sohei (soldier-monks) from Mt. Hiei in 1387. It was rebuilt in 1398 and renamed Myohonji. It took the name Myokenji again in 1519.

Daigaku Myojitsu (1297-1364) carried on Nichizo’s work. In fact, Daigaku may have been instrumental in winning the favor of the Imperial Court since he was a member of the Konoye family which was a noble family with close connections to the court. In 1358, Daigaku was asked to pray for rain during a drought. His prayers were so successful that he was given the title Chief Abbot (Daisojo) of the Nichiren Sect by the emperor. In addition, the emperor officially recognized Nichiren Shonin as a great bodhisattva, and Nichiro and Nichizo as bodhisattvas. In addition, Daigaku began missionary work in Osaka, Okayama.

Nichizon (1265-1345) was a disciple of Nikko, who travelled to Kyoto with Nichimoku and Nichigo who were also Nikko’s disciples. Unfortunately, Nichimoku died on the way and Nichigo returned to Fuji with his ashes. Nichizon alone went on to Kyoto. In 1339, he established the Jogyo-in Temple. The Jogyo-in was later renamed Yoboji Temple.

Nichijo (1298-1369) was a disciple of Nichiin, one of the Nine Senior Disciples of Nichiro. Both Nichiin (1264-1328) and Nichijo were known for teaching that the essential section of the Lotus Sutra is superior to the theoretical sections, a doctrine known as shoretsu. He was also the uncle of Ashikaga Takauji, the first Ashikaga shogun. Ashikaga Takauji became the shogun in 1336 when he chased Emperor Godaigo out of Kyoto and enthroned Emperor Komyo instead. Nichijo came to Kyoto in 1341 and founded the Honkokuji Temple there in 1345 under the patronage of his nephew, the new shogun Ashikaga Takauji. Nichijo’s lineage is known as the Rokujo Lineage because that is the name of the location of Honkokuji Temple in Kyoto.

The Kyoto Lineages

By the early 15th century many monks split from the earlier Kyoto temples such as Myokenji and Honkokuji. They objected to the compromises made by the earlier temples with the aristocracy and the shogunate. They hoped to restore the purity of Nichiren Buddhism and they also emphasized the shoretsu doctrine. “Shoretsu” is a term that refers to the doctrine of the superiority of the essential section of the Lotus Sutra over the theoretical section of the sutra. Rather than relying on their own insights or innovations, the Nichiren Buddhist monks strove to prove their orthodoxy by appealing to the authority of the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Shonin. They also refused to compromise with others in order to maintain their doctrinal integrity. Many of them ended up founding lineages which still exist today as minor schools of Nichiren Buddhism. Nichijitsu, Nichijo, Nichiju, Nichijin, Nichiryu, and Nisshin were among the most notable of those who split from the earlier Kyoto temples.

Nichijitsu (1318-1378) and Nichijo (d.1415) were two brothers who left Myokenji Temple after the death of Daigaku Myojitsu’s successor Rogen. Together they founded the Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto in 1378. In 1413, Nichijo set forth a series of regulations that forbid giving services to or receiving donations from slanderers of the Dharma. This was the beginning of fuju fuse (no giving and no receiving). This was in reaction to what he felt was the overly conciliatory policies of Myokenji Temple.

Nichiju (1314-1392) was originally a Tendai monk who learned about Nichiren Buddhism from Nichiin, a monk connected with Taisekiji Temple. In 1379 he read the Kaimoku Sho and the Nyosetsu Shugyo Sho and was so impressed that he converted to Nichiren Buddhism. Because Nichiin had already passed away at the time of his conversion, he went to study with Nisshu of Guboji Temple in Mama. Nichijo was even appointed the head of the school there by Nisshu. Later, Nichiju visted Nisson, the Chief Priest of Hommyoji Temple in Nakayama and later went to Kyoto as Nisson’s deputy to convert the emperor in 1381. He was well received but unable to convert the emperor, so he went again as Nisson’s deputy in 1382. He travelled to Kyoto a third time in 1383 and stayed. On that third occasion he was not acting as Nisson’s deputy and there seems to have been a break in their relations. In 1388, after Nisshu passed away, Nichiju declared that he had inherited the Dharma directly from the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren. Nichiju followed the shoretsu doctrine. In fact, he taught that only the 16th chapter contained the true teaching. He founded the Myomanji Temple in Kyoto in 1385. It is now the head temple of the Kempon Hokke Shu (founding date 1384).

