Nichizō Shōnin
Nichizō Shōnin (日増上人) was a Buddhist priest who spread the teachings of the Lotus Sutra to the island of Yakushima in southern Japan.[1][2] In 1488 he founded the temple of Kuhonji (久本寺).[3] Due to his missionary activities all of the temples on the island transitioned to the Nichiren school of Buddhism.[3]
In the 1480s, Nichizō retreated to a cave atop Mount Nagata where he recited the Lotus Sutra for seven days.[2] Since then, the native kami of the Shinto religion, Hikohohodemi no Mikoto, has been venerated as a manifestation of the Buddhist mountain deity Ippon Hoju Daigongen.[2] This fusion of the indigenous Shinto religion with the introduced Buddhism religion is known as Shinbutsu-shūgō.
References
[edit]- ^ "永田集落について岳参り". nagata-umigame.com (in Japanese). Nagata Sea Turtle Liaison Council (永田ウミガメ連絡協議会）. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ a b c "Takemairi Mountain Pilgrimages" (PDF). www.mlit.go.jp. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
- ^ a b "屋久島・竜美発世界自然遺産の里と環境文化" (PDF). kagoshima-kankyogaku.com/ (in Japanese). Kagoshima University Kagoshima Environmental Studies Research Association.