Nichiren was the founder of the Buddhist sect which bears his name. His name means Sun Lotus, and was given to him because his mother dreamt that the sun rested on a lotus when she conceived him. Nichiren was an iconoclast of very marked character. He received, by revelation, a complete knowledge of Buddhist mysteries, though in reading the story of his life one would have supposed that he acquired his remarkable religious wisdom through arduous study. During his lifetime Japan was visited by a terrible earthquake, followed by a destructive hurricane, pestilence, and famine. So great were these calamities that men prayed to die rather than live amidst such universal misery. Nichiren saw in these great disasters the hand of Fate. He saw that religion and politics had become corrupt, and that Nature had rebelled against the numerous evils that existed at that time. Nichiren realised that Buddhism was no longer the simple teaching of the Lord Buddha. In the various Buddhist sects he had studied so diligently he found that the priests had neglected Shaka Muni (the Buddha), and worshipped Amida, a manifestation of the Lord Buddha, instead. Nor did their heresy end there, for he found that priests and people also worshipped Kwannon and other divinities. Nichiren desired to sweep these deities aside and to restore Buddhism to its old purity and singleness of purpose. He cried in one of his sermons: "Awake, men, awake! Awake and look around you. No man is born with two fathers or two mothers. Look at the heavens above you: there are no two suns in the sky. Look at the earth at your feet: no two kings can rule a country." In other words, he implied that no one can serve two masters, and the only master he found to be worthy of service and worship was Buddha himself. With this belief he sought to replace the ordinary mantra, Namu Amida Butsu, by Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō ("Oh, the Scripture of the Lotus of the Wonderful Law!").
Nichiren wrote Risshō Ankōku Ron ("Book to Tranquillise the Country"), which contained the prediction of a Mongol invasion and many bitter attacks against the other Buddhist sects. At length Hōjō Tokiyori was compelled to exile him to Ito for thirty years. He escaped, however, and renewed his heated attacks upon the rival sects. Nichiren's enemies sought assistance from the Regent Tokimune, who decided to have the monk beheaded, and the vindictive Nichiren was finally sent to the beach of Koshigoye to be executed. While awaiting the fatal stroke Nichiren prayed to Buddha, and the sword broke as it touched his neck. Nor was this the only miracle, for immediately after the breaking of the sword a flash of lightning struck the palace at Kamakura, and a heavenly light surrounded the saintly Nichiren. The official entrusted with the deed of execution was considerably impressed by these supernatural events, and he sent a messenger, to the Regent for a reprieve. Tokimune, however, had sent a horseman bearing a pardon, and the two men met at a river now called Yukiai ("Place of Meeting.")
Nichiren's miraculous escape was followed by an even more vigorous attack on those whom he considered were not of the true religion. He was again exiled, and finally took up his abode on Mount Minobu. It is said that a beautiful woman came to this mountain whilst Nichiren was praying. When the great saint saw her, he said: "Resume your natural state." After the woman had drunk water she changed into a snake nearly twenty feet long, with iron teeth and golden scales.
Shōdō Shonin
Shōdō Shonin was the founder of the first Buddhist temple at Nikko, and the following legend is supposed to have led to the construction of the sacred bridge of Nikko. One day, while Shōdō Shonin was on a journey, he saw four strange-looking clouds rise from the earth to the sky. He pressed forward in order to see them more clearly, but could not go far, for he found that his road was barred by a wild torrent. While he was praying for some means to continue his journey a gigantic figure appeared before him, clad in blue and black robes, with a necklace of skulls. The mysterious being cried to him from the opposite bank, saying: "I will help you as I once helped Hiuen." Having uttered these words, the Deity threw two blue and green snakes across the river, and on this bridge of snakes the priest was able to cross the torrent. When Shōdō Shonin had reached the other bank the God and his blue and green snakes disappeared.
[1] The saint's name when living was Kūkai. Kōbō Daishi was a posthumous title, and it is by this title that he is generally known.
[2] Hence the Japanese proverb: "Even Kōbō Daishi sometimes wrote wrong."
[3] An instrument of incantation somewhat resembling a thunder-bolt.
[4] At a later period Inari was known as the Fox God. See Chapter V.