The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra

Chapter6(The Tatsunokuchi Persecution and the Casting Off of the Transient and Revealing of the True)

Main Text

Out on Yui Beach as the party passed the shrine there, I spoke again. “Stop a minute, gentlemen. I have a message for someone living near here,” I said. I sent a boy called Kumaō to Nakatsukasa Saburō Saemon-no-jō [Shijō Kingo], who rushed to meet me. I told him, “Tonight, I will be beheaded. This is something I have wished for many years. In this sahā world, I have been born as a pheasant only to be caught by hawks, born a mouse only to be eaten by cats, and born human only to be killed attempting to defend my wife and children from enemies. Such things have befallen me more times than the dust particles of the land. But until now, I have never given up my life for the sake of the Lotus Sutra. In this life, I was born to become a humble priest, unable to adequately discharge my filial duty to my parents or fully repay the debt of gratitude I owe to my country. Now is the time when I will offer my head to the Lotus Sutra and share the blessings therefrom with my deceased parents, and with my disciples and lay supporters, just as I have promised you.” Then the four men, Saemon-no-jō and his brothers, holding on to my horse’s reins, went with me to Tatsunokuchi at Koshigoe.

Finally we came to a place that I knew must be the site of my execution. Indeed, the soldiers stopped and began to mill around in excitement. Saemon-no-jō, in tears, said, “These are your last moments!” I replied, “You don’t understand! What greater joy could there be? Don’t you remember what you have promised?” I had no sooner said this when a brilliant orb as bright as the moon burst forth from the direction of Enoshima, shooting across the sky from southeast to northwest. It was shortly before dawn and still too dark to see anyone’s face, but the radiant object clearly illuminated everyone like bright moonlight. The executioner fell on his face, his eyes blinded. The soldiers were filled with panic. Some ran off into the distance, some jumped down from their horses and huddled on the ground, while others crouched in their saddles. I called out, “Here, why do you shrink from this vile prisoner? Come closer! Come closer!” But no one would approach me. “What if the dawn should come? You must hurry up and execute me—once the day breaks, it will be too ugly a job.” I urged them on, but they made no response.

They waited a short while, and then I was told to proceed to Echi in the same province of Sagami. I replied that, since none of us knew the way, someone would have to guide us there. No one was willing to take the lead, but after we had waited for some time, one soldier finally said, “That’s the road you should take.”

Setting off, we followed the road and around noon reached Echi. We then proceeded to the residence of Homma Rokurō Saemon. There I ordered sake for the soldiers. When the time came for them to leave, some bowed their heads, joined their palms, and said in a most respectful manner: “We did not realize what kind of a man you are. We hated you because we had been told that you slandered Amida Buddha, the one we worship. But now that we have seen with our own eyes what has happened to you, we understand how worthy a person you are, and will discard the Nembutsu that we have practiced for so long.” Some of them even took their prayer beads out of their tinder bags and flung them away. Others pledged that they would never again chant the Nembutsu. After they left, Rokurō Saemon’s retainers took over the guard. Then Saemon-no-jō and his brothers took their leave.

Lecture

This chapter centers on the Daishonin’s conduct at the Tatsunokuchi execution grounds and describes the events surrounding it. This was the precise moment when the Daishonin “cast off the transient and revealed the true” (hosshaku kempon). As the procession headed toward the execution site and passed in front of the Goryo Shrine at Yuigahama, the Daishonin dispatched a young boy named Kumaomaru to the nearby residence of Shijo Kingo in Hase to inform him of the impending ordeal. Even if Kingo had been prepared for such a crisis, the gravity of the situation must have been a profound shock. Regardless, he rushed to the Daishonin’s side, barely taking the time to gird on his sword.

The Faith of Shijo Kingo and Our Resolve

Among the Daishonin’s followers, Shijo Kingo stands as one of the most staunch believers, alongside figures such as Ikegami Munenaka and Toki Jonin. Notably, during the life-or-death crisis of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, Kingo was the only disciple among many who accompanied the Daishonin to the execution grounds with the resolve to die by his side. Therefore, studying Kingo’s faith remains deeply significant for us today, 700 years later.

Shijo Kingo (formally Shijo Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo Yorimoto) came from a distinguished samurai family. His lord, Ema Mitsutoki, was a grandson of Hojo Yoshitoki, but he was also a devout follower of Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple—the primary instigator of the persecutions against the Daishonin. Despite such an adverse environment, Kingo maintained his strong faith and earned the Daishonin’s utmost trust. His courage and faith serve as a mirror for future generations. The reason his name shines even today is solely due to his spirit of “not begrudging one’s life” (fushaku shimmyo)—his absolute devotion to protecting and following Nichiren Daishonin as the True Buddha.

The Daishonin praised Kingo’s resolve at Tatsunokuchi as follows:

“At the time of my persecution on the twelfth, not only did you accompany me to Tatsunokuchi, but also you declared that you would die by my side. This can only be called wondrous.

How many are the places where I have thrown away my life in past existences for the sake of my wife and children, lands and followers! I have given up my life on the mountains and the seas, on the rivers, on the seashore, and by the roadside. Never once, however, did I die for the Lotus Sutra or suffer persecution for the daimoku. Hence none of the ends I met enabled me to attain Buddhahood. Because I did not attain Buddhahood, the seas and rivers where I threw away my life are not Buddha lands.

