Editing Nichiren (section)

== Life ==
{{Buddhism}}
{{JapaneseBuddhism}}
The main narrative of Nichiren's life has been constructed from extant letters and treatises he wrote, counted in one collection as 523 complete writings and 248 fragments. Aside from historical documents stored in the repositories of various Nichiren sects, the first extensive non-religious biographical account of Nichiren did not appear until more than 200 years after his death.<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|ix}} Several [[hagiography|hagiographies]] about Nichiren and are reflected in various pieces of artwork about incidents in his life.<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=Kuniyoshi Project |url=http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Illustrated%20Abridged%20Biography%20of%20Koso.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602012408/http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Illustrated%20Abridged%20Biography%20of%20Koso.htm |archive-date=2 June 2022 |access-date=29 April 2022 |publisher=Kuniyoshi Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerhart |first=Karen M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zb1LPTPJLaYC&q=death+nichiren&pg=PA115 |title=The material culture of death in medieval Japan |date=2009 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |isbn=978-1-4416-7117-2 |location=Honolulu |page=115 |oclc=663882756 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602160315/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zb1LPTPJLaYC&q=death+nichiren&pg=PA115 |archive-date=2 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinyabara |first=T.J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HI1GAQAAMAAJ&q=nichiren+komatsubara&pg=PA339 |title=Nichiren Tradition in Pictures |publisher=Open Court Publishing Company |year=1913 |location=Chicago |pages=344–350 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601165027/https://books.google.com/books?id=HI1GAQAAMAAJ&q=nichiren+komatsubara&pg=PA339 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stone1999a" />{{rp|442}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bowring |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzeODCVG26UC&q=nichiren&pg=PA397 |title=The Religious Traditions of Japan 500–1600 |last2=Bowring |first2=Professor Emeritus of Japanese Studies Richard |date=15 September 2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85119-0 |page=334 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601212046/https://books.google.com/books?id=GzeODCVG26UC&q=nichiren&pg=PA397 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Nichiren is most well known for his promotion of ''Lotus Sutra'' devotion over and above all other Buddhist scriptures and teachings.<ref name="Lopez2016" />{{rp|88}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fremerman |first=Sarah |title=Letters of Nichiren |url=https://tricycle.org/magazine/letters-of-nichiren/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918230954/https://tricycle.org/magazine/letters-of-nichiren/ |archive-date=18 September 2018 |access-date=18 September 2018 |work=Tricycle: The Buddhist Review}}</ref> He held that reciting the title of the ''Lotus Sutra'' (with the formula ''Nam(u)-myoho-renge-kyo'') encompassed all Buddhist teachings, and thus it could lead to enlightenment in this life.<ref name="Rodd1995" />{{rp|328}} As a result of his adamant stance, he experienced severe persecution imposed by the [[Kamakura Shogunate]], which Nichiren saw as proof of the righteousness of his cause to spread the ''Lotus Sutra''.<ref name="Stone1999a" />{{rp|252}}<ref name="Stone2012">{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Jacqueline I |title=Sins and sinners: perspectives from Asian religions |date=2012 |publisher=Brill |others=Granoff, P. E., Shinohara, Koichi |isbn=978-90-04-23200-6 |location=Leiden |chapter=The sin of slandering the true Dharma in Nichiren's thought |oclc=809194690 |access-date=24 September 2018 |chapter-url=http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren%27s%20Thought%20%282012%29.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113124441/http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren%27s%20Thought%20%282012%29.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|128–130}}

Nichiren remains a controversial figure among scholars who cast him as either a fervent nationalist or a social reformer with a transnational religious vision.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Habito|first=Ruben L.F.|date=1999|title=The Uses of Nichiren in Modern Japanese History|url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2691|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious History|volume=26:3–4|page=438|via=Nanzan Institute|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704203533/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2691|url-status=live}}</ref> Critical scholars have used words such as [[Religious intolerance|intolerant]], [[Nationalism|nationalistic]], [[Militarism|militaristic]], and self-righteous to portray him.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHnWCgAAQBAJ&q=nichiren+intolerant&pg=PA152|title=Conflict and harmony in comparative philosophy: selected works from the 2013 Joint Meeting of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy and the Australasian Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy|date=2015|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|others=Creller, Aaron B.|first=Tony|last=See|article=Nichiren and War|page=152|isbn=978-1-4438-8125-8|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|oclc=922704088|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601090721/https://books.google.com/books?id=KHnWCgAAQBAJ&q=nichiren+intolerant&pg=PA152|url-status=live}}</ref>  On the other hand, Nichiren has been presented as a [[revolutionary]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://tricycle.org/magazine/faith-revolution/|title=Faith in Revolution |date=Winter 2008|magazine=Tricycle Magazine}}</ref> a classic reformer,<ref name="King1996" />{{rp|403}} and as a [[prophet]].<ref name="King1996">{{Cite book|title=Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia|last=King |first=Sallie B. |chapter=Conclusion: Buddhist Social Activism|publisher=State University of New York Press|year=1996|isbn=0-7914-2844-3|location=Albany, NY|others=Queen, Christopher S and King, Sallie B. (eds.)|page=430|quote=Nichiren, of course, it is possibly the most outstanding exemplar of the prophetic voice in the entire Buddhist tradition. His fiery denunciations of both the religious and the political status quo of this time and his dogged insistence upon their total displacement earned him the hatred of the powerful and the love of the common people.}}</ref><ref name="Anesaki1916">{{Cite book |last=Anesaki |first=Masaharu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ub0KAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA3 |title=Nichiren, the Buddhist Prophet |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1916 |location=Cambridge, MA |quote=}}</ref>{{rp|3}}<ref name="Harvey2013">{{Cite book |title=An introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history and practices|first=Peter|last=Harvey |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85942-4|edition= Second|location=Cambridge|oclc=822518354}}</ref> Nichiren is often compared to other religious figures who shared similar rebellious and revolutionary drives to reform degeneration in their respective societies or schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/nichiren_1.shtml|title=Nichiren Buddhism|website=BBC|access-date=24 September 2018|archive-date=6 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106083318/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/nichiren_1.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=noZ9kkXGX5oC&pg=PA15|title=Japan's modern prophet: Uchimura Kanzō, 1861–1930|last=Howes|first=John|page=111|date=2005|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=0-7748-1145-5|location=Vancouver|oclc=60670210|quote=Uchimura compares him to Luther on two counts.  The first is his concern over the wrongs of the religious establishment, and the second is his adoption of a single book as the source of his faith.  He depended on the Lotus Sutra, Uchimura begins, much as Luther relied on the Bible....In sum, Nichiren was 'a soul sincere to its very core, the honestest of men, the bravest of Japanese.'|access-date=24 September 2018|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601212046/https://books.google.com/books?id=noZ9kkXGX5oC&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Doctrinal Accommodations in Buddhist-Musli Relations in Japan: With Special Reference to Contemporary Japan|last=Obuse|first=Kieko|publisher=University of Oxford (dissertation)|year=2010|location=Oxford|pages=177–78, 225}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Discovery of Japanese Idealism|last=Satomi|first=Kishio|publisher=Routledge|year=2007 |orig-date=1924 |isbn=978-0-415-24533-3|location=Oxon|pages=67–77}}</ref>

