Nichiren Buddhism

thumb|A bronze garden statue of [[Nichiren|Nichiren Daishonin in the Honnoji Temple of Nichiren Shu in Teramachi Street, Kyoto, Japan]]

thumb|An illustrated image of the [[Lotus Sūtra, which is highly revered in Nichiren Buddhism. From the Kamakura period, . Ink, color, and gold leaf on paper.]]

Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as Hokkeshū (, meaning Lotus Sect), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools. Its teachings derive from some 300–400 extant letters and treatises either authored by or attributed to Nichiren.

Nichiren Buddhism generally sources its basic doctrine from the Lotus Sutra claiming that all sentient beings possess an internal Buddha-nature capable of attaining Buddhahood in the current life. There are three essential aspects to Nichiren Buddhism:

The faith in Nichiren's Gohonzon
The chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with varying recitations of the Lotus Sutra
The study of Nichiren's scriptural writings, called Gosho

Traditionalist Nichiren Buddhist temple groups are commonly associated with Nichiren Shōshū and various Nichiren-shū schools. In addition, modern lay organizations not affiliated with temples such as Soka Gakkai, Kenshokai, Shoshinkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Honmon Butsuryū-shū also exist while some Japanese new religions are Nichiren-inspired lay groups.

The Soka Gakkai International is often called "the most prominent Japanese 'export' religion to draw significant numbers of non-Japanese converts", by which Nichiren Buddhism has spread throughout the world.

Nichiren upheld the belief that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest degree of Buddhist teachings and proposed a classification system that ranks the quality of religions and various Nichiren schools can be either accommodating or vigorously opposed to any other forms of Buddhism or religious beliefs. Various followers debate Nichiren status, as a Bodhisattva, a mortal saint, or an "Original Buddha" of the third age of Buddhism. Nichiren Buddhism is practiced in many countries. The largest groups are Soka Gakkai International, Nichiren Shu, and Nichiren Shōshū.

Basic teachings

The basic practice of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting the invocation Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō to an object called the Gohonzon. Embracing Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō entails both chanting and having the mind of faith (Shinjin). which he taught as the only valid scripture for the Latter Day of the Law, as well as the life state of Buddhahood inherent in all life.

Nichiren considered that in the Latter Day of the Law – a time of human strife and confusion, when Buddhism would be in decline – Buddhism had to be more than the theoretical or meditative practice it had become, but was meant to be practiced "with the body", that is, in one's actions and the consequent results that are manifested. He considered conditions in the world to be a reflection of the conditions of the inner lives of people; the premise of his first major remonstrance, Rissho Ankoku Ron (Establishing The Correct Teaching for the Peace of The Land), is that if a nation abandons heretical forms of Buddhism and adopts faith in the Lotus Sutra, the nation will know peace and security. He considered his disciples the "Bodhisattvas of the Earth" who appeared in the Lotus Sutra with the vow to spread the correct teaching and thereby establish a peaceful and just society.

The specific task to be pursued by Nichiren's disciples was the widespread propagation of his teachings (the invocation and the Gohonzon) in a way that would effect actual change in the world's societies Nichiren saw this sanctuary as a specific seat of his Buddhism, but there is thought that he also meant it in a more general sense, that is, wherever his Buddhism would be practiced.

Nichiren

Nichiren and his time

Nichiren Buddhism originated in 13th-century feudal Japan. It is one of six new forms of Shin Bukkyo (English: "New Buddhism") of "Kamakura Buddhism." The arrival of these new schools was a response to the social and political upheaval in Japan during this time as power passed from the nobility to a shogunate military dictatorship led by the Minamoto clan and later to the Hōjō clan. A prevailing pessimism existed associated with the perceived arrival of the Age of the Latter Day of the Law. The era was marked by an intertwining relationship between Buddhist schools and the state which included clerical corruption. However, even Mount Hiei, the seat of Tiantai Lotus Sutra devotion, had come to adopt an eclectic assortment of esoteric rituals and Pure Land practices as "expedient means" to understand the sutra itself.

