Editing Kamakura (section)

==== Nichiren in Kamakura ====
[[File:Ruokoji Katase Nichiren Execution Ground.jpg|thumb|The monument on the spot at [[Ryūkō-ji (Fujisawa)|Ryūkō-ji]] where [[Nichiren]] was saved from execution]]
Kamakura is known among Buddhists for having been the cradle of [[Nichiren Buddhism]] during the 13th century. Founder [[Nichiren]] was not a native; he was born in [[Awa Province (Chiba)|Awa Province]], in today's [[Chiba Prefecture]]. But it was only natural for a preacher to come here because the city was the political centre of the country at the time.<ref name="Iso258">Mutsu (1995/06: 258–271)</ref> Nichiren settled down in a straw hut in the Matsubagayatsu (literally {{translation|pine needle valley}})<ref name="yatsu">The ending "ヶ谷", common in place names and usually read "-gaya", in Kamakura is normally pronounced "-gayatsu", as in Shakadōgayatsu, Ōgigayatsu, and Matsubagayatsu.</ref> district, where three temples (Ankokuron-ji, Myōhō–ji, and Chōshō-ji), have been fighting for centuries for the honour of being the true heir of the master.<ref name="Iso258" /> During his turbulent life Nichiren came and went, but Kamakura always remained at the heart of his religious activities. It is here that, when he was about to be executed by the Hōjō Regent for being a troublemaker, he was allegedly saved by a miracle; it is also in Kamakura that he wrote his famous {{Nihongo||立正安国論|Risshō Ankoku Ron}}, or {{gloss|Treatise on Peace and Righteousness}}, and that legend says he was rescued and fed by monkeys. Kamakura is also where he preached.<ref name="Iso258" />

Some Kamakura locations important to Nichiren Buddhism are:

* The three temples in Matsubagayatsu
Ankokuron-ji claims to have on its grounds the cave where the master, with the help of a white monkey, hid from his persecutors.<ref name="Iso258" /> (However Hosshō-ji in [[Zushi]]'s Hisagi district makes the same claim, and with a better historical basis.)<ref>[http://www.nichiren-shu.org/newsletter/nichirenshu_news/Nichiren147e.pdf Shakyamuni Buddha and His Supporters], Nichirenshu.org, retrieved on May 25, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.j-area2.com/area/shonan/hosshoji.html Photo of Hosshō-ji's gate with its sculpted white monkeys]</ref> Within Ankokuron-ji lie also the spot where Nichiren used to meditate while admiring Mount Fuji, the place where his disciple Nichiro was cremated, and the cave where he is supposed to have written his {{transliteration|ja|Risshō Ankoku Ron}}.<ref name="Iso258" />{{pb}} Nearby [[Myōhō–ji]] (also called Koke-dera or {{gloss|Temple of Moss}}), a much smaller temple, was erected in an area where Nichiren had his home for 19 years.<ref name="Iso258" /> The third Nichiren temple in Nagoe, [[Chōshō-ji]], also claims to lie on the very spot where it all started.
* The {{Nihongo|Nichiren Tsujiseppō Ato|日蓮聖人辻説法跡}} on Komachi Ōji in the [[Komachi (Kanagawa)|Komachi]] district contains the very stone from which he used to harangue the crowds, claiming that the various calamities that were afflicting the city at the moment were due to the moral failings of its citizens.<ref name="Iso258" />
* The former execution ground at Katase's [[Ryūkō-ji (Fujisawa)|Ryūkō-ji]] where Nichiren was about to be beheaded (an event known to Nichiren's followers as the {{Nihongo|Tatsunokuchi Persecution|龍ノ口法難}}), and where he was miraculously saved when thunder struck the executioner.<ref name="Iso258" /> Nichiren had been condemned to death for having written the {{transliteration|ja|Risshō Ankoku Ron}}.<ref name="KOT46">Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008: 46)</ref> Every year, on September 12, Nichiren devotees gather to celebrate the anniversary of the miracle.<ref>Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008: 186)</ref>
* The {{Nihongo|[[Shichirigahama#Nichiren's pine tree|Kesagake no Matsu]]|袈裟掛けの松}}, the pine tree on the roads between Harisuribashi and Inamuragasaki from which Nichiren hanged his {{transliteration|ja|[[kesa (clothing)|kesa]]}} (a Buddhist [[Stole (vestment)|stole]]) while on his way to Ryūkō-ji.<ref name="KOT46" /> The original pine tree however died long ago and, after having been replaced many times, now no longer exists.<ref name="KOT46" />