Nichiryu Shounin

Saint Nichiryu was born in 1385 (Shitoku 2 of the Muromachi period) at the residence in Shima Village, Asai District — present-day Toyama Prefecture — as the son of Lord Momoi Uma-no-Kami Naonori. Amid the turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts, he entered the Buddhist priesthood at the age of twelve. A naturally gifted and intelligent youth, at fourteen he traveled to the imperial capital of Kyoto to study Buddhism in earnest. In time, he realized that the essence of Saint Nichiren’s teaching lay in the Odaimoku transmitted by Bodhisattva Vishistacaritra (Jōgyō Bosatsu), as revealed in the Honmon Happon — the Eight Chapters of the Primordial Teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

More than a hundred years had passed since the time of Saint Nichiren, and the Hokke (Lotus) sect of the period — along with other Buddhist schools — had strayed far from the original intent of the teaching. Saint Nichiryu dedicated himself to restoring and reforming them. Through his efforts, he founded a total of fourteen temples across the Kinki region, the Hokuriku area, and as far as Okayama — including the famous Honno-ji, known as the place of Oda Nobunaga’s death. All of this was achieved through “manifest proof propagation” — a method of converting others by demonstrating the visible benefits (gen-shō no go-riyaku) that result from chanting the Odaimoku entrusted to JyougyouBodhisattva.

In his later years, after entering Honkō-ji Temple in Amagasaki, he devoted himself to writing an extensive body of works to transmit the correct teaching of the Great Teacher Nichiren to future generations, as well as to training disciples. He passed away at the age of 81.

In Honmon Butsuryu Shu, he is honored with the title:

“Renshigosshin, Hon’in Geshu Saikō Shōdō, Monso Nichiryu Shōnin.”

• “Renshigosshin” means “the rebirth of the Lotus Master,” i.e., the reincarnation of Saint Nichiren. Nichiren Shounin passed away on October 13, 1282 (Kōan 5), and Nichiryu Shounin was born almost exactly one hundred years later, on October 14, 1385 (Shitoku 2). This remarkable link in the dates is one of the reasons he has been revered as Nichiren Shounin’s reincarnation. Other signs include the miraculous spring that welled up in the garden at his birth, the fact that the political climate at the time was again the era of gekokujo (the “overthrow of superiors” by inferiors), and — most importantly — that the Buddhist teaching he propagated perfectly matched that of Nichiren Shounin. Like Nichiren Shounin, Nichiryu Shounin also devoted his life to the Kushō Shakubuku practice — chanting himself and encouraging others to chant the Odaimoku of Hon’in Geshu, as revealed in the Honmon Happon, the true teaching of the Buddha transmitted by Jyougyou Bodhisattva.
• “Hon’in Geshu Saikō Shōdō” means that more than a hundred years after Nichiren Shounin’s passing, when impurities had crept into his pure teaching, Nichiryu Shounin restored it to its original course. From the Buddha to Nichiren Shounin, the faith in the Odaimoku of Hon’in Geshu revealed in the Honmon Happon was passed down. Nichiryu Shounin revived this precious teaching and guided people correctly, earning the title as a mark of profound gratitude.
• “Monso” means “Founder of the Gate” — in this case, the founder of the Eight-Chapter Gate lineage. It is an honorific showing respect for Nichiryu Shounin, who restored and rightly guided the teaching of the Honmon Happon, the true intention of Nichiren Shounin.