Development during Nichiren's life

Nichiren developed his thinking in this midst of confusing Lotus Sutra practices and a competing array of other "Old Buddhism" and "New Buddhism" schools. The biographical development of his thinking is sourced almost entirely from his extant writings as there is no documentation about him in the public records of his times. Modern scholarship on Nichiren's life tries to provide sophisticated textual and sociohistorical analyses to cull longstanding myths about Nichiren that accrued over time from what is actually concretized. (3) How could he be assured of the certainty of his own enlightenment? (4) Why was the Imperial House defeated by the Kamakura regime in 1221 despite the prayers and rituals of Tendai and Shingon priests? He eventually concluded that the highest teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha () were to be found in the Lotus Sutra. Throughout his career Nichiren carried his personal copy of the Lotus Sutra which he continually annotated. In addition to his critique of Pure Land Buddhism, he later expanded his polemics to criticisms of the Zen, Shingon, and Ritsu sects. These four critiques were later collectively referred to as his "four dictums." Later in his writings, Nichiren referred to his early exegeses of the Pure Land teachings as just the starting point for his polemics against the esoteric teachings, which he had deemed as a far more significant matter of concern.

The target of his tactics expanded during the early part of his career. Between 1253 and 1259 he proselytized and converted individuals, mainly attracting mid- to lower-ranking samurai and local landholders Although the role of Buddhism in "nation-protection" (chingo kokka) was well-established in Japan at this time, in this thesis Nichiren explicitly held the leadership of the country directly responsible for the safety of the land. His first exile, to Izu Peninsula (1261–1263), convinced Nichiren that he was "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra (Jpn. Hokke shikidoku)", fulfilling the predictions on the 13th chapter (Fortitude) that votaries would be persecuted by ignorant lay people, influential priests, and their friends in high places.

Nichiren began to argue that through "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra," rather than just studying its text for literal meaning, a country and its people could be protected. His thinking now went beyond theories of karmic retribution or guarantees of the Lotus Sutra as a protective force. Rather, he expressed a resolve to fulfill his mission despite the consequences. and authored works constituting half of his extant writings

In 1278 the "Atsuhara Affair" ("Atsuhara Persecution") occurred, culminating three years later. In the prior stage of his career, between 1261 and 1273, Nichiren endured and overcame numerous trials that were directed at him personally including assassination attempts, an attempted execution, and two exiles, thereby "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra" (shikidoku 色読). In so doing, according to him, he validated the 13th ("Fortitude") chapter of the Lotus Sutra in which a host of bodhisattvas promise to face numerous trials that follow in the wake of upholding and spreading the sutra in the evil age following the death of the Buddha: slander and abuse; attack by swords and staves; enmity from kings, ministers, and respected monks; and repeated banishment.

Although Nichiren was situated in Minobu, far from the scene of the persecution, the Fuji district of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, Nichiren held his community together in the face of significant oppression through a sophisticated display of legal and rhetorical responses. He also drew on a wide array of support from the network of leading monks and lay disciples he had raised, some of whom were also experiencing persecution at the hands of the government.

The Atsuhara Affair also gave Nichiren the opportunity to better define what was to become Nichiren Buddhism. He stressed that meeting great trials was a part of the practice of the Lotus Sutra; the great persecutions of Atsuhara were not results of karmic retribution but were the historical unfolding of the Buddhist Dharma. The vague "single good of the true vehicle" which he advocated in the Risshō ankoku ron now took final form as chanting the Lotus Sutra's daimoku or title which he described as the heart of the "origin teaching" (honmon 本門) of the Lotus Sutra. This, he now claimed, lay hidden in the depths of the 16th ("The Life Span of the Tathāgata") chapter, never before being revealed, but intended by the Buddha solely for the beginning of the Final Dharma Age.

Out of 162 historically identified followers of Nichiren, 47 were women. Many of his writings were to women followers in which he displays strong empathy for their struggles, and continually stressed the Lotus Sutra's teaching that all people, men and women equally, can become enlightened just as they are. His voice is sensitive and kind which differs from the strident picture painted about him by critics. His Rissho Ankoku Ron, preserved at Shochuzan Hokekyo-ji, is one of the National Treasures of Japan.