In this life, however, as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, I was exiled and put to death—exiled to Ito and beheaded at Tatsunokuchi. Tatsunokuchi in Sagami Province is the place where Nichiren gave his life. Because he died there for the Lotus Sutra, how could it be anything less than the Buddha land? The sutra reads, “In the Buddha lands of the ten directions there is only the Law of the one vehicle.” Does this not bear out my assertion? The “Law of the one vehicle” is the Lotus Sutra. No true teaching other than the Lotus Sutra exists in any of the Buddha lands of the ten directions. The sutra continues, “There are not two, there are not three, except when the Buddha preaches so as an expedient means.” This being so, then every place where Nichiren meets persecution is the Buddha land.

Of all the places in the sahā world, it is at Tatsunokuchi in Katase of Sagami Province in Japan that Nichiren’s life dwells. Because he gave his life there for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, Tatsunokuchi deserves to be called the Land of Tranquil Light. This is what the “Supernatural Powers” chapter means when it states, “Whether in a garden, a forest . . . or in mountain valleys or the wide wilderness . . . in such places have the Buddhas entered nirvana.”

You accompanied Nichiren, vowing to give your life as a votary of the Lotus Sutra. Your deed is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand times greater than that of Hung Yen, who cut open his stomach and inserted the liver of his dead lord, Duke Yi [to save him from shame and dishonor]. When I reach Eagle Peak, I will first tell how Shijō Kingo, like myself, resolved to die for the Lotus Sutra.” (The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi, WND-1, p. 196 / GZ, 1113)

Hong Yan was a minister to Duke Yi of the state of Wei in ancient China. While away on a mission, his lord was killed by invaders, and his liver was left discarded. To hide his lord’s shame, Hong Yan cut open his own belly, placed the liver inside, and died. The Daishonin lauded Kingo’s faith as being incomparably superior to even such legendary loyalty. Because of this pure-hearted faith, the Daishonin sent Kingo over 30 letters, offering detailed guidance on daily life, family, and his conduct as a samurai, showing the profound trust and affection he held for him.

“It is the end!” and the Daishonin’s Rebuke

When the party arrived at the execution site, Kingo cried out, “It is the end!” These words were likely all he could muster in his grief. Seeing this, the Daishonin rebuked him, saying:

“I replied, “You don’t understand! What greater joy could there be? Don’t you remember what you have promised?” (WND-1, p. 767 / GZ, 914)

In this exchange, we feel the boundless affection between mentor and disciple. Through the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, the Daishonin cast off his transient status as an ordinary person and revealed his true identity as the Buddha of the Self-Enjoyment Body from the remote past (Kuon Ganjo no Juseyu Hoshin Nyorai). In The Opening of the Eyes, he writes: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year, between the hours of the rat and the ox (11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.), this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado” (WND-1, p. 269). This signifies his attainment of Buddhahood in his present form. Thus, his “joy” at the execution site was the joy of having fulfilled the predictions of the Lotus Sutra and his absolute conviction as the True Buddha.

For Shijo Kingo, who stood ready to offer his life, this moment also solidified his own attainment of Buddhahood. The “promise” the Daishonin referred to was the vow Kingo and other disciples had made to discard their lives for the sake of the Law. This was not a sudden accident but a fulfillment of the sutra’s words. While it was natural for Kingo, as a human being, to weep at the sight of his mentor’s impending execution, the Daishonin’s stern yet warm encouragement reveals the profound bond of “unbegrudging faith” between mentor and disciple.

The Luminous Object and the Protection of the Shoten Zenjin

The account describes a luminous object, like a moon, flying from the direction of Enoshima (Southeast) toward the Northwest, shining so brightly that the executioner was blinded. This was a clear manifestation of protection by the Buddhist gods (shoten zenjin).

The Daishonin explains this in The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi:

“Among the three heavenly sons of light, the god of the moon saved my life at Tatsunokuchi by appearing as a shining object, and the god of the stars descended four or five days ago to greet me. Now only the god of the sun remains, and he is certain to protect me. How reassuring! How encouraging! The “Teacher of the Law” chapter states, “I will dispatch persons magically conjured who will act to guard and protect them.” This passage leaves no room for doubt. The “Peaceful Practices” chapter reads, “Swords and staves will not touch him.” The “Universal Gateway” chapter states, “The executioner’s sword will be broken to bits!” There is nothing false in these sutra passages. The strong and steadfast power of faith is precious indeed.” (WND-1, p. 196 / GZ, 1114)

The “luminous object” was a manifestation of the Moon Heavenly Son and his kin. Earlier, the Daishonin had strictly rebuked the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman for failing to fulfill the vow to protect the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. This SHissei (shout of rebuke) awakened the protective functions of the universe.

Regarding this phenomenon, President Ikeda offers the following scientific and Buddhist insight:

“Scientists would explain this as a ‘fireball’ or a large meteorite. Fireballs can reach a brightness of tens of billions of candlepower and are accompanied by thunderous sounds. We do not claim this was a ‘miracle’ in the sense of something that defies science; it is natural that it can be explained scientifically. However, the fact that this occurred at the exact second the Daishonin was about to be beheaded—after he had summoned the protective deities—is something science cannot explain. This belongs to the realm of Buddhism.”

A similar phenomenon occurred later at the residence of Homma Rokuro Zaemon in Echi, where a star-like object descended into a plum tree, terrifying the soldiers. President Ikeda notes:

“The probability of such phenomena occurring twice in succession at the exact moments of life-or-death crisis is one in billions or trillions. To dismiss this as mere coincidence is impossible. Only the Buddhist principle of the ‘oneness of life and its environment’ (esho funi) can truly clarify the reality of these events.”