Ikebukuro: the Nichiren school and the "right" Nichiren school

I am quite fortunate when it comes to being in the right place at the right time. On the 16^th of October (Sunday) 2011, I visited the temple-shrine complex I used to visit regularly a few years ago and I was lucky enough to get there at the time of a matsuri 祭 (festival). This time however the background knowledge on Japanese religion enabled me to identify the building about which I always wondered whether it was a Shintō shrine or a Buddhist temple at the time. Even though this structure looks rather Buddhist at first sight, a lot of vermillion tori 鳥居, statues of foxes and other signs clearly indicating Inari no kami 稲荷神  worship can be found on the temple grounds.

The inscription above the entrance reads “Kishimo-jin” 鬼子母神 (the fierce child-and-mother-kami) and gives away the temple’s affiliation:  Nichiren-shū 日蓮宗, as my later research confirmed. According to the legend, this deity was at first a malevolent being that fed on children, eventhough she had (tens of) thousands of children herself. Shaka-nyorai 釈迦如来　(शाक्यमुनि Śākyamuni) intended to punish this creature for her wicked deeds by hiding one of her children and the deity was deeply saddened by the disappearance of her child. Finally realising the pain she inflicted upon the hearts of the mothers whose children she devoured, she showed remorse for her cruel ways of the past and became the protector of children.

(some other pictures of the temple ground I took a few years ago:)

On the temple grounds I was approached by some youngsters while I was observing the celebrations. As I have often been approached by Japanese in similar situations I assumed that they would tell me a thing or two about the festivities, hand me a leaflet and the like so I was inclined to hear them out. After the introductions however, they asked me if I would like to see what another, nearby temple looks like on the inside. I was aware of the fact that there was another old temple down the road so I naturally decided to join them. However, I soon realised that these people where young members of another Buddhist school called Nichirenshō-shū 日蓮正宗 (“the right Nichiren-school”). It was clear that they were trying to lure me into their temple in order to convert me, but since I am doing research on religion, I decided to play along for a while. The temple seemed fairly new (perhaps built only a few decades ago) and looked somewhat like some of the Protestant Churches I have encountered in the United States of America. Upon entering the premises they asked me to join them in prayer reciting “Namu myōhō renge-kyō” 南無妙法蓮華経. We sat down on benches - that by the way only made my impression of being in a Christian church stronger - amidst a crowd of people that was coming and going freely, chanting this single sentence. Placed on the altar was an incense burner, some vases, a singing bowl and in the centre an elaborate calligraphy of the aforementioned sutra. What immediately struck me was the absence of statues, only adding to the comparison with a protestant church. Afterwards, I was taken upstairs to a room where several groups of people where chatting. After being treated to some ice coffee, I was introduced to some members who gladly explained me about their beliefs, why Nichirenshō-shū is the “right” version of this school and the like. The main difference between this school and the Nichiren-shū is that the former focuses solely on the sentence we quoted earlier which they call daimoku 題目 for this is said to represent the Buddha inside of every one of us. They told me they believe the enshrining of statues of Bodhisattvas, foxes and so forth to be useless.  At this point, my suspicion that this school/temple is going to be of no use whatsoever for my research was confirmed. I did not make it to the exit however before hearing out a women who, as opposed to the others who were kind and even slightly reserved, expressed her disaproval of worshipping the horrific image of the crucified Jesus Christ. After making sure I did not possess a Bible, a crucifix and even lucky charms sold at Japanese shrines/temples (this school opposes to this kind of practices) she invited me to come and pray with them regularly in the future, but I politely declined. Feeling increasingly that I was no longer regarded as a foreign researcher of Japanese culture, but as a possible member of this sect, I decided to leave as soon as possible. On my way out one of the youngsters I was first approached by joined me and suggested we should recite the daimoku for five minutes to take leave from the Buddha. After doing so, I thanked him and left.

Sources:

• Tanaka, Yoshiyasu (田中義恭).『面白いほどよくわかる仏像の世界: 仏像の種類・歴史から鑑賞のポイントまで』(Omoshiroi hodo yoku wakaru butsuzō no sekai: butsuzō no shurui, rekishi kara kanshō made). Tokio: Nihon bungeisha (日本文芸社), 2008.