A Father Takes Faith

Background

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the ninth month of the third year of Kenji (1277)—1278 according to another source—to Ikegami Hyōe no Sakan Munenaga, the younger of the two Ikegami brothers, expressing his joy at the conversion of Munenaga’s father, Saemon no Tayū Yasumitsu. For many years, Yasumitsu had stubbornly opposed his sons’ belief, attempting to divide the two by twice disowning the elder brother, Munenaka, and promising to make Munenaga his heir if he would forsake the Daishonin’s teaching. Throughout this ordeal, Munenaka stoutly refused to abandon his faith, but Munenaga wavered from time to time. However, thanks to the Daishonin’s repeated letters of encouragement, he was able to resist Yasumitsu’s demands and make a firm commitment in faith. Now that the two brothers have at last overcome their father’s opposition and persuaded him to embrace the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin warmly congratulates Munenaga in particular, praising his decision to remain true to his faith and to his elder brother.

As the postscript indicates, however, this letter was intended not only for Munenaga but for all the Daishonin’s followers. Its more general content begins with the passage “According to the teachings of the true sutra, when the latter age has begun and Buddhism has fallen into complete disorder, a great sage will appear in the world.” This refers to the “Supernatural Powers” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, where Shakyamuni Buddha transfers the essence of the Lotus Sutra to Bodhisattva Superior Practices to be propagated in the Latter Day of the Law. The essence of the Lotus Sutra, or the Mystic Law, spreads and flourishes even in the evil Latter Day, when other Buddhist teachings fall into decline.