Nichijin (1339-1419) was a disicple of Nichijo of Honkokuji in Kyoto. He became the head priest of Honjoji Temple in 1369. In 1397 he began to preach the shoretsu doctrine and opposed the Honkokuji Temple which was preaching the doctrine of the unity (itchi in Japanese) of the essential and theoretical sections of the Lotus Sutra. The Honjoji Temple would become the head temple of what is now called the Hokke Shu Jin-Monryu (founding date 1406).

Nichiryu (1385-1464) was originally a disciple of the Chief Priest Nissei at Myohonji Temple (the rebuilt Myokenji Temple). When Nissei died in 1405 the monk Gatsumyo took over. Nichiryu did not approve of Gatsumyo’s lax ways and even bested him in a debate. Gatsumyo then forced Nichiryu and his faction out of the temple. Nichiryu then established new temples and taught the doctrine of shoretsu, emphasizing that the true teaching is found only in chapters 15-22 of the Lotus Sutra. For this reason, the school he founded was called the Eight Chapter School (Happon-ha). The Honnoji Temple in Kyoto which Nichiryu founded is now the head temple of the Honmon Hokke Shu (founding date 1423).

Nisshin (1407-1488) of the Nakayama lineage came to be known as the “Pot Wearing Saint” because of the tortures he endured at the hands of Shogun Yoshinori. In 1439 he attempted to convert the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. As Nisshin was writing his own version of the Rissho Anokoku-ron, he was arrested. For two years he was tortured in prison in an effort to force him to renounce the Odaimoku. On one occasion, it is said that a red-hot iron kettle was jammed on his head. This is known as the Takehara Persecution. In the end, Nisshin was released when Ashikaga Yoshinori was assassinated. Nisshin is credited with founding thirty temples, memorializing high officials on eight occasions, and winning sixty religious debates. Nisshin exemplified the spirit of shakubuku (to break and subdue false views)and fuju fuse even at the risk of his own life and in the face of terrible suffering.

Priests like Nisshin were not the only ones willing to offer their lives for the Lotus Sutra nor were the persectutions confined to Kyoto. In 1436 the Nichiren priests Nisshin (not the “Pot Wearer”) and Nichimyo publicly debated a Tendai priest named Shinkai in Kamakura. Ashikaga Mochiuji, the governor of Kamakura, was so incensed that he destroyed all the Nichiren Buddhist temples in the city, exiled the priests, confiscated the lands of any samurai practicing Nichiren Buddhism, and threatened to execute any commoner who did not renounce the Odaimoku. He relented, however, when 60 people volunteered to be executed rather than give up practicing the Odaimoku. This event is known as the Eikyo Persection.

The Machishu Culture & Hokke Ikki

After Nisshin, the various Nichiren Buddhist lineages within Kyoto struggled with each other. Each faction claimed that it alone truly upheld Nichiren Shonin’s teachings. Many of these factions took up the practice of fuju fuse and vigorous shakubuku. In 1451, for instance, Myomanji Temple created a set of regulations even stricter than those set forth by Nichijo of Myokakuji Temple back in 1413. Eventually, the various Nichiren Buddhist temples realized that they would need to set aside their conflicts in order to present a united front against the forces of the warrior monks of Mt. Hiei which threatened them. This resulted in the Kansho Accord of 1466. The Kansho Accord contained six principles on which all the temples of Kyoto agreed, with the exception of Honpoji Temple of Nisshin’s lineage. The six principles were:

1. The identity of the theoretical and essential sections of the Lotus Sutra, though one or the other may be considered superior depending on people’s capacities and level of understanding. This principle attempted to reconcile the shoretsu (superiority of the essential section) and itchi (harmony of both sections) doctrines.

