Editing Nichiren (section)

=== Personal letters ===
Among the collection of his extant writings are numerous letters to his follows in the form of thank you notes, messages of condolence, responses to questions, and spiritual counseling for trying moments in his followers' lives. Collectively these letters demonstrate that Nichiren was a master of providing both comfort and challenge befitting the unique personalities and situations of each individual.<ref name=Iida1987 />{{rp|102}}<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|52}}

Many of these letters use tales drawn from Indian, Chinese, and Japanese traditions as well as historical anecdotes and stories from the Buddhist canon. Nichiren incorporated several hundred of these anecdotes and took liberty to freely embellish some of them; a few of the stories he provided do not appear in other collections and could be original.<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|47–50}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rodd|first=Laurel Rasplica|date=1978|title=Nichiren and Setsuwa|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2965|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=5/2-3 June–September|pages=159–185|access-date=4 December 2018|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704202453/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2965|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another category of his letters follow the genres of Japanese ''[[zuihitsu]]'', lyrical and loosely organized essays that combine personal reflection and poetic language, or personal diaries (''[[Nikki Bungaku|nikki]]'') Nichiren was a master of this genre and these colloquial works reveal his highly personal and charismatic method of proselytization as well as his deep caring for his followers.<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|47–50,52}}

Nichiren used his letters as a means to inspire key supporters.  About one hundred followers are identified as recipients and several received between 5 and 20 of them.  The recipients tended to be of the warrior class and only scattered references appear about his lower status followers, many of whom were illiterate. The series of letters he wrote his followers during the "Atsuhara affair" of 1279 provide a case study of how he used personal written communications to direct a response to the government's actions and to keep his followers steadfast during the ordeal.<ref name=Rodd1980 />{{rp|55n}}<ref name=Stone2014 />{{rp|156n,158}}