=== Birth ===
According to the lunar [[Chinese calendar]], Nichiren was born on 16th of the second month in 1222, which is 6 April in the [[Gregorian calendar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/ott/Introduction/2 |title=Introduction: The Life of Nichiren |access-date=20 April 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420080716/https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/ott/Introduction/2 |url-status=live }}</ref><!--conflicts with jawiki-->

Nichiren was born in the village of Kominato (today part of the city of [[Kamogawa, Chiba|Kamogawa]]), Nagase District, [[Awa Province (Chiba)|Awa Province]] (within present-day [[Chiba Prefecture]]). Accounts of his lineage vary. Nichiren described himself as "the son of a [[chandala|''Sendara'']] (''Skt: chandala'', despised outcast), "a son born of the lowly people living on a rocky strand of the out-of-the-way sea," and "the son of a sea-diver."  In contrast, [[Hōnen]], [[Shinran]], [[Dōgen]], and [[Eisai]], the other founders of religious schools who predated Nichiren, were all born in the Kyoto region and came from noble or samurai backgrounds. Although his writings reflect a fierce pride of his lowly birth, followers after his death began to ascribe to him a more noble lineage, perhaps to attract more adherents.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ways of thinking of Eastern peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan|last=Nakamura|first=Hajime|date=1968|publisher=University Press of Hawaii|others=Wiener, Philip P. (Philip Paul), 1905–1992.|isbn=0-585-34905-3|page=433 |location=Honolulu|oclc=47009998}}</ref><ref name="sgilibrary202">{{cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=202&m=1&q=chandala |title=The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006 pp, 202: Banishment to Sado |publisher=Sgilibrary.org |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054534/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=202&m=1&q=chandala |url-status=live }}</ref> Some have claimed his father was a [[rōnin]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Broughton|first=B.L.|date=1936|title=Nichiren Shonin|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70784|journal=Maha Bodhi Society of India|volume=44|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70784/page/n341 317]}}</ref> a manorial functionary (''shokan''),<ref name=Rodd1978>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-xJAAAAIAAJ&q=Shigetada|title=Nichiren: A Biography|last=Rodd|first=Laurel Rasplica|publisher=Arizona State University|year=1978|isbn=978-0-939252-07-7|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601212046/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-xJAAAAIAAJ&q=Shigetada|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|5}} or a political refugee.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr0KAAAAYAAJ&q=nichiren+nukina|title=Buddhist Prophet Nichiren: A Lotus in the Sun|last=Petzold|first=Bruno|date=1978|publisher=University of Virginia, republished by Hokke Jānaru|others=Iida, Shotaro and Simmonds, Wendy|page=2|access-date=28 September 2018|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601175053/https://books.google.com/books?id=kr0KAAAAYAAJ&q=nichiren+nukina|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sgilibrary202"/><ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|4}}

Nichiren's father was Mikuni-no-Tayu Shigetada, also known as Nukina Shigetada Jiro (died 1258); and his mother was Umegiku-nyo (died 1267). On his birth, his parents named him {{nihongo||善日麿|Zennichimaro}} which has variously been translated into English as "Splendid Sun" and "Virtuous Sun Boy" among others.<ref>Robert S. Ellwood, Introducing Japanese religion, Routledge, {{ISBN|0-415-77426-8}}</ref> The exact site of Nichiren's birth is believed to be currently submerged off the shore from present-day {{nihongo|Kominato-zan [[Tanjō-ji]]|小湊山誕生寺}} near a temple in Kominato that commemorates his birth.<ref name=":0" />

=== Buddhist education ===
At the age of 12 he began his Buddhist study at a temple of the [[Tendai]] school, {{nihongo|[[Seichō-ji]]|清澄寺||also called Kiyosumi-dera}}.<ref name="Anesaki1916" />{{rp|13}} He was formally ordained at sixteen years old and took the Buddhist name {{nihongo||是生房蓮長|Zeshō-bō Renchō}}, ''Renchō'' meaning "Lotus Growth".<ref name=":0" />