Post-Nichiren development in Japan

Development in Medieval Japan

After Nichiren's death in 1282 the Kamakura shogunate weakened largely due to financial and political stresses resulting from defending the country from the Mongols. It was replaced by the Ashikaga shogunate (1336–1573), which in turn was succeeded by the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1600), and then the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868). During these time periods, collectively comprising Japan's medieval history, Nichiren Buddhism experienced considerable fracturing, growth, turbulence and decline. A prevailing characteristic of the movement in medieval Japan was its lack of understanding of Nichiren's own spiritual realization. Serious commentaries about Nichiren's theology did not appear for almost two hundred years. This contributed to divisive doctrinal confrontations that were often superficial and dogmatic. In the modern period, Nichiren Buddhism experienced a revival, largely initiated by lay people and lay movements. The splintering of Nichiren's teachings into different schools began several years after Nichiren's passing. Despite their differences, however, the Nichiren groups shared commonalities: asserting the primacy of the Lotus Sutra, tracing Nichiren as their founder, centering religious practice on chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, using the Gohonzon in meditative practice, insisting on the need for propagation, and participating in remonstrations with the authorities.

The roots of this splintering can be traced to the organization of the Nichiren community during his life. In 1282, one year before his death, Nichiren named "six senior priests" () disciple to lead his community: Nikkō Shōnin (日興), Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), and Nichiji (日持). Each had led communities of followers in different parts of the Kanto region of Japan and these groups, after Nichiren's death, ultimately morphed into lineages of schools.

Nikkō left Kuon-ji in 1289 and became the founder of what was to be called the Nikkō monryu or lineage. He founded a center at the foot of Mount Fuji which would later be known as the Taiseki-ji temple of Nichiren Shōshū.

Fault lines between the various Nichiren groups crystallized over several issues:

:Local gods. A deeply embedded and ritualized part of Japanese village life, Nichiren schools clashed over the practice of honoring local gods (kami) by lay disciples of Nichiren. Some argued that this practice was a necessary accommodation. The group led by the monk Nikkō objected to such syncretism.

:The Three Gems. All schools of Buddhism speak of the concept of the Three Gems (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha) but define it differently. Over the centuries the Nichiren schools have come to understand it differently as well. The Minobu school has come to identify the Buddha as Shakyamuni whereas the Nikkō school identifies it as Nichiren. For Minobu the Dharma is Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, the Nikkō school identifies it as the Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō that is hidden in the 16th "Lifespan" Chapter of the Lotus Sutra (the Gohonzon). Currently, Nichiren Shōshū claims this specifically refers to the Dai Gohonzon, whereas Soka Gakkai holds it represents all Gohonzon. The Sangha, sometimes translated as "the priest", is also interpreted differently. Minobu defines it as Nichiren; Nichiren Shoshu as Nikkō representing its priesthood; and the Soka Gakkai as Nikkō representing the harmonious community of practitioners.

The cleavage between Nichiren groups has also been classified by the so-called Itchi (meaning unity or harmony) and Shoretsu (a contraction of two words meaning superior/inferior) lineages.

The Itchi lineage today comprises most of the traditional schools within Nichiren Buddhism, of which the Nichiren Shū is the biggest representative, although it also includes some Nikkō temples. In this lineage the whole of the Lotus Sutra, both the so-called theoretical (shakumon or "Imprinted Gate") and essential (honmon or "Original Gate") chapters, are venerated. While great attention is given to the 2nd and 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, other parts of the sutra are recited.
The Shoretsu lineage comprises most temples and lay groups following the Nikkō monryu. The Shoretsu group values the supremacy of the essential over the theoretical part of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, solely the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra are recited. There are additional subdivisions in the Shoretsu group which splintered over whether the entire second half was of equal importance, the eight chapters of the second half when the assembly participates in the "Ceremony of the Air," or specifically Chapter Sixteen (Lifespan of the Tathāgata).

