Chapter 6. The Groundless Theory That the High Priest Is Absolute 

This Unusual Theory Declaring the High Priest to Have Absolute Authority Was a Product of Nikken's Manipulation 
When Nikken excommunicated the Soka Gakkai, and stories of his slanderous activities began to surface, he then faced an onslaught of criticism from society. At the same time, a deluded round of praise for the high priest began to arise from a corner of Nichiren Shoshu. What began to be newly stressed was a doctrine that was completely ridiculous in light of the history and tradition of Nichiren Shoshu. Here are some examples:

“The high priest is the Daishonin in modern times. In his life, he possesses the entity of the Law, representing the oneness between the Law and the Person.” (Dai-Nichiren, June 1991 issue)

“Nichiren Shoshu’s faith lies in following with absolute obedience the high priest, who carries the soul of the Law, and in worshipping the Dai-Gohonzon, the entity of the Three Great Secret Laws ….” (Fuji Gakuho, #11)

“The water of the Law has been genuinely carried from the vessel of one high priest to that of another high priest since the time of the Daishonin, on down to the current day, now flowing in the life of the current high priest, Nikken Shonin.” (ibid)

“The oneness in the Three Treasures means that the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary, and the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu are the same in their respective identity. …” (Noke Document, September 1992)

“It is well known that Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is possessed by the current high priest who has exclusively inherited the entity of the Law from his predecessor. Hence, the high priest is the only person who is entitled to transcribe the Gohonzon by copying the life of the Dai-Gohonzon.” (Dai-Nichiren, December 1992)

Disgusted, a senior priest remarked, “Nonsense. When they say, ‘The entity of the Law is possessed by the current high priest,’ they must have lost their sanity. This makes the high priest of Nichiren Shoshu sound like the founder of a cult.”

This sentiment lies in the minds of some priests within the current Nichiren Shoshu. Who was behind the publication of such silly ideas? Kosho Mizushima, chief priest of Noan-ji temple in Tokorozawa city, Saitama, and Kido Harada, chief priest of the Ryosho-bo lodging temple of the head temple, have been influenced by Nikken. Because they want to curry favor with him, they have come up with such crazy ideas.

The most absurd instance was the statement that “the current high priest represents the entity, while the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, reflects its shadow.” This new concept was introduced by Kido Fukuda, former staff member of the Overseas Bureau of the Administrative Office, at a summer practice and study course held at the head temple in August 1991.

Kido Fukuda is the same person who was reprimanded when the existence of Operation C, Nikken's scheme to destroy the Gakkai, was revealed at the beginning of 1991. It is inconceivable that such a disgraced individual would be asked to lecture at an official event of Nichiren Shoshu, but it seems that Fukuda had Nikken's complete trust.

How did Fukuda come up with such a theory?

Fukuda refers to a passage from Nichiren Daishonin’s “On One-Hundred Six Articles,” which reads in part, “You should make clear which is superior or inferior in every phenomenon including rising waves and the blowing wind by distinguishing the actual from the transient” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 869). He points out that the rising waves disappear one after another, and contends that the current wave is actual while all the past waves are transient. According to this viewpoint, even Nichiren Daishonin, Nikko Shonin, and the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu all belong to the category of the past and the transient, while Nikken Shonin, the current high priest, represents the actual, because he is alive. Not only that, whatever he said in the past belongs to the category of the past, and therefore what he is saying today belongs to the realm of the most actual of all actuals. Therefore, it is important for us to follow his new guidance.

Right after this absurd theory came out, another slanderous idea surfaced that proclaims that the Gohonzon and High Priest Nikken are one. This puts Nikken on the same plateau as the Daishonin, while allowing him to jump over Nikko Shonin, who represents the Treasure of the Priest in Nichiren Shoshu.

Nichiren Shoshu did not make any corrections to Fukuda’s lecture nor did it reprimand him for his presentation. In other words, what he said became an official teaching of what has now become the Nikken sect. This new sect proclaims the absolute authority of its high priest. During World War II, there was a priest named Jimon Ogasawara in Nichiren Shoshu, who expounded the slanderous idea of “Buddhist gods being true and the Buddha being their shadow.” Needless to say, this opinion fit perfectly with the World War II military government's ideas about the Sun Goddess. Nichiren Shoshu has shown itself to be an organization that readily changes the foundation of its doctrines to protect itself.

