Никко Шони́н: Ничире́н дінінің ірі шәкірті және мирасқоры

Senior disciple of Nichiren

Nikkō Shōnin (日興上人), Buddhist name Hawaki bō Byakuren Ajari Nikkō (伯耆房白蓮阿闍梨日興), was one of the six senior disciples of Nichiren and was the former Chief Priest of Kuon ji temple in Mount Minobu, Japan. Various Nichiren sects in Japan claim to have been founded by Nikkō, the most prominent being Nichiren Shōshū and some lineages within Nichiren Shū. Nikkō kept meticulous records and highly organized religious practice during his lifetime, and is responsible for much of the records that survive today. Nikkō singularly upheld the doctrine that Nichiren was the True and Eternal Buddha in the Third Age of Buddhism and therefore is considered by schools stemming from Nikkō such Nichiren Shōshū and the Soka Gakkai as the legitimate successor to the ministry and legacy of Nichiren. Nikko established the Head Temple Taisekiji at Fujinomiya in 1290, as well as enshrining the Dai Gohonzon image. In 1332, four months before his death, he designated Nichimoku Shonin as his successor. The grave of Nikkō remains today in Kitayama Honmonji, Omosu, in Suruga Province where he lived for thirty six years, establishing a Buddhist seminary that affiliated in the Hokke shū (法華宗) religion. The Koshi E memorial feast of his death anniversary is commemorated on February 6 (Nichiren Shoshu O tai ya) and February 7 (Gosho to e ceremony).

Nikkō was born at Kajikazawa in Koma District of Kai Province. His father, Oi no Kitsuroku was from Totsumi province and later moved to Kai province while maintaining his Samurai career. He died when Nikkō was a child. Nikkō's mother was Myofuku Tsunashima and was from what is now Shizuoka Prefecture. He was raised by his grandfather, Nyudo Yui. As a child, he entered the Tendai temple Shijuku in, in Fujiwakabacho, Iwabuchi Ichirizuka. He took the acolyte name, "Hōki bō" and received his education here, which as well as Tendai doctrine, included Chinese classics, Japanese literature, poetry, calligraphy, as well as other subjects. Nikkō served Nichiren here, and vowed to become his disciple. In addition, Nikkō also accompanied Nichiren on his two exiles. Nikkō is also credited with preserving many of Nichiren's voluminous writings. He was particularly careful to ensure the survival of Nichiren's many letters written in simple characters (Kana) for uneducated followers. He was also instrumental in gaining Nichimoku to become a junior disciple of Nichiren. On 8 October 1282, Nikkō became one of the six senior priests whom Nichiren designated to carry on his faith after his death. “On the eighth day of the tenth month, he designated six senior priests to act as key figures and take responsibility for propagation in their respective areas. They were, in order of their conversion, Nisshō, Nichirō, Nikkō, Nikō, Nitchō, and Nichiji”. According to various Nichiren school that claim Nikko as their founder, on October 13, 1282, Nichiren further designated Nikkō the chief priest of Kuon ji, the temple at Mt. Minobu in Yamanashi Prefecture, where Nichiren had spent the last years of his life as purportedly recorded in a transfer document called Minobu zan Fuzoku sho ("Document entrusting Mt. Minobu"); however, the authenticity of this document is disputed by some Nichiren schools. Later that same day, Nichiren died at Ikegami, now part of Tokyo. At Minobu Nikkō recorded the “lectures on the Lotus Sutra” that the Daishonin gave to his disciples and compiled them as The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (OTT). After the Daishonin’s passing, Nikkō Shōnin collected and copied his teacher’s writings, which he called the Gosho, or honorable writings. Following Nichiren's 100th day funeral ceremonies, Nikkō left Ikegami on October 21 to carry Nichiren's ashes back to Mount Minobu, arriving on October 25. On the centenarian anniversary of Nichiren's death, Nikkō, the other five senior priests, and their disciples conducted a 100th day memorial service, after which the others departed for their own territories where they were most active. Nikkō carried out his duties as chief priest of Kuon ji, teaching disciples and looking after the laity. Central to his work was attending, cleaning and maintaining Nichiren's tomb, and collecting and cataloguing Nichiren's many writings for preservation and perpetuation.

Some followers of the Nichiren schools stemming from Nikkō, in particular the Nichiren Shōshū school, as well as the Soka Gakkai, view Nikkō as the legitimate successor to Nichiren. They base this claim on a document dated the ninth lunar month of 1282 called the Nichiren ichigo guhō fuzoku sho (“Document Entrusting the Law that Nichiren Propagated throughout His Life”). In this document, Nichiren entrusts the "entirety of his lifetime of teaching" to Nikkō and names him the "Great Master of propagation of the essential teaching". These documents contained in a treasure box are alleged to have been stolen by clan head Takeda Katsuyori on behalf of the Nishiyama Temple, a faction of Nichiren Shū during the 15th century via force. Nikkō also designated six new disciples (Nichidai, Nitchō, Nichidō, Nichimyō, Nichigō, and Nichijo), whom he charged with the task of propagation after his death. Other Nichiren lineages based on the other original five senior disciples vehemently reject this claim of successorship, as they claim the surviving document does not exist in Nichiren's hand or any of his immediate disciples, rather copied down by Nikko's extant disciples. Instead, such schools claim that Nikko was only a resident priest in Kuonji Temple before 1285, and later became the Chief Priest of that temple from 1285–1289, just before he moved to the Fujinomiya area. Some of Nikkō's direct disciples also eventually spawned schools that deviated to some degree or another from his own doctrines, often due to political pressure or internal power plays going back and forth to separating or rejoining the Nikko related temples of the Fujinomiya area before and after the Second World War.