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Nichijū 日什 Religion Buddhism School Nichiren Buddhism Sect Nichijū-ha (Kempon Hokke) Temple Myomanji Personal Born 1314 Died 1392 Religious career Teacher Nichijin Nichijū (日什) (1314–1392) was an early Nichiren Buddhist who founded the Nichijū-ha subsect, the origin of Kempon Hokke. He was converted from Tendai Buddhism by Nichijin in 1379, at the age of 67.
Nichi-ju was born on the 14th of April 1314, and his childhood name was Tamachiyo-maru.
At the age of 15, both of his parents died. Sensing the impermanence of life, he aspired to become a priest. At the age of 19, he became a disciple of Jihen-sojo of Jochi-in Yokokawa at Mt. Hiei, and he changed his name to Gemmyo. At the age of 38 (in the second year of Kan’o) he was officially recognized as the most learned among all of his fellow monks of Mt. Hiei. Later, at the age of 58 he returned to his hometown of Aizu with the intention of retiring. At Aizu he was welcomed by the lord of the Castle, Lord Ashina and he became the priest of the Ashina family’s prayer temple, Tokoji, at Mt. Haguro. Many young students who admired his learning and virtue gathered from all around. He became known as Gemmyo of the Tendai Sect.
Then one day a disciple of his decided to return to his hometown; he came to see Gemmyo and said, “Please open this bookcase if I don’t return after three months.” Although three months, and then half a year passed, the disciple didn’t return. So, the Gemmyo opened the bookcase. In the bookcase were books written by Nichiren, entitled “Kaimoku Sho” (Essay on Opening the Eyes) and “Nyosetsu Shugyo Sho” (True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha). Gemmyo read them; every word and each phrase touched his heart deeply. The wonderful impressions and the holy ecstasy which enveloped him from reading these works convinced him that this was the teaching that he had been searching for, all of these years. For the period of Mappo (Latter day of the Law), the Tendai doctrines were too difficult for most believers to grasp or practice. In this age of Mappo, Gemmyo realised that the teaching of Nichiren is indeed the one teaching which makes the correct use of the spirit of T’ien- t’ai and Dengyo; it should be considered the “Great Good Law”. This realisation of deep spiritual conviction brought tears to Nichiju’s eyes.
In a conversation with Jihen, a fellow priest, he said: “According to the Sutra, now is the time for the Bodhisattva Jogyo of the teaching of the Original Buddha to appear in this world.”
Gemmyo was convinced that Nichiren Shonin himself was Bodhisattva jogyo.
“I will immediately convert to the Nichiren Hokke Sect,” he declared with determination and he changed his name to Nichi-ju. Immediately he went to Jitsujoji Temple, a branch temple of Taisekiji, and asked about the teachings of Nichiren Shonin. The priests at Jitsujoji couldn’t answer Nichi-ju’s questions and they directed him to Guhoji Temple at Mama in Shimosa (Chiba Prefecture) where many of the Shonin’s writings were kept.
In the meantime, a large number of Tendai monks of Tokoji Temple were afraid that if the news got out that the famous Gemmyo had converted, it would bring dishonor to the Tendai Sect; Mt. Haguro’s fortunes would certainly decline. Rather than let that happen, they tried to kill Nichi-ju, planning to announce that he had suddenly died of old age. One of the monks, named Jennyo-bo, secretly told him of the plot.
“Just by planning to convert, such demonic obstacles have occurred. Now I can understand the difficulties which the Daishonin endured,” Nichi-ju thought.
He felt that it was important to protect himself so that he could further propagate the Great Law, and so he crossed the mountain under cover of darkness, accompanied by Jennyo-bo. They hid out in the house of Hijiya Matjiro, a faithful believer of Nichi-ju.
Nichi-ju and Jennyo-bo left for Shimosa where many of the Daishonin’s writings were housed. When they reached the post station town in Tochigi, five of his closest and most devoted disciples caught up with them. Jennyo-bo Nichinin (as he was now called) and these five other disciples are collectively called the “Six Elders of Aizu”. The five other disciples are named Nichiboku, four dictimsn, Nichigi, Nichizen and Nichimyo. The Nichi-ju and his six disciples arrived at Guhoji Temple at Mama and met the chief priest, Nisso. The Nichi-ju said to him:
“My name is Nichi-ju and once I used to be Gemmyo of Tokoji Temple in Aizu. I read the writings of the Daishonin and I converted to the Daishonin’s teachings.. Please let me study the Daishonin’s writings.”
