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 Unwilling to end their support of heretical religions, the military
rulers of Japan responded to this important remonstration by initiating
a number of violent persecutions against
Nichiren Daishonin and
followers as well. On the night of August 27th, 1260,
approximately one month after submission of the Rissho Ankoku Ron, Nembutsu monks backed by the government as well as their followers,
banded together to assault
Nichiren Daishonin thatched hut in Matsubagayatsu. Narrowly evading his attackers,
Nichiren Daishonin
departed Kamakura seeking refuge with Toki Jonin, a prominent believer
in Shimousa Province. This incident is called the "Matsubagayatsu
Persecution."
Nichiren Daishonin returned to Kamakura in the following year, 1261, where he
engaged himself in even more intense propagation activities. The Nembutsu believers were astonished by the Daishonin's unshakable resolve
and realized that in formal debate they could never defeat him. Having
failed in their attempt to kill him at Matsubagayatsu, the Nembutsu
monks appealed to the government officials to covertly dispose of the
Daishonin.
Since Hojo Nagatoki, the ruler at that time, together with his father,
Hojo Shigetoki, hated Nichiren Daishonin, he positively received the
request of the Nembutsu believers. Although the Daishonin had done
nothing illegal, on May 12th, 1261, he was exiled to Ito on the Izu
Peninsula. This is called the "Izu Exile." The Izu Exile together with
the Sado Exile (which occurred ten years later) were formal persecutions
from the government and were described in detail in many Gosho passages.
While the Daishonin was in exile in Izu, both Nagatoki and Shigetoki
Hojo received the consequences of their slander against Buddhism;
Nagatoki fell ill unable to rise from his bed and Shigetoki died insane.
Having witnessed such punishment from the Buddha or for some other
unknown reason, the authorities pardoned Nichiren Daishonin in February
1263 after one year and nine months in exile.
After being pardoned, the Daishonin who had been away from his hometown
for 12 years, returned to Awa Province where he involved himself in
teaching and nurturing his disciples. However, Tojo Kagenobu had, ever
since the establishment of true Buddhism, harbored hatred for the
Daishonin and watched vigilantly for an opportunity to harm him. On
November 11th, 1264, while the Daishonin was en route to Komatsubara,
the home of his disciple, Kudo Yoshitaka, Tojo Kagenobu saw his chance.
Intent upon assassination, Kagenobu and hundreds of his soldiers
ambushed the Daishonin. In the harsh battle, Kudo Yoshitaka, was slain
and the Daishonin himself received a sword cut upon the forehead. This
incident is referred to as the "Komatsubara Persecution."i One of
traditional Buddhism's Five Cardinal Sins is to cause a Buddha to bleed.
Tojo Kagenobu, who injured the revered body of Nichiren Daishonin, is
said to have gone mad and died within three days of this incident.
The Eleven Letters
When the Daishonin returned to Kamakura in 1269, a letter from the
Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, also arrived. Foreign Invasion as predicted
by the Daishonin in the Rissho Ankoku Ron eight years previous, now
loomed as a real threat to the nation.
On October 11th, 1269, the Daishonin sent letters urging the government
and eleven religious leaders to hold an open religious debate to
determine the proper teaching to protect the nation in its time of
crisis. He stressed the need for the Japanese people to immediately
renounce heretical religions and convert to the correct Law. In these
eleven letters erroneous doctrines of various religions are refuted by
the now famous Four Dictums: "Nembutsu leads to the hell of incessant
suffering; Zen is the teaching of devils; Shingon will ruin the nation
and Ritsu is traitorous."
The government as well as the monks of the seven major temples were
shocked and angered by the eleven letters. Not only did they reject the
Daishonin's strict warnings, they decided to suppress him.
Revealing the True Identity
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