Between the years 1233 and 1253 Nichiren studied the major Buddhist traditions in Japan at that time, including [[Tendai]], [[Pure Land Buddhism]] and [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]].<ref name=":0" /> During these years, he became convinced of the preeminence of the ''Lotus Sutra'' and in 1253 returned to the temple where he first studied to present his findings.<ref name="Green2000">{{Cite book|title=Engaged Buddhism in the west|date=2000|publisher=Wisdom Publications|others=Queen, Christopher S. (Ed.) |isbn=978-0-86171-841-2|first=Paula |last=Green |chapter=Walking for Peace: Nipponzan Myohoji |location=Boston, MA|oclc=844350971}}</ref>{{rp|129}}<ref name="Stone1999a" />{{rp|443–444}}<ref>The Gosho Translation Committee: ''The Writings of Nichiren, Volume I'', Soka Gakkai, 2006. {{ISBN|4-412-01024-4}}, introduction p. XXV</ref><ref name="Anesaki1916" />{{rp|17}}<ref>Jack Arden Christensen, Nichiren: Leader of Buddhist Reformation in Japan, Jain Pub, Page 44, {{ISBN|0-87573-086-8}}</ref><ref name="Lopez2016" />{{rp|90}}

In a 1271 letter Nichiren writes of this time of his life:

{{Blockquote|Determined to plant a seed of Buddhahood and attain Buddhahood in this life, just as all other people, I relied on Amida Buddha and chanted the name of this Buddha since childhood. However, I began doubting this practice, making a vow to study all the Buddhist sutras, commentaries on them by disciples, and explanatory notes by others.<ref name="nyoningosho">{{cite book |last1= Hori |first1=Kyotsu |title=Nyonin Gosho: Letters Addressed to Female Followers |publisher=Nichiren-shu Overseas Propagation Promotion Association |year=1995 |page=182}}</ref>}}

He later left Seichō-ji for [[Kamakura]] where he studied [[Pure Land Buddhism]], a school that stressed salvation through the invocation of the name [[Amitābha]] (Japanese ''Amida''), a practiced called [[Nianfo|nembutsu]]. He also studied [[Zen]] which had been growing in popularity in both Kamakura and [[Kyoto]]. He next traveled to [[Mount Hiei]], the center of Japanese [[Tendai]] Buddhism, where he scrutinized the school's original doctrines, including Pure Land and Tendai [[Esoteric Buddhism]]. In the final stage of this twenty-year period he traveled to [[Mount Kōya]], the center of [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] esoteric Buddhism, and to [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] where he studied its [[Nanto Rokushū|six established schools]], especially the [[Risshū (Buddhism)|Ritsu]] sect which emphasized [[Vinaya|strict monastic discipline]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nichiren|title=Nichiren: Japanese Buddhist monk|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=3 October 2018|first=Pier |last=Paolo del Campana}}</ref><ref name="Stone2003">{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Jacqueline I. |title=Original enlightenment and the transformation of medieval Japanese Buddhism |date=2003 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |isbn=0-8248-2771-6 |location=Honolulu |pages=252–256 |oclc=53002138}}</ref>{{rp|243–245}}

=== Declaration of the ''Lotus Sutra'' ===
According to one of his letters, Nichiren returned to Seicho-ji Temple on 28 April 1253 to lecture on the supremacy of the ''Lotus Sutra.<ref name=":0" />''<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|246}} What followed was his first public declaration of ''[[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō|Nam(u) Myoho Renge Kyo]]'' atop Mount Kiyosumi that same day. This marked the start of his campaign to convince the [[Tendai]] tradition to shift its focus back to the ''Lotus Sutra'' and his efforts to convert the entire Japanese nation to this belief.<ref name="Harvey2013" />{{rp|233}} This declaration also marks the start of his efforts to make profound Buddhist theory practical and actionable so an ordinary person could manifest Buddhahood within his or her own lifetime in the midst of day-to-day realities.<ref>Khoon Choy Lee, Japan: Between Myth and Reality, World Scientific Pub Co, page 104,{{ISBN|981-02-1865-6}}</ref>

At the same event, according to his own account and subsequent hagiography, he changed his name to ''Nichiren'', an [[portmanteau|abbreviation]] of {{nihongo||日|nichi|"Sun"}} and {{nihongo||蓮|ren|"Lotus"}}.<ref name="Anesaki1916" />{{rp|34}} ''Nichi'' represents both the light of truth and the sun goddess [[Amaterasu]], symbolizing Japan itself. ''Ren'' signifies the ''Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren envisioned Japan as the country where the true teaching of Buddhism would be revived and the starting point for its worldwide spread.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vu6f6DfYxNAC&q=nichiren|title=Sources of Japanese tradition|date=1964|publisher=Columbia University Press|last=De Bary|first=William Theodore|page=215|isbn=0-231-08605-9|location=New York|oclc=644425|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=2 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602012407/https://books.google.com/books?id=vu6f6DfYxNAC&q=nichiren|url-status=live}}</ref>

At his lecture, it is construed, Nichiren vehemently attacked [[Honen]], the founder of [[Pure Land Buddhism]], and its practice of chanting the [[Nembutsu]]. It is likely he also denounced the nembutsu teachings found at [[Seichō-ji|Seicho-ji]].<ref name=":0" /> In so doing he earned the animosity of the local steward, Tojo Kagenobu, and eventually Nichiren was forced to leave the temple.<ref name=":0" /> Modern scholarship suggests that events unfolded not in a single day but over a longer period of time and had social, and political dimensions.<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|246–247}}<ref name="Rodd1980" />{{rp|6–7}}

Nichiren then moved to a hermitage in the hills around [[Kamakura]].<ref name=":0" /> From there he converted several Tendai priests, directly ordained others, and attracted lay disciples who were drawn mainly from the strata of the lower and middle [[samurai]] class. Their households provided Nichiren with economic support and became the core Nichiren communities in several locations in the [[Kanto region]] of Japan.<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|246–247}}<ref name="Rodd1980" />{{rp|7–8}}

=== First remonstration to the Kamakura government ===
[[File:Nichiren exiled.jpg|thumb|left|The banishment of Nichiren in 1261.  The disciple [[Nichirō]] wished to follow but was forbidden to do so. Tourist postcard artwork, circa 1920s.]]