2. All Nichiren Buddhists, both monastic and lay, should practice shakubuku.

3. Nichiren Buddhists are prohibited from making pilgrimages to the temples or shrines of slanderers.

4. Nichiren Buddhists are not to receive offerings from slanderers, unless those offerings are made for secular reasons.

5. Though shakubuku (the way of subduing slander) and shoju (the way of embracing what is true) are both ways to teach the Dharma, shakubuku is now the proper one to use. This is a reiteration of point two.

6. Lay followers should not forsake their original teachers, though they may give offerings to more than one temple if those temples all agree to it.

The Kansho Accord did not last for very long. The Onin War of 1467-1477 was particularly destructive, and in 1469 the Tendai warrior-monks burned down much of the aristocratic northern part of Kyoto. The Nichiren temples were in the southern part of the city, so they became rallying points for the merchants who lived there. The townspeople (machishu) formed their own militias to protect themselves from the warrior-monks of Mt. Hiei, peasant rebellions, and warlords from the provinces. Since many of them were Nichiren Buddhists, the temples became virtual fortresses. At this point, the temples resumed their struggle for power.

Nisshin (1444-1528) was a monk who studied at Myohonji Temple (the former Myokenji Temple). He was an adherent of shoretsu, and in particular he emphasized the superiority of the 16th chapter. Eventually he left Myohonji and founded Honryuji Temple in Kyoto in 1489. The Honryuji Temple is now the head temple of the Hokke Shu Shin-Monryu (founded 1488). With the creation of a new sect by Nisshin, the Kansho Accord was shown to be totally ineffective in ending sectarianism.

Despite the power struggles and doctrinal conflicts, the Kyoto temple militias gained in strength as the Ashikaga Shogunate’s power waned and Japan descended into anarchy. When the Nembutsu based peasant rebellions threatened the city of Kyoto in the summer of 1532, the militias came out in force to defend the city, and for the next four years they ruled the city of Kyoto. This brief rule of the Nichiren Buddhist townspeople is known as the Lotus Uprising (Hokke Ikki) in contrast to the Pure Land Buddhist peasant rebellions known as the Single-minded [Faith in Nembutsu] Uprisings (Ikko Ikki).

The Lotus Uprising ended disastrously in 1536 when a Nichiren Buddhist lay follower challenged and then defeated a Tendai monk in a public debate. Incensed, the warrior-monks of Mt. Hiei descended upon the city in force and burned down all 21 of the Nichiren Buddhist head temples in Kyoto as well as the whole southern half of the city and a good portion of the northern half. This event is known as the Tenmon Persecution.

After the Tenmon Persecution, many of the Nichiren Buddhist clergy and lay followers took refuge in Sakai near Osaka. In 1542 they were finally allowed to return to Kyoto. By 1545, 15 head temples had been reestablished. Once again, the temples were forced to put an end to sectarianism in order to present a unified front against Mt. Hiei and their other enemies. In 1564 the 15 temples signed the Eiroku Accord in which they attempted to reconcile the shoretsu and itchi factions of Nichiren Buddhism. This agreement was extended by the Tensho Accord of 1575. In spite of their new found unity, and the razing of Mt. Hiei by the dictator Oda Nobunaga in 1571, the Nichiren Buddhist temples of Kyoto would never regain the power and prestige they had attained at the height of the Lotus Uprising.

Oda Nobunaga’s destruction of Mt. Hiei was not done as a favor to the Nichiren Buddhists of Kyoto. In fact, Nobunaga was determined to bring all of the Buddhist schools under his firm control. In 1579, he decided to teach the Nichiren Buddhists a lesson they would not soon forget. In that year he demanded that a debate be held in Azuchi Castle between representatives of Nichiren Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism. Despite the superior arguments of the Nichiren Buddhist monks, Nobunaga declared the Pure Land monks the winners and condemned the three main Nichiren Buddhist representatives to death. He then demanded that the Nichiren Buddhists pay reparations to the Pure Land school, sign an admission of defeat, and cease all proselytizing in Kyoto. This is known as the Azuchi Persecution. After the Azuchi Debate, the major schools of Nichiren Buddhism emphasized the shoju method of propagation rather than the shakubuku method.

