The Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii, Founder and Preceptor of the Japanese Buddhist Order Nipponzan Myohoji, died in Atami, Japan on 9th January 1985 in his 100th year.

    In 1903, when he was 19, Nichidatsu Fujii became a monk, thereafter devoting the rest of his life to contemplative study of the eight schools of thought of Buddhism and to the development of the practice of praying for peace.He began to preach Buddhism publicly in 1918, travelling widely in China, Korea and Manchuria as well as throughout Japan where he warned of the dangers of the growing militancy of Japanese thinking.

    To regularise the position of those who had come to follow him and to join him in his beating of a hand-drum and chanting the prayer for peace"Namu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo", the first Nipponzan Myohoji was established at Tagonoura near Mount Fuji in 1924. During his extensive travels in India(1931-33) to regenerate Buddhism there, he met and soon became closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi. It was Gandhi who first called him Guruji, a title by which his followers have affectionally known him ever since.

<Left side : Mahatma Gandhi , Right side : Fujii Gurujii>

    Throughout the war he prayed  and regularly fasted for its early conclusion. When it was over, and his country was recovering from the effects of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he turned especially to the teachings of Peace-Buddhism. The Order began constructing peace pagodas in Japan and , later, world-wide to give physical expression of man's yearning for the inner peace from which he trusted that international peace would come.

    The Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii played a central role throughout the negotiations leading to its being placed here and looked forward to its presentation and opening. He will be most keenly missed not only by the 500 or so members of the Order throughout the world but by many millions of people, Buddhists and non-Buddhists, who have been affected by the eager and friendly sincerity of the faith that he and his followers have in the reality of peace as an attainable goal.
 

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