Nichiren arrived in Kamakura in 1254. Between 1254 and 1260 half of the population had perished due to a tragic succession of calamities that included drought, earthquakes, epidemics, famine, fires, and storms.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|432#49}}  Nichiren sought scriptural references to explain the unfolding of natural disasters and then wrote a series of works which, based on the Buddhist theory of the non-duality of the human mind and the environment, attributed the sufferings to the weakened spiritual condition of people, thereby causing the ''[[Kami]]'' (protective [[Honji suijaku|forces or traces]] of the Buddha) to abandon the nation. The root cause of this, he argued, was the widespread decline of the [[Dharma]] due to the mass adoption of the exclusive nembutsu teachings of [[Hōnen]].<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|249–250}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDH-CAAAQBAJ&q=nichiren&pg=PA275|title=A cultural history of Japanese Buddhism|last1=Deal|first1=William|last2=Ruppert|first2=Brian Douglas|isbn=978-1-118-60831-9|location=Chichester, West Sussex, UK|oclc=904194715|date=31 March 2015|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601175051/https://books.google.com/books?id=TDH-CAAAQBAJ&q=nichiren&pg=PA275|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|124–125}}

The most renowned of these works, considered his first major treatise, was the {{nihongo||立正安国論|Risshō Ankoku Ron}}, "On Securing the Peace of the Land through the Propagation of True Buddhism."<ref group=note name=note1/> Nichiren submitted it to [[Hōjō Tokiyori]], the ''[[de facto]]'' leader of the [[Kamakura shogunate]], as a political move to effectuate radical reform. In it he argued the necessity for "the Sovereign to recognize and accept the singly true and correct form of Buddhism (i.e., {{lang|ja|立正}} {{Transliteration|ja|risshō}}) as the only way to achieve peace and prosperity for the land and its people and end their suffering (i.e., {{lang|ja|安国}} {{Transliteration|ja|ankoku}})."<ref name="Two Nichiren Texts">{{cite book|last1=Murano|first1=Senchu|title=Two Nichiren Texts|date=2003|publisher=Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research|location=Berkeley, CA|isbn=1-886439-17-6|pages=9–52|url=http://www.bdk.or.jp/pdf/bdk/digitaldl/dBET_TwoNichirenTexts_2003.pdf|access-date=20 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322042446/http://www.bdk.or.jp/pdf/bdk/digitaldl/dBET_TwoNichirenTexts_2003.pdf|archive-date=22 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="sgilibrary.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=6&m=1&q|title=The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006 pp, 6–32: On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land|publisher=Sgilibrary.org|access-date=6 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054536/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=6&m=1&q|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref><ref>A tract revealing the gist of the "rissho angoku-ron", Kyotsu Hori (transl.); Sakashita, Jay (ed.): Writings of Nichiren, Doctrine 1, page 163  University of Hawai'i Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-8248-2733-3}}</ref>

Using a dialectic form well-established in China and Japan, the treatise is a 10-segment fictional dialogue between a Buddhist wise man, presumably Nichiren, and a visitor who together lament the tragedies that have beleaguered the nation. The wise man answers the guest's questions and, after a heated exchange, gradually leads him to enthusiastically embrace the vision of a country grounded firmly on the ideals of the ''Lotus Sutra''. In this writing Nichiren displays a skill in using analogy, anecdote, and detail to persuasively appeal to an individual's unique psychology, experiences, and level of understanding.<ref name=Deal1999>{{Cite journal|last=Deal|first=William E.|date=1999|title=Nichiren's Risshō ankoku ron and Canon Formation|jstor=30233630|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=26|issue=3–4|pages=329–330}}</ref><ref name=Rodd1995 />{{rp|328}}<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|10}}

The teacher builds his argument by quoting extensively from a set of Buddhist sutras and commentaries. In his future writings Nichiren continued to draw from the same sutras and commentaries which he deemed supportive of the ''Lotus Sutra'', including the ''[[Golden Light Sutra|Konkomyo]], [[Mahasamnipata Sutra|Daijuku]], [[Humane King Sutra|Ninno]], [[Bhaisajyaguru|Yakushi]],'' and ''[[Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra|Nirvana]]'' sutras. They share in common themes like prophecies of [[Decline of the Dharma|Dharma decline]] and nation-protecting teachings.<ref name=Deal1999 />{{rp|330–334}} The ''Risshō Ankoku Ron'' concludes with an urgent appeal to the ruler to cease all financial support for Buddhist schools promoting inferior teachings.<ref name="Deal1999" />{{rp|334}} Otherwise, Nichiren warns, as predicted by the sutras, the continued influence of inferior teachings would invite even more natural disasters as well as the outbreak of civil strife and foreign invasion.<ref name="Rodd1995" />{{rp|328}}

Nichiren submitted his treatise on 16 July 1260 but it drew no official response. It did, however, prompt a severe backlash from the Buddhist priests of other schools. Nichiren was challenged to a religious debate with leading Kamakura prelates in which, by his account, they were swiftly dispatched. Their lay followers then formed a mob and attacked Nichiren at his dwelling, forcing him to flee Kamakura. His critics had influence with key governmental figures and spread slanderous rumors about him. One year after he submitted the ''Rissho Ankoku Ron'' the authorities had him arrested and exiled to the Izu peninsula.<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|251}}