The chief priest could hardly believe that the famous priest Gemmyo had converted. To demonstrate his resolve he wrote a statement of resignation from the Tendai Sect and a declaration of faith in the Nichiren Hokke Sect; thus he was finally allowed to study the Daishonin’s teachings.
Nisso said, “I’ve become old. I want you to teach the doctrines of the Tendai Sect and the doctrines of our own sect to my disciple Nichiman in my place.” Nichi-ju taught the doctrines of the Tendai Sect and the Nichiren Sect as Nisso had asked for about three years. People called him “Mama Noke” (lecturer of Mama), he also went to Nakayama to study the writings of Nichiren. He was already 67 years old in the second year of Koryaku (1380) when he had first read Nichiren Shonin’s writings and converted.
In February of the first year of Eitoku (1381), at the age of 68, Nichi-ju carried out “shakubuku” propagation in Chiba Village. He made a great vow, saying that he would go to Kyoto to present a petition to the Imperial court and remonstrate with the warrior (samurai) class in order to fulfill the Daishonin’s dying wish. Early in April he left Shimosa and arrived in Kyoto on the 27th of the same month. While in Kyoto he stayed at the house of Tennoji Tsumyo. On June 23rd, through the formal introduction of Takatsuka Chujyo dono, he was presented before Nijo Kanpaku (imperial Regent) Yoshimoto-ko at lzumidono. The Imperial Regent ("Kanpaku") asked him:
“From which part of the country and from which sect do you hail? What are you going to tell us?"
Offering the “Rissho Ankoku Ron” and a report, Nichi-ju said, “I am a priest of Mama Guhoji Temple in Shimosa. I have something to say about spreading the teaching of the Hokke Sect. The details of my proposal are presented in this report.” The Kanpaku (imperial Regent) read the two writings and then asked various questions of Nichi-ju.
“My, what a strong petitions he exclaimed; he repeated this exclamation three times, in commemoration of the famous lament of Shirakawa-in who had said, “There are three things which we can not control: the water of the Kamo River, the roll of the dice, and the Yamahishi (the mountain monks of Mt. Hieizan).” Now, Nichi-ju was suggesting that the monks of Mt. Hieizan be defeated through debate. The shock of such a petition was beyond imagination. This was the so-called “First Petition to the Imperial Court.”
On the next day, the 29th of April, Nichi-ju appealed to the Shogunal Deputy, urging the warrior class to put their faith in the Hokke Sect. Then, on the 6th of July, he was given a document that granted him the title of “nu-no-sozu”. To this he replied:
“Unless the Lord (Emperor) converts to our Sect, I can’t accept an official rank.” Takatsukasa Chujyo said:
“If you plan to submit petitions in the future, it won’t be easy to meet the Kanpaku without an official rank. Why would you refuse the rank?” Hearing the logic in this, Nichi-ju reconsidered and finally accepted the official rank for the sake of future propagation.
On the 7th of July, he left Kyoto and on the 19th of the same month he climbed Mt. Minobu to meet the head priest of the temple. Then, on the 20th, he left Minobu and propagated at Matsuno. Later, on this spot, Myoshoji Temple was built. On the 27th, he returned to Guhoji Temple in Mama.
At the age of 69, he met Ashikaga Ujimitsu, a shogunal deputy of the Kamakura Shogunate; he urged him to take faith in the doctrine of the Nichiren Sect. In 1382, he founded Honkoji Temple at Umorebashi in Kamakura. Then he went back to Kyoto, met the Kanpaku Nijo Yoshimoto again and urged him to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. This was the so-called “Second Petition to the Imperial Court.”
By now Nichi-ju was 70 years old. He journeyed for a third time to Kyoto (1383) and, with the help of Tennoji Tsumyo, he erected a small hermitage on the west side of Rokujobomon in Muromachi (in Kyoto). This hermitage was later enlarged and made into Myomanji Temple, which is today the head temple of the Kempon Hokke Sect. Again he met with the Kanpaku Yoshimoto and urged him to take faith in the Lotus Sutra. This time the Kanpaku, holding a Gohonzon written by Nichiren Shonin himself, chanted the daimoku and declared:
“I hereby become a member of the Hokke (Lotus Sutra) faith.” Nichi-ju immediately said:
“As you have now converted to the Hokke Sect, you must bring righteousness to the whole country, eliminate many heretical sects, and make the whole land take faith exclusively in the Lotus Sutra.”
To this, the Kanpaku Yoshimoto answered:
“I’m just a straw man figure for the whole country (i.e. a puppet head of state). In recent years Muromachi dono (Ashikaga Shogunate- the military rulers who seized power from the Hojo clan in 1333) have dominated the country. Please present your petitions to them.”
