Development 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 (1336–1573), which in turn was succeeded by the
Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1600), and then the
Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868). During these time periods, collectively comprising 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. In the modern period, Nichiren Buddhism experienced a revival, largely initiated by lay people and lay movements. 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 Myōhō Renge Kyō, using the
Gohonzon in meditative practice, insisting on the need for propagation, and participating in remonstrations with the authorities. 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" () disciple to lead his community:
Nikkō Shōnin (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
Kanto region of Japan and these groups, after Nichiren's death, ultimately morphed into lineages of schools.
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
Taiseki-ji temple of
Nichiren Shōshū. 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 gods (
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. :
The Three Gems. All schools of Buddhism speak of the concept of 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 Myōhō Renge Kyō, the Nikkō school identifies it as the
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō that is hidden in the 16th "Lifespan" Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (the
Gohonzon). Currently,
Nichiren Shōshū claims this specifically refers to the
Dai Gohonzon, whereas
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. 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. • 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. 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. 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).
15th century through the early 19th century In the early 14th century Hokkeshū followers spread the teachings westward and established congregations (Jpn. ) into the imperial capital of
Kyoto and as far as
Bizen and
Bitchu. During this time there is documentation of face-to-face public debates between Hokkeshū and
Nembutsu adherents. 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. ), 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. ) of the Lotus Sutra, staked out in chapters 10–22, which emphasize practice in the mundane world. Despite strong sectarian differences, there is also evidence of interactions between Hokkeshū and Tendai scholar-monks. 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. 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. Stagnation was often the price for the protected status. By this time
Japanese Buddhism was often characterized by
syncretism in which local
nativistic worship was incorporated into Buddhist practice. For example, Tendai, Shingon, Jodō, and Nichiren temples often had chapels within them dedicated to
Inari Shinto worship. Within Nichiren Buddhism there was a phenomenon of (Lotus Shinto), closely influenced by
Yoshida Shintō. 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. 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. 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. 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. Many of these reform efforts were led by lay people. The trend toward lay centrality was prominent in Nichiren Buddhism as well, predating the Meiji period. 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 nationalistic 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.
As a form of nationalism 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. The nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings were inspired by lay Buddhist movements like
Kokuchūkai and resulted in violent historical events such as the
May 15 Incident and the
League of Blood Incident. Among the key proponents of this interpretation are
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. Other nationalist activists who based their ideas on Nichiren were
Ikki Kita and
Nisshō Inoue. The same fate was also endured by
Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, who refused the religious dictum of
Shinto display accepted by
Nichiren Shōshū for the
Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, his lay organization composed of primarily secretaries and teachers until it grew to become
Soka Gakkai after World War II.
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. with
Nichiren Shōshū and the Japanese principle
Shin (信 ),
Gyo (行),
Gaku (学) as "Faith, Practices, Study", are more recent examples of lay-inspired movements drawing from Nichiren's teachings and life.
In culture and literature 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. A prominent researcher,
Masaharu Anesaki, was encouraged to study Nichiren which led to the work
Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet which introduced Nichiren to the West. 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. == Globalization ==