The Repeated Revision of Nichiren Shoshu Rules and Bylaws Clearly Shows Nikken’s Intention to Deify Himself
Nikken has been heading toward self-destruction with his childishness and craziness. The executive priests who know him best have made these criticisms about him:

“No matter what we say to him, he won’t listen.”

“Unwise admonitions or protests will prompt Nikken to strengthen his attachment to the position of high priest.”

“Let’s see his great arrogance grow, by following him on the surface. Let’s observe him burn himself with the flame of his utmost conceit.”

Nikken and his cohorts believe that they can get away with anything, as long as they repeat the idea of the absolute authority of the high priest as the sole possessor of the Law, who is one with the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary. This clearly indicates that Nichiren Shoshu has completely lost the original teaching of Nichiren Daishonin. The Nikken sect’s childish authoritarianism and empty formality invite nothing but ridicule, even from within the school these days.

Since Nikken is the center of the sect, its priests instinctively attempt to protect themselves by adhering to the ridiculous philosophy of the high priest being absolute, the high priest being unimpeachable, or the high priest being the object of worship. The Nikken sect’s administration staunchly denies that it teaches the absoluteness or infallibility of the high priest. However, it is obvious that it does teach these new doctrines, because the rules and bylaws have been revised to greatly empower the high priest. Now the high priest has the power to dismiss any priest on his own volition, and the act of being opposed to the high priest can be regarded as reason for dismissal. The true message of the current rules and bylaws of Nichiren Shoshu is that the high priest alone is respectworthy and that his authority should be absolute.

The rules and bylaws of Nichiren Shoshu were first set forth in September 1900, and have been through revision 29 times up until July 1991. Appallingly, 17 of these revisions were done during the time of Nikken. In almost all instances, the school’s rules and bylaws were revised to strengthen Nikken's authority as high priest.

For example, the bylaws of Nichiren Shoshu were revised on December 27, 1990, to make it easier to dismiss believers. A clause for dismissal was added that reads, “in case one criticizes, disparages, or slanders or the Chief Administrator through a speech or with a written document” (Article 229, Clause 5). At the time that clause was added, Nichiren Shoshu (hiding its intent in the revision of its bylaws) dismissed Soka Gakkai Honorary President Ikeda from the position of the head of all Nichiren Shoshu lay societies. And soon after that, Nichiren Shoshu took measures to destroy the Soka Gakkai.

Furthermore, on July 6, 1991, Nichiren Shoshu revised its bylaws again, this time to expand the scope of punitive action into a total of six possible punishments. The worst punishment will now be to deprive any priest of his hierarchical position in Nichiren Shoshu, and to send him all the way to the bottom class. 

This new stipulation was a severe one. It says, “Any priest who criticizes the high priest will be demoted from his current position, whatever it may be, all the way down to the level of shami (acolyte), where wearing a kesa robe is not permitted.

Under Nikken's dictatorship, the sect’s priests have to choose to follow him with absolute obedience or they will suffer punishment. And the rules and bylaws of Nichiren Shoshu, while harsh toward the priests, have no more power to control Nikken, the high priest who is being controlled by his own egotistical emotions. 

According to Miao-lo, the absolute (as expounded in Buddhism) does not simply denote something that transcends the realm of relativity. The idea of “absoluteness” arises from the concept of “absolute humbleness.” In other words, absolute affirmation is a product of absolute reflection on one’s true identity. Now in the current philosophy of Nichiren Shoshu, no self-reflection is involved in the true sense, and the school is not Buddhist at all, because it discriminates all things and beings in the universe under the name of the absolute authority of the high priest. The dogma of Nichiren Shoshu mirrors the high priest’s dictatorship and self-righteousness.

T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo’s mentor, clearly asserts that a claim of absoluteness that is not based upon one’s self-reflection is no different from endless confusion and eventual falsity. 

In January, 1991, Nikken quoted a passage from the Gosho, which reads, “Eventually, I will be all by myself, wandering around Japan” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 964), and he shed tears. It was nothing but an ugly sight that resulted from an old man’s emotional unbalance. Nikken’s tears were no more than a product of his performance devised to entice the families of the priesthood. Many priests must be sensing that Nikken will be lost in the future due to his inner darkness and delusions, and that this will invite destitution and confusion to Nichiren Shoshu. Nikken must realize this too. Once when he visited one of his cohorts at a lodging temple at Taiseki-ji, he said seriously, “The 67th high priest may be wiped out from the annals of Nichiren Shoshu.” 

