Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派 Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). Nichiren Buddhism itself also comprises several major schools and many sub-schools, and it has spawned several of Japan's new religions. Various forms of Nichiren Buddhism have had great influence among certain sections of Japanese society at different times in the country's history, such as among the merchants of Kyoto in Japan's middle ages and among some ultranationalists during the pre-World War II era. Nichiren Buddhism is generally noted for its opposition to other forms of Buddhism and an evangelical streak as evinced by some schools' practice of shakubuku, efforts to convert others by refuting their current beliefs and convincing them of the validity of Nichiren's teachings.

Schools

Today, Nichiren Buddhism is not a single denomination. It began to branch into different schools within several years of Nichiren's passing, before which Nichiren had named six senior priests

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(rokurōsō) whom he wanted to transmit his teachings to future generations: Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), Nichiji (日持), and Nikkō (日興), each of whom eventually started a lineage

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of schools. The reasons for this are numerous, entangled, and subject to different interpretations, depending on which school is telling the story—as is usual with religious splits. Suffice it to say that the senior priests had different understandings of what Nichiren's lifetime of teaching was about. Although the former five remained loosely affiliated to varying degrees, the last—Nikkō—decided to leave Kuonji. Kuonji became the central temple of today's Nichiren Shu, one of the major branches, and the starting point for the numerous minor schools of the Minobu branch. Nikkō moved on to found Taisekiji, the head temple of today's Nichiren Shoshu school and the starting point for the minor schools of the Kōmon or Fuji branch. Traditional Nichiren schools include the Kempon Hokke Shū, several sub-schools that call themselves just Hokke Shū, and the Honmon Butsuryū Shū. Several of Japan's "new religions" are also sub-sects of or otherwise based on one or another of the traditional Nichiren schools. The Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōseikai, and Nipponzan Myōhōji Sangha stem from one or another of the Kuonji/Minobu branch schools, whereas Sōka Gakkai, Shōshinkai, and Kenshōkai are breakaways from the Nichiren Shoshu school.

Related Topics:
Kuonji - Nichiren Shu - Taisekiji - Nichiren Shoshu - Sōka Gakkai

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