15th century through the early 19th century

In the early 14th century Hokkeshū followers spread the teachings westward and established congregations (Jpn. ) into the imperial capital of Kyoto and as far as Bizen and Bitchu. During this time there is documentation of face-to-face public debates between Hokkeshū and Nembutsu adherents. By the end of the century Hokkeshū temples had been founded all over Kyoto, only being outnumbered by Zen temples. The demographic base of support in Kyoto were members of the merchant class (Jpn. ), some of whom had acquired great wealth. Tanabe hypothesizes they were drawn to this faith because of Nichiren's emphasis on the "third realm" (Jpn. ) of the Lotus Sutra, staked out in chapters 10–22, which emphasize practice in the mundane world. Despite strong sectarian differences, there is also evidence of interactions between Hokkeshū and Tendai scholar-monks. During this time of persecution, most likely to prevent young priests from adopting a passion for propagation, Nichiren seminaries emphasized Tendai studies with only a few top-ranking students permitted to study some of Nichiren's writings.

During the Edo period the majority of Hokkeshū temples were subsumed into the shogunate's Danka system, an imposed nationwide parish system designed to ensure religious peace and root out Christianity. In this system Buddhist temples, in addition to their ceremonial duties, were forced to carry out state administrative functions. Thereby they became agents of the government and were prohibited to engage in any missionary activities. Stagnation was often the price for the protected status.

By this time Japanese Buddhism was often characterized by syncretism in which local nativistic worship was incorporated into Buddhist practice. For example, Tendai, Shingon, Jodō, and Nichiren temples often had chapels within them dedicated to Inari Shinto worship. Within Nichiren Buddhism there was a phenomenon of (Lotus Shinto), closely influenced by Yoshida Shintō.

Anti-Buddhist sentiment had been building throughout the latter part of the Tokugawa period (1603–1868). Scholars such as Tominaga Nakamoto and Hirata Atsutane attacked the theoretical roots of Buddhism. Critics included promoters of Confucianism, nativism, Shinto-inspired Restorationists, and modernizers. Buddhism was critiqued as a needless drain on public resources and also as an insidious foreign influence that had obscured the indigenous Japanese spirit.

Under attack by two policies of the day, shinbutsu bunri (Separation of Shinto Deities and Buddhas) and haibutsu kishaku (Eradication of Buddhism), Japanese Buddhism during the Tokugawa-to-Meiji transition proved to be a crisis of survival. The new government promoted policies that reduced the material resources available to Buddhist temples and downgraded their role in the religious, political, and social life of the nation.

The policies of shibutsu bunri were implemented at the local level throughout Japan but were particularly intense in three domains that were the most active in the Restoration: Satsuma, Choshii, and Tosa. In Satsuma, for example, by 1872 all of its 1000+ Buddhist temples had been abolished, their monks laicized, and their landholdings confiscated. Throughout the country thousands of Buddhist temples and, at a minimum, tens of thousands of Buddhist sutras, paintings, statues, temple bells and other ritual objects were destroyed, stolen, lost, or sold during the early years of the restoration. As a part of the Meiji Restoration, the interdependent Danka system between the state and Buddhist temples was dismantled which left the latter without its funding. Buddhist institutions had to align themselves to the new nationalistic agenda or perish. Many of these reform efforts were led by lay people.

The trend toward lay centrality was prominent in Nichiren Buddhism as well, predating the Meiji period. Some Nichiren reformers in the Meiji period attempted to inject a nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings; others called for globalist perspectives. According to Japanese researcher Yoshiro Tamura, the term "Nichirenism" applies broadly to the following three categories:

The nationalistic preoccupation with Nichiren that contributed to Japan's militaristic effort before World War II.
Socialist activists and writers during the prewar and postwar eras who promoted a vision of an ideal world society inspired by the Lotus Sutra and according to their own views of Nichiren.
Organized religious bodies that were inspired by Nichiren's teachings.

As a form of nationalism

Both Nichiren and his followers have been associated with fervent Japanese nationalism specifically identified as Nichirenism between the Meiji period and the conclusion of World War II. The nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings were inspired by lay Buddhist movements like Kokuchūkai and resulted in violent historical events such as the May 15 Incident and the League of Blood Incident. Among the key proponents of this interpretation are Chigaku Tanaka who founded the Kokuchūkai (English: Nation's Pillar Society). Tanaka was charismatic and through his writings and lecturers attracted many followers such as Kanji Ishiwara. Other nationalist activists who based their ideas on Nichiren were Ikki Kita and Nisshō Inoue. The same fate was also endured by Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, who refused the religious dictum of Shinto display accepted by Nichiren Shōshū for the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, his lay organization composed of primarily secretaries and teachers until it grew to become Soka Gakkai after World War II.

