character/[id]

Nichiren (1222-1282) trained on Mt. Hiei in his youth during the Kamakura period, and at Yokawa he deepened his understanding of the Lotus Sutra-centered doctrine. As the "mother valley of Japanese Buddhism," Yokawa is significant as one of the intellectual sources of the founding of the Nichiren school.

In Kenchō 5 (1253), having moved from Awa Province to Kamakura, Saint Nichiren built a hermitage in this Matsubagayatsu valley and began preaching the Lotus Sutra. In Bun'ō 1 (1260), in reaction to his submission of the Risshō Ankoku Ron to regent Hōjō Tokiyori, the 'Matsubagayatsu Persecution' (the burning of his hermitage) took place here in the eighth month — Nichiren escaped miraculously. More than seventy years after his death, in Enbun 2 (1357), the priest Nichiei, son of Prince Moriyoshi, formally founded Myōhōji on the site of the former hermitage. The 'Old Site of Nichiei's Matsubagayatsu Hermitage' remains in the precinct, preserving this place as sacred ground from the earliest days of Nichiren's Kamakura preaching.

Zenkoku-ji follows the teachings of Saint Nichiren. Founding abbot Nissei was the twelfth chief priest of Ikegami Honmon-ji — where Nichiren spent his final days — giving the temple the prestige of a prayer temple founded by a direct spiritual heir of Nichiren at Ieyasu's command.

In 1253, Nichiren Shonin landed at Yonegahama on the Miura Peninsula while traveling from Boso to Kamakura. The local lord Ishiwatari Norihisa, moved by his teaching, built a Lotus hall there — laying the foundation of Daimyoji. Yonegahama is revered as the first sacred site of Nichiren Buddhism on the Miura Peninsula, and this temple preserves that spiritual origin.

During the Matsuba-ga-yatsu Persecution of 1260, a white monkey — the divine messenger of Sanno Gongen — guided Nichiren to the rock cave that still exists within the grounds. As the burial site of Nichiro, Nichiren's closest disciple, the temple vividly preserves the memory of the founding struggles of the Nichiren school. The path from the inner sanctuary through the Nagoe Kiridoshi to Ankokuron-ji and Myoho-ji in Kamakura is believed to be the very route Nichiren fled along that night.

The "Sanbohzon" revealed by Nichiren Shonin refers to three sacred treasures: Kuon-jitsujo Honshi Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren Daibosatsu, and the Odaimoku Mandala. This article explores the faith system of Nichiren Buddhism rooted in the Lotus Sutra and guides you through the major temples including Kuonji on Mt. Minobu, Ikegami Honmonji, and Nakayama Hokekyoji.