Hearing this, Nichi-ju replied:
“Because the Lord and ministers of government didn’t believe in the Lotus Sutra which is the king of Sutras; this country has become one of the “gekoku-jo” (a country where those who are below, overcome those who are above, i.e. the ruler is dominated by a lower rank) and the political power has slipped to the warrior class. Please put your faith in the Hokke Sect as Nichiren teaches it, and then correct the situation as soon as possible.”
Kanpaku Yoshimoto’s response was:
“If I could move this world as I please, then I would do as you say. But we are in a period of “gekoku-jo” and I can’t do anything.”
Upon hearing these words of the Kanpaku, Nichi-ju left in sorrow. This was the so-called “Third Petition to the Imperial Court.”
In all, Nichi-ju made three trips to Kyoto in four years, all for the purpose of admonishing the authorities and urging the Emperor to convert to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra as taught by Nichiren.
At the age of 71, in the first year of Shitoku (1381), Nichi-ju appealed to the Commissioner Matsuda Tanbanokami to take faith in the doctrine of the Nichiren sect. He also appealed to the shogunate deputy, Hosokawa Musashinokami. This was all done in the spirit of attempting to convert the military leaders to the correct faith in the Lotus Sutra so that peace could be established in the country.
At age 72, Nichi-ju journeyed to Totomi (Shizuoka Prefecture) to present a petition to the provincial constable, lmagawa Echigonokami. Thereafter, he established Gemmyoji Temple in Mitsuke (now lwata City) and inscribed the Gohonzon for the temple. In Shinagawa (Kamakura) he built Honkoji Temple in 1382. (It was in this the same year that he made the above mentioned second trip to Kyoto for the purpose of beseeching the Emperor to convert to the true teachings. The following year, i.e. 1383, was the third trip to Kyoto.)
In December of 1382, he gave the precept of the Original Doctrine (Hommon Kai) at Honkoji in Kamakura. When Nichi-ju was 73 years old, he founded Myoryuji Temple in Kibi (Kasai City) and Funame Honryuji Temple in Kazusa (Mariya, Kisarazu City).
In the first year of Kakei (1387), Nichi-ju was 74 years old. It was in this year that the warrior monks (sohei) of Mt. Hiei, who had become increasingly jealous and resentful of Nichiren Buddhism, destroyed the Nichiren Sect’s Myokenji Temple in Kyoto. Nissei, the head priest of Myokenji, had escaped to Kohama (Fukui Prefecture). Upon hearing the news of Nissei’s forced departure, Nichi-ju sent his disciple, Saifu-bo, to aid Nissei. On the 27th of December of the same year, his favorite disciple, Nichimyo, of Gemmyoji Temple, died. Losing Nichimyo, his faithful disciple since the days of Aizu, made Nichi-ju feel very discouraged and sorrowful.
When Nichi-ju was 75, he sent his disciple Nichi-boku to the neighboring temples with the following message:
“Myokenji Temple has been destroyed. We should go together to Kyoto by next year and present a petition of remonstration; we should also petition to spread the doctrine of the Hokke Sect.”
But neither Minobu nor Taisekiji (at Fuji) nor Nissei, formerly of Myokenji were willing to go along with Nichi-ju’s requests for fear of reprisals from the Tendai Sect on Mt. Hiei. On the 21st of August, Nichi-ju held the first anniversary service commemorating Nichimyo’s death, and he read aloud a eulogy . On the back of the eulogy, he wrote a will (okibumi) and tore up the statement of resignation, his pledge to Nisso, that he had written years before. Here is the text of the (okibumi) will:
The Will (known as the Will of the Reverse Side)
A. A Reminder for the Nichi-ju Congregation or Others
'1. The Nichi-ju congregation should be reminded of this: the branches of the Six Senior Disciples of the Daishonin and others such as Tenmoku all have deviated from the doctrine of the Daishonin both in the way of propagation and in their particular teachings. They don’t agree with each other. Nichi-ju is the one who directly worships the Daishonin and takes refuge in his teachings. My disciples should remember this well. Yet, at Mama in Shimosa, there exists my declaration of faith and a document of prayer. However, as the way of propagation and the teachings have deviated from the doctrine of the Dashonin, I will throw them away. This is the way of departing from evil friends. Nichi-ju’s disciples should remember what I say. The one who goes against my will shall commit the sin of attacking the Law and will fall into hell. So, in the days to come, this shall be my will.'
- Second Year of Kakei, tsuchinoe tatsu, August 25th [1378] Nu-sozu Nichi-ju seals.