The Fuju Fuse Debate

Nichio (1565-1630) was the leading figure in the last important development of Nichiren Buddhism in the fuedal era. In 1595, the dictator Hideyoshi requested that 100 representatives from each of the major Buddhist schools attend monthly memorial services for his ancestors before the Great Buddha that he had commissioned. The leaders of the Kyoto temples believed that to refuse would mean the destruction of their temples and communities. In addition, while they agreed in principle that one should not give services for slanderers or receive donations from them (the fuju fuse doctrine), they argued that the secular authorities were exceptions to this rule. Only Nichio, the head priest of Myokakuji Temple refused to compromise. In protest, he left Myokakuji Temple. In 1599, Tokugawa Ieyasu, at that time one of the five regents appointed to lead the country after Hideyoshi’s death, invited Nichio to debate his views with the leaders of the Kyoto temples at Osaka Castle. The outcome was foreordained by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Nichio was sent into exile to Tsushima Island the next year.

In 1608, a new blow was dealt to Nichiren Buddhism by Tokugawa Ieyasu who was now the new shogun. In that year, Nikkyo, the chief priest of Myomanji Temple, was invited to the Tokugawa Castle in the new capital of Edo to debate Shakudo of the Pure Land school. The night before the debates, intruders broke into Nikkyo’s quarters and beat him so badly that he was unable to debate the next day even though the Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered him carried in on a stretcher. The Shogun declared Shakudo the winner by default and sentenced Nikkyo and five of his followers to have their noses and ears removed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu also demanded that the Nichiren Buddhists cease their propagation efforts. Nichion, head priest of Kuonji Temple at Mount Minobu refused to go along with that order and he was arrested and sentenced to crucifixion. Fortunately for him, one of the Shogun’s concubines, the Lady Oman, threatened to kill herself in front of her children if Nichion was executed. The Shogun relented and Nichion was released, though he did not return to Kuonji Temple for fear of not being able to propagate Nichiren Buddhism if he should resume his position as chief priest. This event is called the Keicho Persecution, after the era in which it occured.

Nichio was finally pardoned in 1616 and allowed to return to Myokakuji Temple. By this time, those who supported the fuju fuse stance had become quite numerous. In 1623, the fuju fuse movement was even officially permitted by the shogunate. Such permission, however, was subject to the convenience of the Tokugawas. The debate about whether to attend a government sponsored memorial service came up again in 1626 when the wife of Shogun Hidetada died. Two factions arose. The Minbou led faction decided to attend the ceremony, whereas the Ikegami led faction decided not to attend. Naturally, Nichio was on the Ikegami side of the debates which followed. In 1630 the Tokugawa Shogunate sponsored a debate between the two factions and subsequently declared the more accomodating Minobu faction the winners. Nichio was sentenced to another exile, but he had already died. With the debate of 1630, fuju fuse was forbidden by the Tokugawa Shogunate.

In 1665, the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled that all temples would have to report the land which had been granted to them by the government for worship. This meant that all the temples had to admit that they had received their land as a donation from the government for religious purposes. Those who still clung to the fuju fuse doctrine could not do this without compromising their principles, and so the new rule effectively ended the fuju fuse movement. They could no longer receive any recognition from the government, and without that recognition they could not operate their temples. Without membership in a government recognized temple the fuju fuse adherents became outlaws. The fuju fuse movement would remain illegal until 1876. The movement is now called the Nichiren Shu Fuju Fuse-Ha (founding date 1595).

The Modern Reformers

Nagamatsu Seifu Nissen (1817-1890) was originally a priest of the Honmon Hokke Shu, but he left that school due to his disgust with the corruption of the clergy. In 1857, he founded the Butsuryu-Ko in Kyoto. This became the Honmon Butsuryu Shu.

Udana-in Nichiki (1800-1859) was a great scholar and reformer of Nichiren Buddhism who helped to establish the modern education system of the Nichiren Shu. He also taught that the present age demands the practice of shoju rather than shakubuku. He argued that the Rissho Ankoku Ron was no longer applicable to the times and that a new method of propagation would need to be used in a time when religious debate was no longer a convincing or effective means of converting others.

