Nikkyo Shonin died during World War II. According to the accounts, a fire broke out at the Head Temple, probably set by conscripted troops quartered there, and when the fire was put out, as recounted in the Human Revolution:
"Sitting upright in the middle of the blackened room was the body of the 62nd high priest, Nikkyo Shonin. He was attired in the full ceremonial robes of his office, and he faced towards the Gohozo, where the Dai-Gohonzon bestowed on all humanity was ensrined."
"He could easily have excaped. Of the several hundred people involved in the fire, not one had been injured -- that proved as much. Why should he choose to die in the flames?"1
President Ikeda wrote this before the split with Nichiren Shoshu, and so he didn't provide the answer. But now, as the late great Radio Announcer used to say, "we know the rest of the story". The story we hear now is completely different. It is meant to show what liars the priests are, but it also shows what liars the Gakkai has been to us, as they kept this away from the American Members until they went to war with their former priests.
Nikkyo's activities in world War II
Dave Cole writes about the High Priest's message on the outbreak of World War II as follows:
In a letter published January 1942 in Dai-Nichiren, a Nichiren Shoshu magazine to all Nichiren Shoshu priests, Nikkyo Shonin writes:
The 29th Admonition
To all Nichiren Shoshu priestsAs we declared war against the United States today, I was overwhelmed by a deep feeling. More than four years have passed since our Empire punished the tyrannical Chiang Kai-Shek administration to launch the creation of the new order in East Asia. Japan, Manchuria, and China now enjoy mutual friendship and prosperity due to these accomplishments. However, the United States and Britain have ignored these facts, and continued to support the Chongqing government to keep it engaged in hostilities against us. They have also attempted to hamper us with economic sanctions. They called upon their allies to form a militaristic encirclement to threaten us and obstruct the Imperial scheme. Although the Imperial Government patiently sought to reach a resolution peacefully, the United States and Britain not only arrogantly refused it but also denied the Imperial principle. We should not allow ourselves to accept their abuse any longer. Our Empire and its great achievements are faced with a serious crisis. The Japanese Empire has thus entered war against them resolutely. We must stand up to overcome all obstacles as the heirs of Japan's immortal history of over 2600 years.
Fortunately, the Empire is endowed with an army and navy of unrivaled valor and loyalty under the imperial authority. They have already made remarkable achievements upon the very opening of this war. We profoundly appreciate their efforts, and their success is expected to continue. However, in light of the surrounding circumstances, this war will last for a long time, and we must be ready for that. Based on the Buddha's mandate, we must now summon our faith to endure all and take part in ensuring our victory in this unprecedented war.
December 8, 1941
Nikkyo Suzuki, High Priest, Nichiren Shoshu.
Of course, Nikkyo Shonin could not have known anything more than any other Japanese about the actual state of the World's affairs. Whatever the merits of Nichiren Buddhism, it was at the time, being propagated in an "Island Culture" that by definition had a "insular" outlook on the world. It's hard for us to believe that he could have actually believed that the Chinese or Koreans actually liked being ruled by Japan, but perhaps he did. In any case, the teachings of any religion are difficult to seperate from the host culture, and he was no exception. This is why the principle of "Zuiho Bini" not only points out the necessity to get to the important truths of religion during propagation from one country to another, but also shows how those important principles can be "corrupted" by the host culture and sometimes need to be purified out before the adoptive culture can get to the pure truths underlying that original message. Nikkyo Shonin supported the War with the United States, as did most of the Japanese nation. They were of "one mind" and pretty much of "one body."
Dave Cole continues:
The January New Years greeting message by the same High Priest Nikkyo Shonin in 1942 reads:
"We, the Japanese Empire, have declared war against the United States and Britain. Within three days after the outbreak of the war, we achieved brilliant results in the entire Pacific. The luxurious British fleet suffered a crushing defeat, like a crumbling palace. In Hawaii and Manila, we were able to achieve great results that are unparalleled in the history of the world. These results not only moved the people of Japan to tears but aroused a deep sense of gratitude in them, which struck the whole world with amazement and admiration. Consequently, our Imperial Navy secured the command of the ocean and the skies of the Pacific. Now, I pray that the people behind the guns, regardless of whether they are young or old, men or women, will not be elated by victory together with the fighting forces who were devoted to the sacred war, but rather will not neglect to tighten their helmet strings after victory. With an indefatigable spirit and a strong unity as hard as iron and stone, I hope, they will keep their posts of responsibility, summon up their courage, strengthen their faith and, in obedience to the Imperial decree, persist in their devoted services to the country. The peace and security of the land will be achieved only when the festival of the Mystic Law is held."2
Now one of the consequences of his behavior was that one of his own priests, Jimon Ogasawara, went even further than support for the "divine war" and sought to unite the various Nichiren Sects under the banner of support for the war and the notion that Nichiren was an emmanation of the Sun Goddess. It was this, even more than the effort to promote Shinto that led to Toda and Makiguchi's arrest and imprisonment. Nikkyo punished Toda and Makiguchi for invoking the 17th Admonition of the twenty Six Admonitions, which states; "Do not follow even the high priest if he goes against the Buddha's Law and propounds his own views [Selfish doctrines that contravene the dharma]"
A document later alleged that Toda passed a document to the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai telling people to accept the shinto talismans and then discard them quietly, as the head temple was telling people to do, but this may well have been written by the security forces as a means of discrediting him. He and Makiguchi, but expecially Makiguchi, deserve some credit for standing up to the authorities of the time. Toda later says that his master shared the honor of his convictions with him. Going to Jail enabled Toda to realize the importance of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin's teachings about it.
Nikkyo Saw his beloved head temple occupied by Korean conscripts. He saw them trash the buildings. He saw his beloved acolytes conscripted and trained and sent to war. (Later High Priest Nikken served in the Navy, for instance). He heard the reports that indicated that the war was being lost, and maybe he saw the folly of his earlier support for it and began to realize that he should have been more as a "true disciple" and been more admonishing and less fawning of the Government. Perhaps Makiguchi's death, and that of another priest who stood up against the war, and his own treachery towards them, weighed on his conscience. Seeing a fire break out in the Treasure Temple must have been the last straw for him. He could easily have left the building. He didn't. He died in 1945 without leaving a direct successor. He instead left the world knowing that there were two former high priests who could take over for him and "transfer" the lineage to a new priest.
Footnotes and references.
- The Human Revolution Vol 1 No.2, World Tribune Press, Los Angeles, California 90406 Copyright 1986 by World Tribune
- Direct source for biographical materials is lifted from a post by Dave Cole, at this address:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/itaidoshinandreunification/message/388 But the same material is available elsewhere, and comes from some books and articles on Japan. Dave was a leading "source" for attacks on the Gakkai's behavior until he began to see that the same insular (Japan Centric in this case) attitude pervaded Nichiren Shoshu.
- Post to Google:http://groups.google.com/groups?q=g:thl2287483660d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=Z0aG8.25%240o4.4497811%40newssvr21.news.prodigy.com&rnum=1