Several Nichiren-inspired religious movements arose and appealed primarily to this segment of society with a message of alleviating suffering salvation for many poor urban workers. with Nichiren Shōshū and the Japanese principle Shin (信 ), Gyo (行), Gaku (学) as "Faith, Practices, Study", are more recent examples of lay-inspired movements drawing from Nichiren's teachings and life.

Nichiren Buddhism is now practiced in many countries outside of Japan. In the United States, religious studies scholar Charles S. Prebish coined the typology of "two Buddhisms" to delineate the divide between forms of Buddhism that appealed either primarily to people of the Asian diaspora or to Euro-American converts. Nattier, on the other hand, proposes a three-way typology. "Import" or "elite" Buddhism refers to a class of people who have the time and means to seek Buddhist teachers to appropriate certain Buddhist techniques such as meditation. "Export" or "evangelical" Buddhism refers to groups that actively proselytize for new members in their local organizations. "Baggage" or "ethnic" Buddhism refers to diaspora Buddhists, usually of a single ethnic group, who have relocated more for social and economic advancement than for evangelical purposes. Another taxonomy divides Western Buddhist groups into three different categories: evangelical, church-like, and meditational.

Nichiren Shū has been classified into the church-like category. It also established missions in Sakhalin, Manchuria, and Taiwan. In 1955, it officially started a mission in Brazil. In 1991, it established the Nichiren Buddhist International Center in 1991 and in 2002 built a center in Hayward, California, to help overseas missions. However, Nichiren Shū does not widely propagate in the West.

Some have characterized the Soka Gakkai as evangelical The growth of the Soka Gakkai was sparked by repeated missionary trips beginning in the early 1960s by Daisaku Ikeda, its third president. In the United States it has attracted a diverse membership including a significant demographic of African Americans. Since the 1970s, it has created institutions, publications and exhibitions to support its overall theme of "peace, culture, and education." There is academic research on various national organizations affiliated with this movement: the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Scotland, Southeast Asia, Germany, and Thailand.

The Risshō Kōseikai focuses on using its teachings to promote a culture of religiosity through inter-religious dialogue. In 1967, it launched the "Faith to All Men Movement" to awaken a globalized religiosity. It has over 2 million members and 300 Dharma centers in 20 countries throughout the world including Frankfurt and Moorslede. It is active in interfaith organizations, including the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) and Religions for Peace (WCRP). It has consultative states with the United Nations and since 1983 issues an annual Peace Prize to individuals or organizations worldwide that work for peace and development and promote interreligious cooperation.

Nichiren Shōshū has six temples in the United States led by Japanese priests and supported by lay Asians and non-Asians. There is one temple in Brazil and the residing priest serves as a "circuit rider" to attend to other locations.

== Lists of major schools and organizations ==

The following lists are based on English-language Wikipedia articles and the Japanese Wikipedia article on Nichiren Buddhism.

Clerical Nichiren Buddhist schools and their head temples

In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "Ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia).

{| class="wikitable"

!Romanized English

!Japanese

|Fuju-fuse Nichiren Kōmon Shū

|不受不施日蓮講門宗本山本覚寺

|Hokke Nichiren Shū

|法華日蓮宗総本山 :Ja:宝龍寺

|Hokkeshū, Honmon Ryū

|法華宗（本門流）大本山光長寺・鷲山寺・本興寺･本能寺

|Hokkeshū, Jinmon Ryū

|法華宗（陣門流）総本山本成寺

|Hokkeshū, Shinmon Ryū

|法華宗（真門流）総本山本隆寺

|Hompa Nichiren Shū

|本派日蓮宗総本山宗祖寺

|Honke Nichiren Shū (Hyōgo)