In 1868 the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and the Meiji emperor was restored to power in the Meiji Restoration. Unfortunately, the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate brought with it a backlash against the Buddhist temples which the Tokugawa’s had made into an arm of their bureaucracy. The new government was determined to abolish the ideological underpinnings of the Tokugawas and replace it with their own. This meant the suppression of Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism and the promotion of Shinto which became the state religion in 1870. The government destroyed Buddhist temples as part of its violent anti-Buddhist movement which peaked in 1871. The government even demanded that Hachiman and Tensho be removed from the Omandalas of Nichiren Buddhism in their attempts to seperate Buddhism and Shinto. The anti-Buddhist movement also removed the civil laws against Buddhist monks and nuns marrying or eating meat in their attempts to secularize the clergy. They even prohibited the Nichiren Buddhist practice of marching with drums.

As part of their attempts to consolidate and thereby control Buddhism, the government was instrumental in the formation of the modern Japanese Buddhist sects. In 1876, the Itchi Ha lineages formed the Nichiren Shu. The Shoretsu Ha lineages became the Myomanji Ha, Komon Ha, Happon Ha, Honjoji Ha, the Honryuji Ha, and the Fuju Fuse Ha. In 1898, the Myomanji Ha became the Kempon Hokke Shu, the Happon Ha became the Honmon Hokke Shu, the Honryuji Ha became the Honmyo Hokke Shu, and the Honjoji became the Hokke Shu. In 1899, the Komon Ha became the Honmon Shu. In 1900, Taisekiji became independent from the Honmon Shu and called itself the Nichiren Shu Fuji Ha. In 1912, they changed their name again to Nichiren Shoshu. In 1941, the Nichiren Shu, Kempon Hokke Shu, and Honmon Shu were united, but this only lasted until after the war.

Arai Nissatsu (1830-1888) was a disciple of Udana-in Nichiki who became the first superintendent of the Nichiren Shu. In line with the shoju approach, Nissatsu was a member of the Intersectarian Cooperative League which formed in 1868 to resist the suppression of Buddhism by State Shinto. He later helped to form the Society for Harmony and Respect to promote intersectarian understanding, and he also helped to found intersectarian welfare projects. Nissatsu is also said to have taught a revisionist version of Nichiren’s Four Admonitions which reads: “Because we contemplate the Buddha, ceaselessly devils are quieted; because our words are true, traitors who would destroy the nation are subdued.”

Nichiren Buddhism in the 20th Century

The 20th century would prove to be a difficult time for Nichiren Buddhism.

During the first half of the century Japan would continue to follow the path of imperialism which began in the previous century with the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. As a result of that war Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea, and other territories. The Japanese were victorious again in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, annexed Korea outright in 1910, and created a puppet state in Manchuria in 1932. Japan’s ambition to create a Japanese Empire, which they termed the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, culminated in the war in China which began in 1937 and expanded into a war with the United States and Great Britain after the sneak attack against Pearl Harbor in 1941. During the war, no dissent was tolerated. In fact, in 1937 the Ministry of Education published the Kokutai no Hongi (Cardinal Principles of the Nation) which declared the divinity of the Japanese emperor and the obligation of the Japanese people to sacrifice themselves if need be for the good of the nation. State Shinto was the ideology of Imperial Japan and the Buddhist establishment was given no choice but to support it. In 1943 all temples were ordered to enshrine a talisman from the Ise Shrine as an acknowledgement of the divinity of the emperor. Almost without exception the Buddhist temples complied.

Some Buddhists did not simply comply reluctantly with State Shinto. Rather, some enthusiastically promoted a movement called “Imperial Way Buddhism” (Kodo Bukkyo). Imperial-way Buddhism taught that Japanese Buddhism was superior to all other forms and then identified Buddhism with the state and the state with the emperor. To worship and serve the emperor was the same as worshiping and serving the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Brian Victoria reports that Takasa Nichiko, the administrative head of the Nichiren Shu, and other leading Nichiren Shu clergy formed “The Association for the Practice of Imperial-Way Buddhism” (Kodo Bukkyo Gyodo Kai) in 1938. This association even identified the Gohonzon as the Japanese emperor: “…the principle image of adoration in imperial-way Buddhism is not Buddha Shakyamuni who appeared in India, but his majesty, the emperor…” (pp. 84-85, Zen at War) As will be seen, even before 1938 the idea that there was an intrinsic unity between Buddhism and Imperial Japan were already in circulation, especially among those advocating a return to the more hard line methods of shakubuku in propagating Nichiren Buddhism.