Nichiren's Izu exile lasted two years. In his extant writings from this time period, Nichiren began to strongly draw from chapters 10–22 of the ''Lotus Sutra'', what Tanabe calls its "third realm" ''(daisan hōmon)''. Nichiren began to emphasize the purpose of human existence as being the practice of the [[bodhisattva]] ideal in the real world which entails undertaking struggle and manifesting endurance. He suggested that he is a model of this behavior, a "votary" (''gyōja'') of the Lotus Sutra.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O03rvTi0vwAC&q=%22third+realm%22|title=The Lotus Sutra in Japanese culture|date=1989|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|last1=Tanabe|first1=George J.|last2=Tanabe|first2=Willa J.|isbn=0-8248-1198-4|location=Honolulu|pages=43, 49|quote=Nichiren called this third realm ''daisan hōmon'', meaning the third sphere of 8akyamuni's teaching. The teachings in this realm of the Lotus Sutra emphasize the need to endure the trials of life and to practice the true law. In short, they advocate human activity in the real world, or bodhisattva practices. The eternal Buddha is also considered anew in this context, and it is said that Sakyamuni himself endlessly undertook bodhisattva practices. This third realm emphasizing bodhisattva practices suggests the meaning and purpose of human existence in this world.|oclc=18960211|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=2 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602160315/https://books.google.com/books?id=O03rvTi0vwAC&q=%22third+realm%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|252}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QV4ZAwAAQBAJ&q=nichiren|title=Introduction to the Lotus Sutra|last=Tamura|first=Yoshirō|others=Reeves, Gene; Shinozaki, Michio|isbn=978-1-61429-099-5|location=Boston|pages=8–9,124|oclc=892059024|date=15 July 2014|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601165027/https://books.google.com/books?id=QV4ZAwAAQBAJ&q=nichiren|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kanno|first=Hiroshi|date=2007|title=The Bodhisattva Way and Valuing the Real World in the Lotus Sutra|url=http://www.iop.or.jp/Documents/0717/kanno.pdf|journal=Journal of Oriental Studies|volume=17|page=182|access-date=8 November 2018|archive-date=7 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107192405/http://www.iop.or.jp/Documents/0717/kanno.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rodd1980" />{{rp|11–12}}
[[file:Tojo no Saemon Attacks Nichiren at Komatsubara in 1264.jpg|thumb|Tojo no Saemon Attacks Nichiren at Komatsubara]]
Upon being pardoned in 1263 Nichiren returned to Kamakura. In November 1264 he was ambushed and nearly killed at Komatsubara in Awa Province by a force led by Lord Tōjō Kagenobu. He suffered a broken arm and a sword cut across his forehead, and one of his followers was killed.<ref name=":0" /> For the next few years he preached in provinces outside of Kamakura but returned in 1268. At this point the Mongols sent envoys to Japan demanding tribute and threatening invasion.  Nichiren sent 11 letters to influential leaders reminding them about his predictions in the ''Rissho Ankoku Ron''.<ref name="Yampolsky1990" />{{rp|7–8}}

=== Attempt at execution ===

The threat of [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasion]] was the worst crisis in pre-modern Japanese history. In 1269 Mongol envoys again arrived to demand Japanese submission to their hegemony and the ''[[bakufu]]'' responded by  mobilizing military defenses.<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|13}} The role of Buddhism in "nation-protection" (''chingo kokka'') was long established in Japan at this time and the government galvanized prayers from Buddhist schools for this purpose. Nichiren and his followers, however, felt emboldened that the predictions he had made in 1260 of foreign invasion seemingly were being fulfilled. Nichiren redoubled his efforts and continued to give regular lectures as more people joined the movement.<ref name=":0" /> Daring a rash response from the ''bakufu'', Nichiren vowed in letters to his followers that he was giving his life to actualize the ''Lotus Sutra''. He accelerated his polemics against the non-Lotus teachings the government had been patronizing at the very time it was attempting to solidify national unity and resolve. In a series of letters to prominent leaders he directly provoked the major prelates of Kamakura temples that the Hojo family patronized, criticized the principles of [[Zen]] which was popular among the samurai class, critiqued the esoteric practices of [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] just as the government was invoking them, and condemned the ideas underlying [[Risshū (Buddhism)|Risshū]] as it was enjoying a revival.<ref name="Stone1999a" />{{rp|454–455}}<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|257}}His actions at that time have been described by modern scholars either as a high form of altruism,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wy-6HiyApXsC&q=nichiren+|title=Altruism in World Religions|editor-last1=Neusner|editor-first1=Jacob|editor-last2=Chilton|editor-first2=Bruce|first=Ruben L.F.|last=Habito|author-link=Ruben Habito|chapter=Altruism in Japanese Religions: The Case of Nichiren Buddhism|date=8 November 2005|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=1-58901-235-6|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601210844/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wy-6HiyApXsC&q=nichiren+|url-status=live}}</ref> or the ravings of a fanatic.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr0KAAAAYAAJ&q=nichiren+madman|title=Buddhist Prophet Nichiren: A Lotus in the Sun|last=Petzold|first=Bruno|date=1978|publisher=Hokke Jānaru|page=1|access-date=13 October 2018|archive-date=3 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603050102/https://books.google.com/books?id=kr0KAAAAYAAJ&q=nichiren+madman|url-status=live}}</ref>

