Nichiren-shū

Nichiren Shū is a combination of several schools ranging from four of the original Nichiren Buddhist schools that date back to Nichiren's original disciples, and part of the fifth: The school is often referred to as the Minobu Sect due to their prominence within the Mount Minobu area. The school's head temple, Kuon-ji, is located on Mount Minobu where Nichiren lived in seclusion and where he asked to be buried. Another significant temple of sect is the Ikegami Honmon-ji where Nichiren died. Accordingly, many of Nichiren's most important personal artifacts and writings preserved, also considered to be National Treasures of Japan are within their safekeeping. The sect is also known for its more open and tolerant views of other Buddhist traditions, even mixing or incorporating various mixed Buddhist beliefs and Shinto practices into their own Nichiren Buddhist aesthetics, most notably the use of various religious statues, the red stamping practice of Shuin for novelty, esoteric combinations of Buddhist fortune-telling folk practices and Shinto magic rituals, as well as the tolerant photography and lax distribution of the calligraphic Gohonzon. Nichiren Shū does not believe Nichiren designated a single successor, as taught for instance by Nichiren Shōshū, instead they maintain that he designated six senior disciples of equal ranking to succeed him. The Six Senior Disciples designated by Nichiren were: Nissho (1221–1323) Nichiro (1245–1320) Nikkō (1246–1333) Mimbu Nikō (1253–1314) Nitchō (1252–1317) Nichiji (1250–unknown) Nichiren Shū designates the Shakyamuni Buddha of Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra as the Eternal Buddha while Nichiren is regarded as the Jogyo Bodhisattva possesses the mission in Chapter 21 as the "votary messenger" to uphold the true Dharma in the Latter Day of the Law. The sect designates Shakyamuni as the "Original Buddha" and he alone occupies the central role in Nichiren Shū; Nichiren—referred to as Nichiren Shōnin ("Saint Nichiren")—is the saint who refocused attention on Shakyamuni by rebuking other Buddhist schools for solely emphasizing other buddhas or esoteric practices or for neglecting or deriding the Lotus Sutra.