Honda Nissho (1867-1931) was also an advocate of the unity of Buddhism and the state under the emperor and a return to the method of shakubuku against the other schools of Buddhism. He was a priest of the Myomanji-ha but he fell afoul of the administrative head of that lineage and was disrobed in 1892 because he refused to allow for the enshrinement of other deities besides the Omandala. He was reinstated in 1895, however, because he was needed to write a summary of the doctrines of the Myomanji-ha. However, the section addressing Nichiren’s critiques of the other schools of Buddhism was edited out of the published version without his permission. His response was to attempt to unify all the Nichiren schools against the other schools. In 1898 the Myomanji-ha became the Kempon Hokke Shu and in 1905 he was appointed its head administrator. In 1922 with the help of Tanaka Chigaku he petitioned the emperor to grant Nichiren a title. The administrative heads of the other Nichiren schools and many prominent lay people, including Tanaka Chigaku, signed the petition. On October 13, 1922, the emperor conferred the title Rissho Daishi upon Nichiren Shonin.

Tanaka Chigaku (1861-1939) was a controversial reformer and ultranationalist. He was a Nichiren Shu clergyman from age 15 until age 19, but then left because he was disillusioned with the emphasis on shoju over shakubuku as taught by Udana-in Nichiki and his successor Arai Nissatsu. Nissatsu, in fact, headed the Nichiren Great Academy (the precursor to Rissho University) during the time that Tanaka was studying there. He emphasized shakubuku as a compassionate method to break people free of debilitating false views and that people should actively think about and choose which school of Buddhism to follow rather than passively accepting membership in whatever temple one’s family happened to belong to under the danka system. He also believed that Buddhism should not only be for funerals and memorials, but that it should be incorporated into the daily life of the family. To this end he created a ceremony for conferring the Lotus Sutra on newborn infants in 1886 and in 1887 he created the first Buddhist wedding ceremony in Japan. At this time there were many controversies over the issue of Buddhist priests marrying, eating meat, and wearing secular clothes which was now being permitted and even encouraged by the Meiji government. Tanaka’s view was that the time for monks and nuns was over, and that Buddhist clergy in Japan should view themselves as lay bodhisattvas instead. He saw celibacy and the other rules previously upheld by the clergy as holdovers from Hinayana and provisional Mahayana Buddhism that he saw as world-denying and misogynistic. He did not see married clergy as the degeneration of Buddhism into a family business, but rather an opportunity to keep the temples alive as centers of lay practice. He even advocated that an academy should be set up for the wives of priests so that they could take equal responsibility for the care of the temples and the teachings of Buddhism. Tanaka was convinced that lay Buddhism was the way of the future. In order to create a modernized lay Buddhism, Tanaka founded a series of lay organizations, the most enduring of which was the Kokuchukai (Nation’s Pillar Society). He referred to his movement as Nichirenshugi (Nichirenism) and was not just trying to reform the Nichiren Shu but was trying to create a new way of doing Nichiren Buddhism that would go beyond all the previous sects. In many ways, Tanaka Chigaku and his Nichirenist lay Buddhist movement was an inspiration for later groups like the Reiyukai and Rissho Kosei Kai. Even within the Nichiren Shu, though, his reforms and advocacy of shakubuku still have strong adherents.

Tanaka Chigaku was himself very compassionate and idealistic. He believed that the essence of Japan as a nation must be based on the essence of the Lotus Sutra in order for Japan to be true to herself. Unfortunately, as an ardent nationalist, he also came to believe that Japan’s essence already manifested the essence of the Lotus Sutra and therefore it was the responsibility of Japan to bring peace to the world even through the use of force. The use of force in such a case would then be equivalent to shakubuku. Tanaka, and other ultranationalists, even misappropriated a passage from the Rissho Ankoku Ron in order to show that the Dharma served the national interests. The passage reads: “…we should first pray for the peace and tranquility of a nation before trying to spread Buddhism.” (p.129, Writings of Nichiren Shonin Volume 1) The passage, however, is taken from the words of the guest (who represented the retired regent at the time) whose views are then corrected by the host (who represents Nichiren himself). The Rissho Ankoku Ron actually makes an argument the opposite of that which Tanaka Chigaku and the other ultranationalists were making. It actually argues that the Dharma has a priority over national interests and even security and that the nation can only be secure by serving the true Dharma that is above all egoistic or even national interests. The most unfortunate effect of this misuse of Nichiren’s writings is that the impression that Nichiren himself was an ultranationalist still persists among some scholars who have never bothered to check Nichiren’s writings for themselves (which are full of critiques of the emperors and military rulers and take a humble though concerned view of Japan as a nation) even long after the end of WWII.