His claims drew the ire of the influential religious figures of the time and their followers, especially the Shingon priest {{nihongo|[[Ninshō|Ryōkan]]|良観}}. In September 1271, after a fiery exchange of letters between the two, Nichiren was arrested by a band of soldiers and tried by {{nihongo|Hei no Saemon|平の左衛門||also called {{lang|ja|平頼綱}} {{Transliteration|ja|Taira no Yoritsuna}}}}, the deputy chief of the [[Samurai-dokoro|Hojo clan's Board of Retainers]]. Nichiren considered this as his second remonstration to the government.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC&q=nichiren+%22second+remonstration%22&pg=PA102|title=Speeches in World History|last1=McIntire|first1=Suzanne|last2=Burns|first2=William E.|date=25 June 2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2680-7|page=102|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601192131/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-6ghsWDMTAC&q=nichiren+%22second+remonstration%22&pg=PA102|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|257}}
[[file:Koso go-ichidai ryakuzu 高祖御一代略圖 (Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren) (BM 2008,3037.12108).jpg|thumb|Depiction of the alleged execution event stopped by a bright orb]]
According to Nichiren's own account, he was sentenced to exile but was brought to Tatsunukuchi beach in [[Shichirigahama]] for execution. According to some traditional accounts, the execution was stopped at the final moment as "a brilliant orb as bright as the moon" arced over the execution grounds, terrifying Nichiren's executioners.<ref>"The Writings of Nichiren", p. 767</ref> Modern scholars have proposed alternative narratives for this story and question its historicity.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|257, 436 (note 99)}} Whatever the case, Nichiren himself believed he had undergone a transformative experience.<ref name=":0" /> After this event, Nichiren was exiled to [[Sado, Niigata|Sado Island]]. This incident has become known as the "Tatsunokuchi Persecution" and was regarded by Nichiren as a death-and-resurrection turning point.<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|257–258, 436 (note 100)}}<ref name="Anesaki1916" />{{rp|58}} In the Nichiren tradition this is called his moment of {{nihongo||発迹顕本|Hosshaku kenpon}}, translated as "casting off the transient and revealing the true"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/C/4#para-0 |title=casting off the transient and revealing the true &#124; Dictionary of Buddhism &#124; Nichiren Buddhism Library |publisher=Nichirenlibrary.org |date= |access-date=29 April 2022 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323143941/https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/C/4#para-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> or "outgrowing the provisional and revealing the essential."{{sfnp|Tanabe|2002|p=357}}

=== Second banishment and exile ===
[[file:Sashu Tsukahara setchu-Nichiren in Snow at Tsukahara, Sodo Province MET DP124470.jpg|thumb|Nichiren in the Snow at Tsukahara, Sado Province]]
Nichiren was then exiled to a second location, on [[Sado, Niigata|Sado Island]] in the [[Sea of Japan]]. Upon arriving, he was dispatched to a small dilapidated temple located in a graveyard. Nichiren was accompanied by a few disciples and in the first winter they endured terrible cold, food deprivation, and threats from local inhabitants.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|258}} Nichiren scholars describe a clear shift in both tone and message in letters written before his Sado exile and those written during and after.<ref name="Tanabe2002">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7XqUdwzb0oC&q=sado&pg=PA238|title=Writings of Nichiren Shonin: Doctrine 2|last=Nichiren|others=Tanabe, George|date=2002|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2551-5|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710021049/https://books.google.com/books?id=W7XqUdwzb0oC&q=sado&pg=PA238|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|238}} Initially, Nichiren's urgent concern was to rally his followers in Kamakura. The tactics of the ''bakufu'' suppression of the Nichiren community included exile, imprisonment, land confiscation, or ousting from clan membership. Apparently a majority of his disciples abandoned their faith and others questioned why they and Nichiren were facing such adversity in light of the ''Lotus Sutra''{{'}}s promise of "peace and security in the present life."<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|258–259}}

In some of his writings during a second exile (1271–1274), Nichiren began to identify himself with two major ''Lotus Sutra'' bodhisattvas: [[Sadāparibhūta]] and [[Visistacaritra|Viśiṣṭacāritra]].<ref name="Lopez2016" />{{rp|99,100}} [[Sadāparibhūta]] ("Never Despising") is a key figure in the ''Lotus Sutra'', who in the 20th chapter invited repeated persecution in his efforts to propagate the sutra by paying homage to everyone he meets and telling them they will be a Buddha.<ref name=":0" /> His hardship, Nichiren argued, fulfilled and validated the ''Lotus Sutra''. He thus began to see himself as "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra (''Jpn. Hokke shikidoku''), which meant that due to his attempts to teach the ''Lotus Sutra'' and the hardships he faced, he was re-enacting the practices of [[Sadāparibhūta]] bodhisattva.<ref name="Stone1999a" />{{rp|252}}<ref name="Stone2012" />{{rp|128–130}} Nichiren also identified himself with the bodhisattva [[Visistacaritra|Viśiṣṭacāritra]] ("Superior Practice") to whom Shakyamuni entrusted the future propagation of the ''Lotus Sutra,'' seeing himself in the role of leading a vast outpouring of [[Bodhisattvas of the Earth]] who pledged to liberate the oppressed.<ref name="Lopez2016" />{{rp|99,100}}<ref name="Olson 2005 196–197">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Carl |url=https://archive.org/details/differentpathsof0000olso |title=The different paths of Buddhism: a narrative-historical introduction |date=2005 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=0-8135-3778-9 |location=New Brunswick, N.J. |pages=[https://archive.org/details/differentpathsof0000olso/page/196 196]–197 |oclc=62266054 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|259}} 
[[File:Konponji-Tempel.jpg|thumb|[[:ja:根本寺 (佐渡市)|Konpon Temple]] was built on [[Sado, Niigata|Sado]] where Nichiren lived during his exile.]]
The numerous letters and minor treatises he wrote in Sado include what is considered his two most significant works, the {{nihongo||観心本尊抄|Kanjin no Honzon Shō|"The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind"}}<ref name="Two Nichiren Texts" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=354&m=1&q |title=The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006, pp. 354–382: The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind |publisher=Sgilibrary.org |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054352/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=354&m=1&q |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> and the {{nihongo||開目抄|Kaimoku Shō|"On the Opening of the Eyes"}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=220&m=1&q |title=The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006, pp. 220–298: The Opening of the Eyes |publisher=Sgilibrary.org |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054530/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=220&m=1&q |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> The former text discusses the practice of daimoku as a form of "mind contemplation" (kanjin 観心), which is the appropriate practice for the Age of Dharma Decline.<ref name=":0" /> In the latter text he stated that facing adversity should be regarded as a matter of course and that the resolve to carry on with the mission to propagate the sutra was for him more important than guarantees of protection: "Let Heaven forsake me. Let ordeals confront me. I will not begrudge bodily life... . No matter what trials we may encounter, so long as we do not have a mind of doubt, I and my disciples will naturally achieve the Buddha realm." He concluded this work with the vow to be the "pillar of Japan, the eyes of Japan, the great ship of Japan."<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|259}}<ref name="Rodd1995" />{{rp|329}}

