Hokke Shintō

Hokke Shintō (法華神道, lit. "Lotus Shintō") refers to a form of devotion to the Japanese kami (deities) based on the doctrine of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke-kyō) and its idea of "opening and integrating" (開会, kaie) all teachings.

Overview

The focus of worship is the group of protective deities known as the Thirty Guardian Deities (三十番神). Nichizō, a disciple of Nichiren, incorporated this belief into the Nichiren-shū[1] and the Hokke-shū (法華宗), and by the Muromachi period it had spread widely within the sect. There is also a tradition that Saichō (Dengyō Daishi) first enshrined these deities on Mount Hiei.

The guardian deities were enshrined either on temple altars or in shrine pavilions. Rituals followed the precedent of the Tendai tradition at Hiyoshi Taisha, but unlike Tendai practice, no professional Shinto priests were appointed, and rites such as the invocation (kanjō) were performed by lay followers.

The Shinto theologian Yoshida Kanetomo raised questions about the Nichiren sect’s worship of the guardian deities, an incident known as the "Bangami Question-and-Answer Incident" (番神問答事件).[2][3] The debate is recorded in the text Bangami Mondōki.[4]

Along with Kishimojin and the Ten Rākṣasī Women, these deities were revered as benevolent protectors of the Lotus Sutra. However, the Shinbutsu bunri (separation of kami and buddhas) following the Meiji Restoration led to the decline of Hokke Shintō. At the same time, a new religion called Renmonkyō arose, drawing on the Hokke Shintō tradition even though it had no direct connection with either the Tendai or Nichiren sects. Renmonkyō briefly flourished during the early Meiji period.

Renmonkyō

In the early Meiji period, Shimamura Mitsu (also written Shimamura Mizu; née Umemoto, 1831–1904) founded the Hokke Shintō–inspired new religion known as Renmonkyō. Basing her teachings on the doctrines of Nichiren and incorporating Shinto ritual, Mitsu won a large following for a time.

Mitsu was born on March 18, 1831, in Okeda Village, Yosuka, Toyoura District, Nagato Province (modern Yamaguchi Prefecture), the second daughter of farmer Umemoto Rinzō. Details of her early life are unclear. Her elder brother was adopted into a samurai family of the Hagi Domain, leaving Mitsu to inherit the family estate. After marriage and divorce, she left the household and moved to Kyūshū, living as a servant or dependent in samurai households of the Kokura Domain and at Nichiren-shū temples.

Around 1871 (Meiji 4), Mitsu claimed to receive a "divine oracle." After recovering from a serious illness through prayers performed by the Nichiren ritualist Yanagida Ichibee, she became his disciple. When Ichibee died in 1877, she succeeded him as a ritual specialist and in the autumn of 1878 opened a worship hall in Kokura dedicated to "Ji no Myōhō-sama," where worshipers clapped and recited "Ji no Myōhō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō" five times before the altar.[5]

The rites included the Ōharae no Kotoba, Ōharae, and purification prayers, and blended Nichiren chants such as "Law-defending prayers" and "Lotus sect conversion formulas."[6] Healing rituals and distribution of "sacred water" were performed, with claims that faith in Ji no Myōhō-sama would bring worldly benefits. However, reliance on sacred water led to a child’s death from untreated illness, resulting in Mitsu receiving a six-month prison sentence.

After her release she continued her activities, moving her base to Tokyo in 1882. During epidemics of typhus and cholera, she sold the "sacred water" as a cure using persuasive, hypnotic-like methods, quickly gathering tens of thousands of followers and establishing nearly 100 branch churches. Although temporarily recognized as a sect of Sect Shintō under the name "Taiseikyō Renmon Kōsha," government crackdowns and public criticism—including accusations of fraud and unlicensed healing—led to the sect’s decline. Mitsu died in 1904, and the movement never recovered. By the time of the 1940 Religious Organizations Law, almost all churches had been dissolved, and the last remaining branch in Yokohama disbanded in 1964, marking the end of Renmonkyō.

References

  1. ^ Ryotoku Miyagawa (2011). "Outline of the History of Nichiren Sect Rituals (Final Lecture, January 27, 2010)". Minobu Ronso. 16.
  2. ^ Ryotoku Miyagawa (1997). "A Study of Nichiren Sect Ritual History in the Meiji Era". Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies. 45 (2): 669–675.
  3. ^ Ryotoku Miyagawa (March 2001). "Study of the Kōfu Shintō Question-and-Answer Record". Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Culture. 5: 7–26.
  4. ^ "Bangami Mondōki". Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  5. ^ “Renmonkyō,” in Shigeo Murakami, Dictionary of Japanese Religions, Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko, 1988, ISBN 4061588370
  6. ^ Yojiro Ito (1894). Eleven Heterodox Sects. Kichūdo. p. 40.
  • Nichijō. "Secrets of Hokke Shintō". Complete Works of Nichiren Doctrine, vol.10. Fujita Sōkei.
  • Renmonkyō Head Temple (ed.), Benmō, 1894.

See also

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