The legacy of Tanaka Chigaku is a complicated one. Many of the reforms he advocated could be viewed as positive but not by all. Senchu Murano, for instance, felt that the secularization of the clergy was destroying Japanese Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism has still not totally escaped the shadow of Tanaka Chigaku’s ultranationalist reading of Nichiren and justification of imperialism as a form of shakubuku. On the other hand, he inspired many great and compassionate Nichiren Buddhists, like the poet Kenji Miyazawa. However, one views him, there is no denying that Tanaka Chigaku was one of the key figures of Nichiren Buddhism in the 20th century.

Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was a famous writer who was greatly inspired by Nichiren Buddhism. His family belonged to the Pure Land school, but in 1915 he was so impressed upon reading the Lotus Sutra that he converted to Nichiren Buddhism. In 1921 he joined Tanaka Chigaku’s Kokuchukai and endeavored to spread its teachings. Nichiren Buddhist imagery and ideas appear throughout his writings. In addition to writing and engaging in pious practices such as chanting and transcribing the sutra, Kenji did his best to live the life of a bodhisattva. In 1926 he resigned his position as a high school teacher in order to help poor farmers grow better crops by applying his knowledge of agricultural science. He is best known for his novel Night of the Galactic Railway and his poem “I Will Not Bow to Rain.”

Seno Giro (1889-1961) was one of the few Nichiren Buddhists who actively opposed Japanese imperialism. He was a Nichiren Buddhist layman who became the chairman of the Youth League for Revitalizing Buddhism (Shinkyo Bukkyo Seinen Domei) that was founded on April 5, 1931. The League was composed of social activists who were critical of capitalism, internationalist in outlook, and committed to an inter-sectarian and more rational and practical form of Buddhism that would work for social justice and world peace. Their motto was “carry the Buddha on your backs and go out into the streets.” They opposed nationalism, militarism, and imperialism, and even spoke out against Nazi aggression and atrocities. They also gathered signatures and worked to change laws to help poor farmers, outcastes, and other marginalized people in Japanese society. They were the first “engaged Buddhists” in modern Japan. Unfortunately they were expelled in 1933 from the larger All-Japan Federation of Buddhist Youth Organizations because the mainstream schools of Japanese Buddhism did not wish to be associated with their activism. The organization was subject to constant censorship and harassment by the police. Seno Giro himself was arrested many times and even beaten up by prison guards. On December 7, 1936 he was arrested and charged with treason. After five months of relentless interrogations and pressure he confessed to the charges against him, and pledged to support the emperor. Using his “confession” the police cracked down on the League and arrested more than 200 members and prosecuted 29. Seno was sentenced to five years in prison in 1939 but was released due to ill health in 1942. The story of Seno Giro shows that there were some Nichiren Buddhists who could see that the Dharma was not compatible with fascism and who were not afraid to resist. The fate of Seno Giro and the Youth League for Revitalizing Buddhism also shows how powerful the forces of coercion were at that time.

Kakutaro Kubo (1892-1944) founded the Reiyukai Kyodan (Spiritual Friendship Society) in 1919. He had been influenced by the lay practices and traditional values of Tanaka Chigaku’s Nichirenism as well as the spiritualist practices of a man named Chise Wakatsuki (1884 – 1971) who helped him found the Reiyukai but who left to form his own group in 1924 which also used the name Reiyukai until 1936. Later Kakutaro’s sister-in-law Kotani Kimi (1901 – 1971) helped him and eventually succeeded him as the leader of Reiyukai after his death. Though Reiyukai recites passages from the Lotus Sutra, chants Odaimoku, and reveres Nichiren Shonin, it upholds no dogma and its practices center around prayer for and gratitude to one’s ancestors. Many other groups would form as offshoots of the Reiyukai, including the Rissho Kosei Kai.