This actually is the declaration of independence of the school of Nichi-ju. In those days, each branch of the Six Disciples of Nichiren was proud of having received certain teachings from the Daishonin; they emphasized that theirs was the true orthodoxy. They also kept busy debating the ltchi-Shoretsu dispute, which pitted the Shakumon (Manifestation) Doctrine against the Honmon (Original) Doctrine. In the meantime, the true mission of shakubuku and propagation of the Law was forgotten. Leaving these branches to argue amongst themselves about orthodoxy and the ltchi-Shoretsu theories, Nichi-ju took refuge directly in the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. Nichi-ju advocated the principle of “receiving the teachings from the Sutra scrolls” (Kyogan Sojo) and “Direct receiving from Nichiren” in order to actualize the Daishonin’s true intention (gonaisho).
At the age of 76, Nichi-ju named his hermitage at Rokumonjon in Muromachi at Kyoto “Myotozan Myomanji” and he propagated in that vicinity. At the age of 77, when lmagawa Kingo, the Provincial Constable of Enshu came to Kyoto, Nichi-ju presented a petition to him. At the age of 78 (second year of Meitoku) on the 7th of March, when the Shogun Yoshimitsu visited Toji-ji Temple, Nichi-ju made a direct appeal (Teichu) to him. (Teichu means to present oneself at the gate of a residence without permission of an officer and to make a direct appeal.) But his strong petition, insisting on the elimination of other sects and establishing exclusive faith in the Hokke Sect only, was not accepted.
The teachings of the sages of old stated that:
“If your remonstrations aren’t accepted after three attempts, then withdraw.”
With this in mind, Nichi-ju felt compelled to return home. After giving sermons during the summer, Nichi-ju left Kyoto on July 25th; he arrived at Myoritsuji Temple in Enshuon on the 3rd of August. At Myoritsuji Temple he preached for seven days. He also preached during the autumn equinox (o-higan) for seven days at Gemmyoji Temple. On the 8th of September, he arrived at Kochoji Temple in Okamiya (Numazu city), and discussed the doctrine of the Nichiren Sect with Nishinobo Nissho. On the 16th, he left Kochoji Temple and, when he crossed Mt.Ashigara, he wrote:
“Urging my horse to speed on, crossing Mt. Ashigara, I see Mt. Fuji behind me.”
It was late in his life that Nichi-ju took exclusive faith in the Lotus Sutra; upon taking faith, he presented petitions and remonstrations at the risk of his life, and had been kept busy with propagation in Kyoto and Kamakura for twelve or thirteen years. Having debated with all of his strength, the heart of Nichi-ju was now filled with indescribable emotion. Since he was already 78 years old, he felt that this was his last chance to see Mt. Fuji; his impressions must have been very deep indeed.
Arriving at Aizu on the 9th of October, he thanked Mr Hijiya for his long and continuous support. The Lord of the castle, Lord Ashina, built Myohoji Temple and had Nichi-ju consecrate it. At the age of 79 (third year of Meitoku, 1392), on the 15th of January, Nichi-ju commemorated the thirty-third anniversary of his parents’ death. On the 20th of January, he wrote “The Conditions After the passing of Nichi-ju” as his will and decided on the conditions after his death. Thus he wrote:
Resolved Conditions after Nichi-ju
“Among the disciples of the school of Nichi-ju, nobody should be chosen, directly or indirectly, as an heir disciple. However, anybody among the priests or the laymen of my congregation who spreads the teaching in Kyoto and who swears that other sects are the root of all evils and that only the Lotus Sutra leads to Buddhahood, only these people can be my disciples. And if candidates are equally gifted, they should propagate during the summer, practicing in turns. You should consider a person who spreads the teaching in this manner as the true disciple of Nichi-ju. So, in the days to come, this shall be my will.”
The Third Year of Meitoku Mizunoe Saru January 29th [1392] Seal of Nichi-ju
He wrote three copies of this document and left one each at the following places: in Aizu at Myohoji Temple, in Endhu at Gemmyoji Temple, and in Kyoto at Myomanji. So these documents are called the Will of the Three Letters. Now, only one of the original documents survives at Myoritsuji Temple in Kibi. In the will, Nichi-ju gave orders to do shakubuku propagation in Kyoto (the capital, the city of the Emperor).
At the beginning of February in 1392, he developed signs of a slight sickness. Around eight in the morning of the 28th, surrounded by his disciples, Nichi-ju entered Nirvana peacefully. As was in the case of the Daishonin’s death, a small earthquake occurred. This was because the earth was greatly moved by the death of the great saint. At that time he was 79 calendar years old. Sixty one years had passed since he had entered the priesthood.
Categories:- 1314 births
- 1392 deaths
- Nichiren Buddhist monks
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