For some reason the story of Nippo Shonin fascinates me more than that of his seniors such as Nikko Shonin or his Master, Nichiren Daishonin. It is he who is the alleged carver of the Dai-Gohonzon. He also founded a number of eclectic and very non sectarian temples. One in Kamakura, and one on Mt. Shichimen itself. Mt. Shichimen resides halfway between Kuon-ji at Mt. Minobu and Taiseki-ji at Mt. Fuji, and his temple there (see also http://www.japantrek.de/english/english-mz/tempel2-e.html) is a stop for hikers and apparantly not a stop for people driving cars or seeking modern amenities. Indeed it has also been an attraction for historical rebellion of Nichiren believers who refused to get caught up in eccentric traditions. In the 19th century the pilgrimage there became an assertion of potential for enlightenment among women (as women were once prohibited from climbing the mountain), and women visit this temple yearly. The one on Shichimen is loosely associated with Nichiren Shu (though independent) but his Temple at Kamakura doesn't belong to anyone in particular and is explicitly non-sectarian. Like his Temples Nippo seems to have been not interested in power, authority, establishing lineages, or anything but practicing and propagating Buddhism. Somehow I suspect that he was able to reach enlightenment as a result.
The Jogyo Shoden Sho recounts:
"Nippo wanted to carve a statue of Nichiren. He Prayed to Shichimen Daimyojiu. Was it a response to his prayers? He found a log floating in [the river].
Bruce Maltz (actually his wife) did some research on this and writes:
In the Biography of Nippo it says that, next, he made statues of Nichiren. Altogether, three statues. One of the statues is just 3 su-n (9 centimeters) tall.' The Daishou (=Buddha, i.e., Nichiren) enscribed the Kaidan-in Honzon (=DaiGohonzon) and Nippo engraved it. This is the present plank Honzon. That is, it is the Gohonzon that was in the Grand Hall at Minobu. Because of Nippo's long and masterful expertise as an artisan, he made one statue of the Daishou 3 su-n (9 cm.) tall....The plank Honzon and statues are now at Fuji....Now there are issues about Nichiu, but Nippo is a relative unknown.
I'm still looking for a translation of the Jogyo Shoden Sho (the story that contains the account of the carving of the Dai-Gohonzon, and this Gosho is probably indeed "a pious forgery." Yet I cannot help but believe that the story itself that is memorialized here but started as a perfectly good legend. For one thing the "grand hall" at Minobu was barely a hut during Nippo's lifetime, so the story travelled through the typical oral paths before being written down in much the same way as other apocryphal Gosho Nippo indeed carved many objects of worship, and the statues he carved are still extent in the temples he founded. It is entirely plausable that he is the one who carved the Dai-Gohonzon from a paper mandala, or even from writing written on the plank first by Nichiren. There is a plank "odaimoku Tablet" at one of Nichiro's temples also attributed to Nichiren's hand, so the story is not as implausable as some would make it. Maybe he's the one who gifted it to Yasahiro Kunishige. This would explain both the reluctance of the Fuji School's to defend the Dai-Gohonzon this way, and why it is that we don't hear that much about it until Nichiu Shonin made it the principle object of worship of Mt. Fuji's Taisekiji.
Some discount that belief in Shinto Deities is a belief from a later time, but my own research establishes that the truth is the other way around and Nippo could have believed the literal existence of a local spirit (Kami) like Shichimen, and so this story may be the memorialization of an oral legend in the way this has been done since time immemorable. Somone took the pains to "forge" a document "proving" what they already believed to be true. (See literal.html for more on this). The legend of Shichimen is charming. In it a local Kami is captivated by Nichiren's teachings and agrees to protect Kuon-ji from harm. She's kind of like a Japanese "Lady of the Lake." So in a sense the Dai-Gohonzon is like King Arthur's sword. Modern people are embarrassed by legends and myths, but they embody our hopes and dreams often far more concretely than more literal stories. Much of our lives is run by analogy, by "figurative" things that would have no existence without our minds. Without them we wouldn't see the hero myth and the importance of it for our own behavior. So the Dai-Gohonzon is not a simple "fake" even if it were carved by Nichiu instead of Nippo.(see kawabe.html)
- These are some webpages to visit:
- Untold History of Fuji School:
- http://www.sokaspirit.org/resource/download.shtml
- http://www.garyrossproductions.com/Prepress/uhfs/uhfschap.pdf
- This page:
- http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/ryukoji.htm
- Additional sources at:
- sources.html