=== The Mandala Gohonzon===

{{Main|Gohonzon}}
[[File:NICHIREN SHŌNIN ICHIDAI ZUE 1858 Mandala.jpg|thumb|right|Nichiren bowing before the Mandala Gohonzon which he wrote by himself]]
At the end of the 1271–1272 winter Nichiren's conditions had improved. He had attracted a small band of followers in Sado who provided him with support and disciples from the mainland began visiting him and providing supplies. In 1272 there was an attempted coup in Kamakura and Kyoto, seemingly fulfilling the prediction he had made in the ''Rissho Ankoku Ron'' of rebellion in the country. At this point Nichiren was transferred to much better accommodations.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|259}}<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|452}}

While on Sado island, Nichiren inscribed the first Mandala {{nihongo||御本尊|[[Gohonzon (Nichiren Buddhism)|''Gohonzon'']]}}. Although there is evidence of a Gohonzon in embryonic form as far back as the days right before his exile, the first in full form is dated to 8 July 1273 and includes the inscription of "Nichiren inscribes this for the first time."<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|437, note 114}} His writings on Sado provide his rationale for a calligraphic [[mandala]] depicting the assembly at [[Vulture Peak]] (''Gṛdhrakūṭa'') which was to be used as an object of devotion or worship. Nichiren found doctrinal rational for this in the 16th (''Life span'') chapter of the ''Lotus Sutra''. It is at this time that he developed the concept of a three-fold "secret Dharma" of the ''daimoku'', the object of worship (''honzon''), and the ordination platform (''kaidan'').<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|259–260}}

At the bottom of each mandala he wrote: "This is the great mandala never before revealed in [[Jambudvipa]] during the more than 2,200 years since the Buddha's nirvana."  He inscribed many Mandala Gohonzon during the rest of his life. More than a hundred Mandala Gohonzon preserved today are attributed to Nichiren's own hand.<ref name=Lopez2016 />{{rp|96}}

=== Return to Kamakura ===
In 1274, after his two predictions of foreign invasion and political strife were seemingly actualized by the first [[Mongol invasions of Japan|attempted Mongol invasion of Japan]] along with an unsuccessful coup within the [[Hōjō clan]], Nichiren was pardoned by the Shogunate authorities.<ref name="Yampolsky1990" />{{rp|9–10}}The pardon came in effect on 14 February 1274 and Nichiren returned to Kamakura one month later on March 26.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|260}} Nichiren wrote that his innocence and the accuracy of his predictions caused the regent [[Hōjō Tokimune]] to intercede on his behalf. Scholars have suggested that some of his well-connected followers might have had influence on the government's decision to release him.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|437, note 115}}

On 8 April he was summoned by Hei no Saemon, who inquired about the timing of the next [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasion]]. Nichiren predicted that it would occur within the year. He used the audience as yet another opportunity to remonstrate with the government. Claiming that reliance on prayers based on esoteric rituals would invite further calamity, he urged the ''bakufu'' to ground itself exclusively on the Lotus Sutra.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|261}}

Deeply disappointed by the government's refusal to heed his advice, Nichiren left Kamakura one month later, on 12 May, determined to become a solitary wayfarer.  Five days later, however, on a visit to the residence of Lord Hakii Sanenaga of Mt. Minobu, he learned that followers in nearby regions had held steadfast during his exile.  Despite severe weather and deprivation, Nichiren remained in Minobu for the rest of his career.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|261}}

=== Retirement to Mount Minobu ===
[[file:身延山久遠寺 - panoramio (10).jpg|thumb|The Eternal Temple on Mount Minobu]]
During his self-imposed exile at Mount Minobu, a location in Kai province, 100 miles west of [[Kamakura]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Habito |first=Ruben L.F. |date=1999 |title=Bodily Reading of the Lotus Sutra: Understanding Nichiren's Buddhism |url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2685 |journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |volume=26 |issue=3–4 |page=297 |access-date=18 November 2018 |archive-date=18 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118122748/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2685 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Lotus Sūtra: a biography |last=Lopez |first=Donald S. |isbn=978-1-4008-8334-9 |location=Princeton |page=101 |oclc=959534116|date=12 September 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/234 |title=The Way to Minobu &#124; WND II &#124; Nichiren Buddhism Library |publisher=Nichirenlibrary.org |date= |access-date=29 April 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601210843/https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-2/Content/234 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nichiren led a widespread movement of followers in [[Kantō region|Kanto]] and [[Sado, Niigata|Sado]] mainly through his prolific letter-writing. During the so-called "Atsuhara affair" of 1279 when governmental attacks were aimed at Nichiren's followers rather than himself, Nichiren's letters reveal an assertive and well-informed leader who provided detailed instructions through a sophisticated network of disciples serving as liaisons between Minobu and other affected areas in Japan. He also showed the ability to provide a compelling narrative of events that gave his followers a broad perspective of what was unfolding.<ref name=Stone2014>{{Cite journal |last=Stone |first=Jacqueline I. |date=2014 |title=The Atsuhara Affair: The Lotus Sutra, Persecution, and Religious Identity in the Early Nichiren Tradition |url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4334 |journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=165, 176 |doi=10.18874/jjrs.41.1.2014.153-189 |via=Nanzan Institute |doi-access=free |access-date=26 September 2018 |archive-date=8 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608101525/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4334 |url-status=live }}</ref>

More than half of the extant letters of Nichiren were written during his years at Minobu. Some consisted of moving letters to followers expressing appreciation for their assistance, counseling on personal matters, and explaining his teachings in more understandable terms.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|261}}<ref>https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Introduction/3#The {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221101321/http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Introduction/3#The |date=21 December 2017 }} Life of Nichiren Daishonin</ref> Two of his works from this period, the {{nihongo||撰時抄|Senji Shō|"The Selection of the Time"}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=538&m=1&q |title=The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006, pp. 538–594: The Selection of the Time |publisher=Sgilibrary.org |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054845/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=538&m=1&q |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> and the {{nihongo||報恩抄|Hōon Shō|"On Repaying Debts of Gratitude"}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=45&m=1&q |title=SGI The Writings of Nichiren I, SGI 2006, pp. 41–47: The Four Debts of Gratitude |publisher=Sgilibrary.org |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054843/http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=45&m=1&q |archive-date=21 September 2013 }}</ref> constitute, along with his ''Risshō Ankoku Ron'' ("On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land"), ''Kaimoku Shō'' ("The Opening of the Eyes"), and ''Kanjin no Honzon Shō'' ("The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind"), what is commonly regarded as his five major writings.