If the critical voices against him should grow in Nichiren Shoshu, or if he should retire, it may happen that his name will be dismissed from the annals of the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu, and his whole family may be banished from the school. Nikken keenly senses the possibility of his downfall. In order to free himself from this fear, Nikken stated, “The current establishment of Nichiren Shoshu won’t change. The pattern where the high priest is absolutely in the center will be intact. Therefore, show me your obedience.” 

Many Strange Cases of Heritage Transfer Ceremony
There are two interesting books of Nichiren Shoshu history, Kechu Sho (The History of the School) and Zoku Kechu Sho (The History of the School, Part II). The Kechu Sho was written by the 17th high priest, Nissei Shonin, in 1622, and The Zoku Kechu Sho was written by the 47th high priest, Nichiryo Shonin, in 1836.

In these documents are records of several instances of unusual transmission of the heritage, including: a long time interruption where no high priest existed, very young priests receiving the heritage, or laymen receiving the heritage. These instances were products of the particular situations that existed at the time. Of course, some of the descriptions may not be 100% factual, but the idea of the sole transmission from one high priest to another (which the current administration of Nichiren Shoshu proclaims as the school’s unbroken rule) is a teaching that is not based upon the historical facts of Nichiren Shoshu.

Case 1. Transmission, then four years of vacancy
The 17th high priest, Nissei Shonin, was nurtured in his childhood by Kyodaiin Nissho, wife of Yoshishige Hachisuka, who was lord of Tokushima, Awa, and who donated Mieido temple to Taiseki-ji. Nissei was a disciple of Nichiyo of Yobo-ji temple of the Minobu sect. He studied the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin under the 16th high priest, Nisshu, and he came from a nice family, and he had good potential to learn many things. Kyodaiin, a woman believer, had pretty strong power in society in those days. She built a temple in Asakusa, Edo, and named it Kyodai-zan Hosho-ji, and she appointed Nissei as its chief priest.

In 1632, Nissei Shonin received the heritage from Nisshu Shonin at this temple and moved to Taiseki-ji. Nissei was selected for this position to repay a debt of gratitude to Kyodaiin. Because Nissei, who was like a son to Kyodaiin, took office as high priest of Nichiren Shoshu, Kyodaiin made even more donations to Taiseki-ji, including the construction of Miei-do temple, Niten-mon, and So-Mon.

However, soon after he was inaugurated as the 17th high priest, there arose a friction between Kyodaiin and Nissei Shonin. Because Kyodaiin tried to control him, the new high priest began to harbor negative feelings toward her. Their emotional friction became so intense that Nissei Shonin left Taiseki-ji and moved to Edo, where he rebuilt Jozai-ji temple in Shimoya and became its chief priest. In effect, Taiseki-ji became a temple where no high priest resided. This is hard to believe, but the fact is that the 17th high priest deserted the head temple that boasted of its possession of the legitimate teaching of Nichiren Daishonin.

Because of this outrageous act on the part of Nissei Shonin, Taiseki-ji's financial support from the government was about to be terminated. In those days, there was a system in which the government lent financial support to temples in proportion to the sect's background and history. When the system was reexamined, the government took the position that any temple that has no chief priest is not qualified to receive financial support from the government. An onslaught of complaints came from within and without Nichiren Shoshu. Taiseki-ji pleaded to Kyodaiin to exert her power to save it, but it was hard for her to move the government to that extent. Not only that, the emotional confrontations between Nissei Shonin and her were getting worse. 

Case 2: Children receiving the heritage
The position of high priest was carried on from the 9th high priest, Nichiu Shonin to Nichijo Shonin, and then on to Nittei Shonin. However, both Nichijo and Nittei died soon after they were inaugurated, which resulted in the 14 year old Nicchin receiving the heritage. A particular circumstance was behind Nicchin’s inauguration. Nicchin is said to have come from a powerful family in Shimotsukeno; that meant that Taiseki-ji, by appointing Nicchin as its high priest, expected financial support from his family. Since Nichiren Shoshu needed financial foundation to survive, it often looked for wealthy sponsors, and in this instance was able to land Nicchin’s family. It is against common sense to believe that this fourteen-year-old boy was really capable of fully understanding the significance of the heritage in his role as sole inheritor and in leading the entire school to the correct path of faith.

