Nichiji

Nichiji
日持
Personal life
BornKaikō
1250 in Suruga Province
Diedafter 1304 in Xuanhua District
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
TempleLìhuà Temple
SchoolNichiren Buddhism
Senior posting
TeacherNichiren

Nichiji (日持; February 10, 1250 – after 1304), also known as Kaikō, was a Buddhist disciple of Nichiren who traveled to today's Hokkaido, Russian Far East, and China.

Nichiji was born in Suruga Province, the second child of an influential family[n 1] that ruled Matsuno village[n 2] of the Ihara District.[1] At first, he studied to become a Tendai priest but soon joined Nichiren as one of his initial followers.

Nichiji was one of the "six chosen disciples" of Nichiren, but was also a disciple of Nikkō. After Nichiren died in 1282, Nichiji established Eishō-ji, now Ren'ei-ji (蓮永寺) in Shizuoka. But soon, relations with Nikkō became strained.[2] He set out on a missionary journey on January 1, 1295.[3] His plan was to walk to Hakodate, Hokkaidō and from there proceed to Xanadu in order to convert the Mongols.[4]

For many centuries it was unknown what happened to Nichiji after he left Japan.[5] According to legends, he founded a temple in northern Japan and caught a new fish in Hokkaido that he named hokke, after the Lotus Sutra (法華, hokke);[6] even in legends it was unclear if he ever reached China alive. In 1936, though, a Japanese tourist discovered his gohonzon and relics in a remote region of China, and in 1989 these relics were carbon dated and determined by Kyoto University researchers to be most probably partly authentic.[7] Thanks to his inscriptions on the relics, it is now known that he landed in China in 1298, met some Western Xia Buddhists on the road and decided on their advice to settle in Xuanhua District instead of Xanadu. In Xuanhua, he founded Lihua Temple,[n 3][4] and some local residents converted to the teachings of Nichiren[n 4] under his tutelage.[8] He died sometime after 1304.

In Nichiren-shū, Nichiji is regarded as a patron saint of foreign missionaries.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ His father was Matsuno Rokurōzaemon with the common given name, Yukiyasu, and his older brother was Matsuno Rokurōzaemon with the common given name, Yukinari.
  2. ^ Today's western inland portion of Fuji City that covers the municipalities of Kitamatsuno (北松野) and Minamimatsuno (南松野).
  3. ^ 立化寺; lìhuà-sì in Chinese. Rikka-ji (立化寺) in Japanese.
  4. ^ It is called Nichiren Buddhism in English or more generally called Hokke-shū (法華宗) in Japanese.

References

  1. ^ "松野六郎左衛門" [Matsuno Rokurōzaemon]. お祖師さまを巡る人々 (People Surrounding The Founder [Nichiren]) (in Japanese). No. 20. Tokyo: Honmon Butsuryū-shū Administrative Headquarters. 2021-08-01. 【松野六郎左衛門】さんの正式な名前は【松野六郎左衛門行易】というんだ。／駿河国の庵原郡松野という所ところの領主…／日持上人（松野六郎左衛門の次男）／…長男【行成（松野六郎左衛門行成）】… [The formal name of 'Matsuno Rokurōzaemon' was called 'Matsuno Rokurōzaemon Yukiyasu'. / … was a feudal lord who ruled the area called Matsuno in Ihara District, Suruga Province … / Nichiji (the second son of 'Matsuno Rokurōzaemon "Yukiyasu") / … [his] first son 'Matsuno Rokurōzaemon Yukinari' …]
  2. ^ Matsunaga, Daigan; Matsunaga, Alicia (1974). Foundation of Japanese Buddhism. Vol. 2. Los Angeles: Buddhist Books International. p. 173. ISBN 978-0914910275.
  3. ^ Masaharu Anesaki. Nichiren, the Buddhist prophet. Harvard University Press, 1916. p.160 ISBN 0-559-67920-3
  4. ^ a b Fogel, Joshua A. (1996). The Literature of Travel in the Japanese Rediscovery of China, 1862-1945. Redwood City, California: Stanford University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0804725675.
  5. ^ 新版仏教哲学大辞典 (Shimpan Bukkyō Tetsugaku Daijiten) [Great Dictionary Of Buddhist Philiosophy New Ver.] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Seikyo Shimbunsha. 1985-11-18. p. 1368.
  6. ^ "日持上人" [Nichiji]. Nichiren-shū Southern Hokkaido Administrative Office Education Center (日蓮宗北海道南部宗務所教化センター) (in Japanese). Myōryū-ji (妙龍寺) in Otaru. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. 日持上人が、不漁続きのアイヌ漁民の苦悩を想い、祈念したところ、瞬く間に大漁となったと云われます。更にこれをきっかけに現地の人々との和睦も成立したと云われます。「ホッケ」は、この時たくさんとれた魚で、法華経の魚として名付けたのが由来すると云われています。 [It is said that Nichiji prayed for the benefit of the Ainu fishermen with discomfort from the lack of catch and then a huge amount of fish was caught afterwards. Also, legends said that this became the harmonious moment between Nichiji and the local [Ainu] population. It is then the fish were called 'hokke' after the Lotus Sutra [Hokkekyō].]
  7. ^ "伝・宣化出土日持上人偽造遺物について" [About the Counterfeit Heirloom and Excavated Artifacts in Xuanhua District Pertaining to Nichiji]. 本多日生記念財団 (in Japanese). Tokyo. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. あの遺物はすべて近代人の手によって作られたものなのか、もしそうであれば誰がどんな目的で作ったものなのか。逆に何点かは本物で後世に偽造品を加え補強した可能性もあるかもしれない、出来ればそうあってもらいたい。もしそうであるなら、どれが本物で残りの偽造品は誰が何の目的で作ったものなのか。 [Are all of those artifacts made by today's people, and if it is so, who were they for what purpose? On the contrary, some of them may be genuine and may be augumented by adding counterfeit items to the future generations, and if that premise were possible, I hope so. If such result happened, which ones are real and who made the rest of the counterfeit items for what purpose?]
  8. ^ "「函館市史」＞日持上人の渡来説" ['Hakodate City History' > Story of the Arrival of Nichiji]. Digital Ver. of 'Hakodate City History' (『函館市史』デジタル版 ) (in Japanese). Hakodate: Hakodate City Government Office. Archived from the original on 2013-07-24. しかし『新北海道史』によれば「昭和八年、中国チヤハル省宣化城の立化寺から、元の大徳元（一二九七）年から八（一三〇四）年にかけてここに住んだ、立化祖師という高僧の遺品が発見され、…」とあって、… [However, according to 'New Hokkaido History', it is written as "in 1933, there were artifacts pertaining to an old monk by the name of Founder Lìhuà, who lived there between 1297 and 1304, discovered in Lìhuà Temple in Xuānhuà (宣化), Chahar Province, China, …" from the said source, …]
  9. ^ McCormick, Ryuei Michael. "The Six Senior Disciples of Nichiren Daishonin". The Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of the San Francisco Bay Area Enryuzan Shinganji Temple. San Francisco Bay Area.

Further reading

  • Li Narangoa. Japanische Religionspolitik in der Mongolei 1932-1945. Reformbestrebungen und Dialog zwischen japanischem und mongolischem Buddhismus. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998.
  • Montgomery, Daniel (1991). Fire in the Lotus, The Dynamic Religion of Nichiren, London: Mandala, ISBN 1852740914
  • 前嶋 信次 . "日持上人の大陸渡航について―宣化出土遺物を中心として "
External image
image icon (in Chinese) Photo of Lìhuà Temple

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