Background

This letter was written for the grandmother of Jibu-bō Nichii, one of the Daishonin’s disciples, in response to the offerings she had made just before the yearly service for deceased ancestors.

Though traditionally thought to have been written in the third year of Kenji (1277), recent studies suggest that this letter was written in the second year of Kōan (1279).

In this letter, the Daishonin offers a detailed explanation of the origin of the service that was the established custom of his day. The Daishonin attributes the roots of this tradition to the story of Maudgalyāyana’s efforts to save his deceased mother. He explains that Maudgalyāyana, one of Shakyamuni’s foremost disciples, failed initially to relieve his mother’s torment because he had put his faith in the Hinayana version of Buddhism and devoted himself to observing precepts and thus had not attained Buddhahood. When Maudgalyāyana rejected the precepts, chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and attained Buddhahood, his deceased parents attained Buddhahood as well, the Daishonin says.

It is thought that Jibu-bō’s grandmother lived in Ihara District of Suruga Province. According to Nikkō’s List of Disciples upon Whom Nikkō Bestowed the Gohonzon, Jibu-bō, originally a Tendai priest at Shijūku-in temple in Suruga, took faith in the Daishonin’s teaching and studied under Nichiji, who later became one of the six senior disciples of the Daishonin. Although details are unclear, it is believed that it was Jibu-bō who urged his grandmother to take faith in the Daishonin’s teachings.