Nichiren Shoshu then had to appoint Nanjo Nichiju and some elder priests to foster the young high priest, Nicchin. As a result, a situation developed where Nicchin had to deal with jealousy and opposition from many other priests. He was bullied by many. Under such circumstances, Nicchin’s caretakers issued the following directive to support the young high priest:

“No matter how young the current high priest may be, the Gohonzon exists where he is. Since this high priest is a rebirth of Nichiren Daishonin, you should consider that when you see him you are seeing the Daishonin himself. Now you can connect yourself with the living Daishonin, and chant daimoku together with him in the spirit of mentor and disciple… Where the living Daishonin exists with absolute faith is where the living Gohonzon resides.”

In those days, and today, too, when the high priest has a poor character and his capability as a leader is questioned, such an occultist view of mystifying the high priest emerged from within Nichiren Shoshu. And of course, this idea of the "living Daishonin" does nothing to unify the school of Nichiren Shoshu — the flame of criticism of Nicchin remained unchecked. Nicchin, at 22, finally wrote about his extreme frustration to Sanmi Ajari Nichigei, saying, “I can’t take it any more. I definitely want to see you. As soon as you see this letter, please come to the head temple and back me up as my chief supporter." Perhaps thanks to efforts of his chief backer, Nicchin was able to stay in the position of high priest for 45 years till 1527.

Case 3. Life or death transmission
Life or death sounds very serious, but this style of transmission is a bit comical, too.

The 14th high priest, Nisshu, is said to be part of the family of Kanbayashi in Kozukeno, in what is today’s Gunma prefecture. At 13, he became a disciple of the 13th high priest, Nichiin Shonin. According to the story, Lord Jakunichibo was notified that Nisshu Shonin was in critical condition and he hurried to Rengyo-ji temple in Tochigi prefecture, but he did not make it in time. Nisshu Shonin breathed his last. Lord Jakunichibo had temporarily received the heritage from Nisshu Shonin, but he was not supposed to share orally what he had received. It seemed that Nichiren Shoshu was in danger of breaking its unbroken lineage of the transmission of the heritage.

However, it is said that when Jakunichibo entered the room where Nisshu Shonin was lying dead, the latter suddenly got up, and then died again only after conferring the heritage to his successor.

Of course, this story must have been fabricated by somebody at a later date, but we can see how desperate the priesthood was to avoid the discontinuity of the transmission of the heritage from one high priest to another. To achieve this sacred goal, Nichiren Shoshu had to fabricate such a comical story. Again there was need for Nichiren Shoshu to give ultimate authority to the high priest and add mysticism to his receipt of the heritage. Because Nichiren Shoshu wanted to emphasize the face-to-face transmission of the heritage, it had to create such a “life or death” transmission of the heritage from one high priest to another.

Incidentally, Nichiko Hori, the 59th high priest of Nichiren Shoshu, commented on this life or death transmission by Nisshu Shonin, pointing out that it was a fabrication, in the April 1924 issue of Dai-Nichiren. Also, according to the Fuji Timetable, Nisshu Shonin stayed in the position of high priest for 23 years from 1573. In 1596, he transferred the heritage to Nissho Shonin and then died in 1617.

Case 4. Transmission through a dream
The current high priest Nikken sometimes gets ridiculously absurd. One time he seriously referred to the transmission of the heritage through a dream to justify his receipt of the heritage at a nationwide teachers’ seminar meeting in April 1992. A priest relates hearing this story:

“At 3 AM on a day in August, when he was supposed to be appointed as Study Department Chief, his body spontaneously got up while he was still asleep. Even though he was not told anything about this appointment, the word Study Department Chief came out of his mouth. Strangely enough, on that same day, when he had an audience with Nittatsu Shonin at the head temple, he was appointed as Study Department Chief. This is a case of simultaneous receptivity on the part of a conferrer and conferee, which is also valid in the transmission of the heritage.”

“When a high priest confers the heritage upon somebody, or when something grave happens, things are not operating merely in the realm of formality. Profound significance lies in the transmission of the heritage. When I took office, it was pointed out that I actually had not received the heritage, and I was not protecting myself in this regard. People tend to judge things superficially just based upon how things appear to them, but such a shallow way of thinking is far from the truth. My having received the heritage is, on the deepest level, in accord with the intent of the Daishonin. The issue of the transmission of the heritage is wrongly understood these days.”

