On the Sad News of Gorō’s Death
IHAVE received the sack of polished rice and the horseload of taros that you sent.
This matter of the late Nanjō Shichirō Gorō—until now I thought it was something I had dreamed, a mere dream, an illusion. I doubted that it could be true—a mistake, a false report, I thought. But I find the same thing reported in this letter of yours, and now I begin to think it must be true, it must be true.
Background
This brief letter mentions no addressee, but it is assumed to have been written to Nanjō Tokimitsu because it mentions his younger brother, “the late Nanjō Shichirō Gorō.” There is no date, but other writings place Shichirō Gorō’s death on the fifth day of the ninth month in 1280, and the contents of this letter suggest it was written shortly thereafter. Nichiren Daishonin expresses his grief and sympathy after having received the report from Tokimitsu confirming the sad news.