Nikkyo Niwano (1906-1999) was a former member of the Reiyukai who formed his own group, the Rissho Kosei Kai, in 1938 with his friend and fellow Reiyukai member Naganuma Myoko (1889 – 1957). They split from the Reiyukai because direct study of the Lotus Sutra was being discouraged within that organization at that time and they both wished to directly study and practice the sutra. The Rissho Kosei Kai also recites passages from the Lotus Sutra and chants the Odaimoku and reveres Nichiren Shonin. It is not, strictly speaking, a Nichiren sect however. It takes a more general Buddhist/Tendai approach to the Lotus Sutra and emphasizes Buddhist based group counseling called hoza. Nikkyo Niwano also emphasized inter-sectarian and even inter-religious dialogue and cooperation and was widely recognized for his efforts in this regard.

Fuji Nichidatsu (1885-1985) was the founder of the Nipponzan Myohoji. He was ordained in the Nichiren Shu at the age of 19 though his family was opposed to it. At 32, after practicing severe asceticism, he began to beat the hand drum and chant Odaimoku as his basic practice in order to fulfill the teachings of Nichiren’s Rissho Ankoku Ron and bring peace through the establishment of the Wonderful Dharma. To further his efforts he founded the Nipponzan Myohoji while doing missionary work in China and Manchuria in 1917. In 1931 he traveled to India, determined to fulfill Nichiren’s wish that the Dharma should be restored to its country of origin. During that time he met with Mahatma Gandhi. Due to Gandhi’s example and the devastation caused by WWII, particularly the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fuji Nichidatsu became determined to bring about world peace by marching all over the world beating the drum and chanting Odaimoku and also through the construction of peace pagodas all over the world beginning in India and Japan.

From the time that Buddhism first arrived in Japan, it had always depended on the patronage of Japan’s rulers and was always subject to their control. This changed in 1945 with the defeat of Imperial Japan by the Allies and the beginning of the U.S occupation that would last until 1945. Suddenly, Japanese Buddhism was no longer subject to state control. On May 3, 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution guaranteeing the separation of church and state. For the first time, the many schools of Japanese Buddhism could no longer rely on government patronage or sponsorship, but likewise they were free of government suppression and interference. After 1945, Buddhism would have to find a way to respond to the challenges of consumerism and the Cold War. Imperial Way Buddhism quickly became a thing of the past, and many priests and scholars began to view Buddhism as a universal religion transcending borders and teaching a way of peace. The work of clergy like Fuji Nichidatsu and lay leaders like Nikkyo Niwano are indicative of this new outlook.

The story of Nichiren Buddhism in the 20th century is the story of capitulation to State Shinto and Japanese imperialism in the first half of the century, and the story of the success of the New Religions like Reiyukai, Rissho Kosei Kai, and especially the world wide spread of the Soka Gakkai in the latter half of the century. It is also the story of the halting spread of mainstream Nichiren Buddhism around the world. But these stories are told in other articles.

Sources for History of Nichiren Buddhism History

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Jaffe, Richard M. Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton Universtity Press, 2001.

Kasahara, Kazuo. A History of Japanese Religion. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 2002.

Kashiwahara, Yusen & Sonoda, Koyu (eds.). Shapers of Japanese Buddhism. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 1994.

Matsunaga, Alicia & Matsunaga, Daigan. Foundations of Japanese Buddhism Vol. II: The Mass Movement (Kamakura & Muromachi Periods). Los Angeles: Buddhist Books International, 1988.

Montgomery, Daniel B. Fire in the Lotus. London: Mandala, 1991.

Murano, Senchu. Manual of Nichiren Buddhism. Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1995.

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Stone, Jacqueline I. Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu: Kuroda Institute, 1999.

Tamura, Yoshiro. Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co., 2000.

Tanabe, George J. & Tanabe, Willa Jane (eds.). The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998.

Victoria, Brian. Zen at War. New York: Weatherhill, 1997.