Case 5. Layman receiving the heritage
The 8th high priest, Nichiei Shonin, passed away at 67 in 1419. However, because he could not find anybody who was suitable for the receipt of the heritage, he was said to have transmitted the heritage to a lay believer named Yuno Joren, a servant at Taiseki-ji.

There is a Gohonzon enshrined at Myoho-ji temple in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, which was transcribed by the 9th high priest, Nichiu, with a side note that reads, “A great layman, Ootomo Joren." The existence of this Gohonzon seems to serve as the basis of his receipt of the heritage, but later, the 59th high priest Nichiko Shonin shared his view, saying, “It seems that transferring the heritage to this lay believer did not actually happen.”

In conjunction with this story, the 56th high priest Nichio Shonin stated (quoting a passage of the Nirvana Sutra that refers to the equality of the four kinds of people: priests, priestesses, laymen and laywomen):

"According Nichio Shonin’s Ho-no Michi, Vol. 27, the original thought behind the transmission of the heritage in Nichiren Shoshu was that if there is no priest within the school who is eligible to receive the heritage, it can be transmitted to a layman or laywoman for the sake of protecting the Law. Hence, Nichio Shonin points out that Joren, a lowly person in the hierarchy of Nichiren Shoshu, was able to receive the heritage due to his profound faith."

This dynamic and open view of the transmission of the heritage, in which the heritage can be transferred not only to the priesthood but to lay people, must have been shared by Nichiren Daishonin. It should be remembered that the Daishonin’s view of the transmission of the heritage originally contained such an egalitarian, dynamic aspect. 

Incidents involving high priests:

Case 1. Disappearance of a high priest
The 52nd high priest Nichiden Shonin, who retired in 1862, transferred the heritage to Nissei Shonin. Nichiden Shonin had a strong personality and tended to do things his own way. It seems that he could not find a successor whom he liked, so he had to nominate Nissei Shonin as his successor, even though he could not get along with him. As a result, Nichiden Shonin disliked Nissei Shonin and constantly gave him a hard time.

Nissei Shonin could not do much about this difficult situation. There was a fire on the grounds of Taiseki-ji, and the reception hall, the priests’ lodging six-compartment temple, and the high priest’s quarters all burned. Nichiden Shonin, taking advantage of this tragedy, attempted to oust Nissei Shonin from Taiseki-ji. Nissei Shonin gave up any hope of staying at Taseiki-ji and moved to a temple in Tochigi prefecture. Because there was no high priest at Taiseki-ji, Nichiren Shoshu’s lineage was broken, so Nichiei Shonin was appointed to the position of high priest. He lasted just a month or so, and Nichiden then took place of Nichiei. Soon after, Nichiin became high priest, and then Nippu took place of Nichiin. Then, in 1885, Nichiden became high priest for the third time.

In effect, Taiseki-ji was no more than a theater where battles for power took place. It is very doubtful that the purity of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism was correctly transferred from one high priest to another, in the midst of such ugly internal strife. 

Case 2. Banishing a high priest
When the Nichiren Shoshu Assembly was held at Taiseki-ji on November 20, 1926, it was resolved to remove the 58th high priest, Nitchu Shonin. It was then recommended that he resign. It was unprecedented that the entire school of Nichiren Shoshu should move to oust its high priest.

Before the assembly made such an unusual decision, there was a lot of groundwork done by the assemblymen. An oath was signed by many to keep some of them from dropping out in the execution of their plan.

The oath read in part:

“The current chief administrator, Nitchu, has a deluded view, and we see him as unqualified to govern the school. We urge him to resign as soon as possible to help refresh the atmosphere of our school. Toward this end, we swear an alliance through our pledge toward the Three Treasures.”

As mentioned earlier, Nitchu Shonin had received the position of high priest from Nissho Shonin two years before. However, Nikkai, Nikken’s father, fought against Nitchu continually from behind the scenes. He wanted to stop Nitchu’s becoming high priest, but Nissho’s strong resolution resulted in appointing Nitchu as his successor. In a way, Nitchu Shonin may sound like a victim bullied by his enemies, but in truth, he was truly infamous among other priests, just as Nikken is today. He always took pride in the fact he came from a great temple-family lineage, and he was very violent and impatient. Nitchu often resorted to violence, hitting other priests with his fan. He even kicked them.

The fact that he suffered through a coup d’etat can be viewed as a case of cause and effect. The situation surrounding him was so bad that stones or pieces of brick were thrown at him during gongyo at the reception hall two days before the assembly. Not only that, gunfire was even heard to threaten him at that time.

