Nichiren Buddhism - Schools

Schools

Today, Nichiren Buddhism is not a single denomination (see following lists). It began to branch into different schools within several years after Nichiren's death, before which Nichiren had named six senior priests (rokurōsō) whom he wanted to transmit his teachings to future generations: Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), Nichiji (日持), and Nikkō (日興). Each started a lineage of schools, but Nichiji eventually travelled to the Asian continent (ca. 1295) and was never heard from again, and Nitchō later in life (1302) rejoined and became a follower of Nikkō.

Different interpretations of Nichiren's teachings had led to the establishment of various temples and schools, however having in common reverence to the two basic doctrines of the chanting and the object of devotion. Although the former five remained loosely affiliated to varying degrees, the last—Nikkō—made a clean break by leaving Kuon-ji in 1289. He had come to the conclusion that Nikō and the others were embarking on paths to heresy that he could not stem.

After the passing of Nichiren differences between the various Nichiren Schools were relatively minor; nevertheless, the following schools formed around Nichiren's disciples:

• The Minobu-School by Nikō
• The Fuji-School by Nikkō
• The Hama-School by Nisshō
• The Ikegami-School by Nichirō
• The Nakayama-School by Toki Jonin (Stepfather of Nitchō)

In the years following Nichiren's death, his and the temples founded by his disciple remained to a varying degree affiliated. By the 14th century a certain split within the Nichiren Schools occurred though. One differentiates between the so called Ichi-Lineage (meaning unity or harmony) and Shoretsu-Lineage (a contraction of two words meaning superior/inferior).

• The Ichi-Lineage today comprises most of the traditional schools within Nichiren Buddhism, including some Nikkō temples, of which the Nichiren Shū is the biggest representative. In this lineage the whole of the Lotus Sutra, both the so called essential and theoretical parts, also referred to as the Imprinted Gate, are venerated. While great attention is given to the 2nd and 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra other parts of the sutra, or even the whole sutra, are recited.
• The Shoretsu-Lineage comprises most, not all, temples of the Nikkō-lineage. Today those are most notably Nichire Shōshū and Sōka Gakkai. This lineage underline the supremacy of the essential over the theoretical part of the Lotus Sutra, also referred to as the Original Gate. Therefore almost solely the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra are recited.

“The Itchi-Soretsu controversey was of no interest to outsiders, but it kept Nichiren theologians on their toes and forced them to define their positions with more clarity. It did result in the formation of new sub-sects, but these gave impetus to missionary enterprises which expanded Nichiren Buddhism and helped spread it throughout the country ”. The number of adherents to Nichiren's teachings grew steadily during the 14th and 15th century to the extent that whole communities became followers. Only being outnumbered by Zen, 1,400 Nichiren temples had been founded all over Kyoto and although the various sects of Nichiren Buddhism were administratively independent they met in a council to resolve common problems. Based on the tradition set by Nichiren the relationship between the government, other major Buddhist schools and Nichiren-temples remained ambiguous though. The adherents of Nichiren-Buddhism who made this aspect of Nichiren teachings a central pillar of their belief were the followers of the so called Fuju-fuse lineage. Their services were partly held in secret and ultimatively culminated in the persecution and partly even the execution of its believers in 1668. The majority of official Nichiren-temples were "tamed" during the Edo period to the effect that they were subsumed “into a nationwide Buddhist parish system designed to ensure religious peace and eradicate the common enemy, Christianity”. In this process also known as the Danka system Buddhist-temples were generally not only a centre of Buddhist practice and learning, but were forced carry out administrative functions thereby also being controlled by the government taming any missionary activities.

During the Meiji Restoration from 1868 onwards and in an attempt to eradicate Buddhism Nichiren-temples were forced, just like any other Buddhist school, to focus on funeral and memorial services as their main activity. Therefore Nichiren-Buddhism remained mainly temple based. Most Nichiren schools, referring to their establishment, state the founding of their respective head or main temple, for example, Nichiren Shu the year 1281, Nichiren Shōshū the year 1288 and Kempon Hokke Shu the year 1384. However, most of today's Nichren schools did not form until the late 19th and early 20th century as, also legal, religious bodies. A last wave of merges took place in the 1950s. Following the above mentioned divide between the Ichi-Lineage and Shoretsu-Lineage the most notable division is the one between Nichiren Shu and Nichiren Shōshū. Documents first mentioned and discovered by Taiseki-ji priest Nikkyo in 1488 claimed that Nichiren passed full authority “to Nikkō alone. The original documents have disappeared, but "true copies" are preserved at Taiseki-ji. Other Nichiren bodies ignore them as forgeries”. At the time the documents may have served to underline Taiseki-ji's supposed superiority amongst Nikkō-temples, especially in respect to Ikegami Honmon-ji the site of Nikkō's tomb. In the later context of developments the above mentioned claims served as a reason on which, what would later become, Nichiren Shōshū based its orthodoxy on Nichiren-Buddhism in general. Even though there had been efforts by temples of the Nikkō-lineage in the late 19th century to unify into one single separate Nichiren-School the Kommon-ha, today's Nichiren Shōshū comprises only the Taiseki-ji temple and its dependant temples. It is not identical to the historical Nikkō or Fuji-lineage. Parts of the Kommon-ha, the Honmon-Shu, eventually became part of Nichren Shu in the 1950s. New religions like Sōka Gakkai, Shōshinkai, and Kenshōkai trace their origins to the Nichiren Shōshū school, most notably amongst those is Sōka Gakkai which due to its steady growth is regarded today as Japan's largest lay Buddhist organisation.

Kuon-ji eventually became the head temple of today's Nichiren Shu, today the largest branch amongst traditional schools, encompassing the schools and temples tracing their origins to Nikō, Nisshō, Nichirō, Nichiji and also Nikkō. The Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga stem, in one form or another, from the Kuon-ji lineage.