During his years at Minobu Nichiren intensified his attacks on {{nihongo|[[Mikkyō|mystical and esoteric]] practices|密教|mikkyō}} that had been incorporated into the Japanese [[Tendai]] school. It becomes clear at this point that he understood that he was creating his own form of Lotus Buddhism.<ref name=Dulce1999>{{Cite journal|last=Dolce|first=Lucia|date=1999|title=Criticism and Appropriation: Nichiren's Attitude toward Esoteric Buddhism|url=http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2689|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=26/3-4|via=Narzan Institute|access-date=18 November 2018|archive-date=1 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701053356/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2689|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|362}} Nichiren and his disciples completed the {{nihongo|[[Kuon-ji|Myō-hōkke-in Kuon-ji]] Temple|久遠寺}} in 1281. In the 19th century this structure burned down to be replaced by a new structure completed in the second half of the Meiji era.<ref name="Christensen2001">{{Cite book|title=Nichiren: leader of Buddhist reformation in Japan|last=Christensen|first=Jack Arden|date=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KsztCdAZo9oC&q=hermitage|publisher=Jain Publishing Co|isbn=978-0-87573-086-8|location=Fremont, Calif.|oclc=43030590|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601165027/https://books.google.com/books?id=KsztCdAZo9oC&q=hermitage|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|117}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ&q=Kuon-ji&pg=PT751|title=Encyclopedia of Monasticism|last=Johnston|first=William M.|page=693|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-78716-4|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601220316/https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ&q=Kuon-ji&pg=PT751|url-status=live}}</ref>

While at Minobu Nichiren also inscribed numerous Mandala [[Gohonzon (Nichiren Buddhism)|Gohonzon]] for bestowal upon specific disciples and lay believers.  [[Nichiren Shoshu]] believers claim that after the execution of the three Atsuhara farmers he inscribed the ''[[Dai Gohonzon]]'' on 12 October 1279, a Gohonzon specifically addressed to all humanity. This assertion has been disputed by other schools as historically and textually incorrect.<ref>Causton, Richard: "Buddha in Daily Life, An Introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren", Random House 2011, p. 241 {{ISBN|1-4464-8919-1}}</ref><ref name="Lopez2016" />{{rp|189}} It is apparent that Nichiren took great care in deciding which of his disciples were eligible to receive a Gohonzon inscribed by him. In the case of a letter written to Lady Niiama he took great care to explain why he would not inscribe a Gohonzon despite a deep personal bond.<ref name="Rodd1980" />{{rp|52–55}} Among the Gohonzon he inscribed were several that were quite large and perhaps intended for congregational use in chapels maintained by some lay followers.<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|275}}

=== Death ===
[[File:Two-storied Pagoda of Ikegami Honmon-ji Tokyo.jpg|thumb|185px|Memorial tower erected on the spot where Nichiren was cremated in 1282 ([[Ikegami Honmon-ji|Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple]], Tokyo)]]
In 1282, after years of seclusion, Nichiren fell ill. His followers encouraged him to travel to the hot springs in Hitachi for their medicinal benefits. He was also encouraged by his disciples to travel there for the warmer weather, and to use the land offered by Hagiri Sanenaga for recuperation. En route, unable to travel further, he stopped at the home of a disciple in [[Ikegami Honmon-ji|Ikegami]], outside of present-day Tokyo, and died on 13 October  1282. According to legend, he died in the presence of fellow disciples after having spent several days lecturing from his sickbed on the Lotus Sutra, writing a final letter, and leaving instructions for the future of his movement after his death, namely the designation of the six senior disciples. His funeral and cremation took place the following day.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|261}}<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|133}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zb1LPTPJLaYC&q=nichiren&pg=PR8|title=The Material Culture of Death in Medieval Japan|last=Gerhart|first=Karen M.|date=2009|pages=114–116|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-3261-2|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=3 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603050103/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zb1LPTPJLaYC&q=nichiren&pg=PR8|url-status=live}}</ref>

His disciples left Ikegami with Nichiren's ashes on 21 October, reaching back to Minobu on 25 October.

* [[Nichiren Shu]] sects claims his tomb is sited, as per his request, at [[Kuon-ji]] on Mount Minobu where his ashes remain.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|321}}
* [[Nichiren Shoshu]] asserts that [[Nikko Shonin]] later confiscated his cremated ashes along with other articles and brought them to Mount Fuji which, they say are now enshrined on the left side next to the [[Dai Gohonzon]] within the ''Hoando'' storage house.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}<!-- The source cited is for Nichiren's own desire to be interred there, not for his tomb actually being sited there. ~Hijiri88, August 2015. -->{{refn |group=note |1="please build my grave on Mount Minobu, because that is where is where I spent nine years reciting the Lotus Sutra to my heart's content. My heart lives forever on Mount Minobu"<ref>{{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Daniel |date=1991 |title=Fire in the Lotus: The Dynamic Religion of Nichiren |location=London |publisher=Mandala |isbn=978-1-85274-091-7 |page=144}}</ref>}}