|本化日蓮宗（兵庫）総本山妙見寺

|Honke Nichiren Shū (Kyōto)

|:Ja:本化日蓮宗（京都）本山石塔寺

|Honmon Butsuryū Shū

|:Ja:本門佛立宗大本山宥清寺

|Honmon Hokke Shū: Daihonzan Myōren-ji

|本門法華宗大本山妙蓮寺

|Honmon Kyōō Shū

|:Ja:本門経王宗本山日宏寺

|Kempon Hokke Shu: Sōhonzan Myōman-ji

|総本山妙満寺

|Nichiren Hokke Shū

|:Ja:日蓮法華宗大本山正福寺

|Nichiren Honshū: Honzan Yōbō-ji

|:Ja:日蓮本宗本山 :Ja:要法寺

|Nichiren Kōmon Shū

|日蓮講門宗

|Nichiren Shōshū: Sōhonzan Taiseki-ji

|日蓮正宗総本山大石寺

|Nichiren Shū Fuju-fuse-ha: Sozan Myōkaku-ji

|日蓮宗不受不施派祖山妙覚寺

|Nichiren Shū: Sozan Minobuzan Kuon-ji

|日蓮宗祖山身延山 :Ja:久遠寺

|Nichirenshū Fuju-fuse-ha

|日蓮宗不受不施派

|Shōbō Hokke Shū

|正法法華宗本山 :Ja:大教寺

20th-century movements and lay organizations

In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "Ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia):

Bussho Gonenkai Kyōdan, founded in 1950 by Kaichi Sekiguchi and Tomino Sekiguchi.
Fuji Taisekiji Kenshōkai (also, just Kenshōkai) :Ja:富士大石寺顕正会, founded in 1942 and expelled from Nichiren Shōshū in 1974.
Hokkekō, lay organization affiliated with Nichiren Shōshū.
Kokuchūkai :Ja:国柱会 (also 國柱会), a nationalist group founded in 1914 by Tanaka Chigaku.
Myōchikai Kyōdan, founded in 1950 by Miyamoto Mitsu.
Myōdōkai Kyōdan, founded in 1951.
Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga, founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii.
Reiyūkai (Spiritual-Friendship-Association), founded in 1920 by Kakutaro Kubo and Kimi Kotani, Reiyūkai considers itself the grandfather of lay-based new religions devoted to the Lotus Sutra and ancestor veneration.
Risshō Kōsei Kai, founded in 1938 by Nikkyō Niwano and Myōkō Naganuma.
Shōshinkai, founded in 1980.
Soka Gakkai, founded in Japan in 1930 by Tsunesaburō Makiguchi and Soka Gakkai International founded in 1975 by Daisaku Ikeda.

References

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica, "Soka Gakkai"
East Asian Religions: Nichiren Buddhism
Shoryo Tarabini (undated). "A response to questions from Soka Gakkai practitioners regarding the similarities and differences among Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai"
Nichiren Buddhism in Tricycle's Buddhism for Beginners series. Accessed 2026-03-13
Ranallo-Higgins, Frederick M. "Knowing Nichiren: Scholar Jacqueline Stone on one of Buddhism's great traditions and its founder". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review (Spring 2023). Accessed 2026-03-13

Nichiren Buddhism

Basic teachings

Nichiren

Nichiren and his time

Development during Nichiren's life

Post-Nichiren development in Japan

Development in Medieval Japan

15th century through the early 19th century

As a form of nationalism

Clerical Nichiren Buddhist schools and their head temples

20th-century movements and lay organizations

See also

References

Further reading

Translations of Nichiren's writings

English

Recent scholarship

English-language works, late 19th and early 20th centuries

Japanese

External links

Basic teachings

Nichiren

Nichiren and his time

Development during Nichiren's life

Post-Nichiren development in Japan

Development in Medieval Japan

15th century through the early 19th century

As a form of nationalism

Within new social and religious movements

Clerical Nichiren Buddhist schools and their head temples

20th-century movements and lay organizations

See also

References

Further reading

Translations of Nichiren's writings

English

Recent scholarship

English-language works, late 19th and early 20th centuries

Japanese

External links