Nitchu’s opponents had made an arrangement about who would succeed him, but their victory aroused the opposition of Taiseki-ji’s lay believers, and caused the Minister of Culture to involve itself in the investigation of this turmoil within the head temple. As a result, Taiseki-ji had two high priests for a while: Nitchu, the former high priest and Nichiko, the new high priest.

Naturally, no transfer ceremony was conducted between them. An election was conducted to select a new chief administrator, and Nichiko Shonin became chief administrator as a result; however, Nichiko Shonin chose to resign only two years later. After Nichiko Shonin, Nichikai Abe was elected as his successor.

In those days, scandalous incidents happened at the head temple, one after another; things such as: selling the trees on the temple grounds to pay for the high priest election campaign or embezzling the maintenance fees of the former high priest’s retirement home. These incidents, which were manipulated chiefly by Nichikai and his friends, were the target of police investigations. Nichikai and Nikken were both high priests who played a role in corrupting the position of high priest.

Case 3. The behavior of the 61st high priest Nichiryu
The 61st high priest, Nichiryu Mizutani, is another powerful example that shows the continuing corruption of the position of high priest. 

In December 1920, when he was General Administrator, Nichiryu used Taiseki-ji’s money to make a geisha girl his mistress. Because of this misuse of the temple’s money, he was reported to the police. Somehow, even though Nichiryu’s reputation was very bad, he became Nichiren Shoshu high priest in June 1935. And after he became high priest, he almost never stayed at Taiseki-ji. He kept living at Josen-ji temple in Mukojima, Tokyo, without fulfilling the time-honored responsibility of the high priest to lead the daily ushitora gongyo. Nor did he ever transcribe a Gohonzon.

In addition, he was one of the chief architects of the scheme to oust the 58th high priest, Nitchu. 

Nikken and his cohorts claim that there is no greater slander than destroying the Three Treasures by opposing the high priest and not showing absolute obedience to him. If this claim is correct, Nichiryu Shonin also should be regarded as a destroyer of the Three Treasures. And Nichiren Shoshu should have to explain why it appointed such an individual as its high priest and how such a person could become its high priest.

High Priest and Lay Believers’ Joint Efforts Enabled the Possession of Heritage of Nichiren Shoshu
We should not be blind to the true story of Nichiren Shoshu and its high priests by either ignoring or beautifying the history of the school. We cannot deal correctly with issues regarding the priesthood unless we are aware of the real objective history of Nichiren Shoshu.

What we want to stress is that the heritage of Nichiren Shoshu has not necessarily been protected solely through the pure lineage from one high priest to another. In other words, the heritage of Nichiren Shoshu has been preserved through joint efforts on the part of the successive high priests, other priests, and lay believers. The cause of the current tragic situation with Nichiren Shoshu lies in the fact that it has abandoned the very elements that have been instrumental in sustaining its heritage. Nichiren Shoshu today is bogged down with overemphasizing the lineage of the successive high priests — as a result, the mistaken idea of the infallibility of the high priest was born in Nichiren Shoshu.

Amazingly, the worship of Nikken is commonplace in Nichiren Shoshu today. While appearing to worship him as a living Buddha, many priests are inwardly fearful of his insanity and oppressiveness. While maintaining the pose of obedience to him, many priests are waiting for the end of his days as high priest.

High Priest Nichiko Hori was once in the midst of turmoil with regard to the transmission of the heritage. He has clearly referred to the historical study of the interruption of the transmission of the heritage, and admonished the mystification of the position of high priest. According to him, we should not confuse “the issue of faith in Buddhism and the Gohonzon” with “the issue of respect to the high priest.” The current belief in the absoluteness of the high priest is a confusion of these two points. Originally, people naturally respected the position of high priest; but today, since Nikken lacks dignity in his character, he has to enforce rules and regulations that require respect. Real respect won’t result from coercion or punishment. People naturally respect a high priest if his behavior and words are suitable for his position. Nikken is an individual who lives his life based upon his delusion.

At a teachers’ meeting in August 1997, Nikken said that any priest, as long as he has received the heritage, is a living Shakyamuni or Nichiren, regardless of his level of study or virtue. Such a distorted idea, which he advocated solely to defend himself, must be viewed as slanderous. In conclusion, the position of high priest is worthy of respect but the person who sits there is not necessarily worthy of respect.