Prologue: The “Transfer Box”

Nikken Does Not Have the “Transfer Box”
The “Transfer Box” is a box of 45 square cubic centimeters. It is a black-lacquered, time-honored, wooden box. It is usually wrapped up in golden cloth.

This box had been kept by successive high priests since olden times. It was strictly preserved on a locked shelf in the Treasure House at the head temple during the time of the former high priest. The head temple’s secretary kept the key, and no one was allowed to open it without the high priest’s permission. In other words, possessing this box was tangible evidence that its possessor was a legitimate high priest of Nichiren Shoshu.

However, this important box which Nikken is supposed to have, is not in his possession at this time. The whereabouts of the transfer box became an issue behind the scenes after Nittatsu Shoshu fell into critical condition.

Gisei Yoshida (also known as Nichiyu), the priest who was first notified by the hospital that Nittatsu Shonin was in critical condition, ordered Jison Nomura, director of Taiseki-ji, to look for the transfer box in the Treasure House. However, no matter how hard Nomura tried, his effort is said to have been in vain. 

Where in the world did the transfer box go?

One priest remarked, “High Priest Nittatsu is said to have long ago promised the box to Sugano of Daisen-ji temple.” Mr. Sugano is Nittatsu Shonin’s son-in-law, the person closest to the high priest while he was still alive. He is the person most likely to know the truth about Nikken’s illegitimate ascension to the position of high priest. Interestingly, he was promoted last October to the class of noke in the Nichiren Shoshu hierarchy. 

A very interesting story recently came to our attention, which may verify the priest’s statement about the whereabouts of the transfer box. According to this story, Nikken once visited Daisen-ji temple in Kunitachi, Tokyo, to try to obtain the transfer box from Sugano. The whereabouts of this transfer box is a crucial matter for Nikken because a formal Nichiren Shoshu transfer ceremony would follow the traditional procedure, which would definitely involve the transfer box. The ceremony begins with the initial announcement of it, followed by the appointment of the Chief Executive or General Administrator as witness. Security guards are also designated for the ceremony. Even if the transfer box is not present at the site of the ceremony, it can be easily proven by those present that the ceremony was legitimately held. In Nikken’s case, however, he insists that the transfer ceremony between Nittatsu Shonin and him was held informally and privately, not in public. Because of this assertion, his possession of the transfer box is all the more important.

It was under such circumstances that Nikken tried to carry out his plan to acquire the transfer box from Sugano. On January 13, 1981, one and a half years after he took office, Nikken decided to visit Daisen-ji temple. Nikken was accompanied by four noted priests: Giko Hayase, then general affairs bureau chief and also overseas bureau chief; Gikan Hayase; Shin’ei Yagi, Nikken’s foremost disciple; and Shinsho Abe, Nikken's son.

Referring to this event, Gikan Hayase later recalled, “My role was security.” Gijun Hayase, husband of Nikken’s daughter, reportedly has said, “My brother (Gikan Hayase) is very physical. He is powerful. So he was sent as a bodyguard at that time.” Actually, Gikan Hayase was known as foremost in physical fights within Nichiren Shoshu. His nickname was “Kan-chan of (Ike)fukuro,” which means that his infamous name as a fighter is widely known in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. Incidentally, Gikan Hayase is the also the person who actually carried the transfer box from the head temple to the residence of the 65th high priest, Nichijun Shonin, when Nichijun Shonin transferred the heritage to Nittatsu Shonin. He is the man who recorded in detail how the transfer ceremony took place between the two previous high priests. Therefore, he knows very well how important the transfer box is.

On that day, Nikken and his entourage headed to Daisen-ji after an oko lecture at the head temple. Shinsho Abe was their driver. Upon their arrival at Daisen-ji temple, Yagi attempted to enter the temple, but he could not get in, because Sugano intimidated the young Yagi by saying to him, “Hey, young punk!”

While Shin’ei Yagi and Shinsho Abe were left outside as security guards, Nikken, Giko Hayase, and Gikan Hayase sat face to face to discuss the matter with Sugano in a room inside the temple. In the middle of their conversation, Nikken brought up the matter, saying, “By the way ….”

Sugano immediately understood what Nikken wanted to talk about. Sugano lost no time in making his point, “Didn’t you receive the heritage…?” In reply, all Nikken was able to say was, “Ah, yes. Yes, I did.” 

Nikken had powered his way into the guest room of Daisen-ji, but he could not touch upon the matter of the transfer box. For him to mention it at all, would prove that he had not received the heritage from the former high priest. It is said that Nikken could not say anything about the transfer box and had to leave Daisen-ji empty-handed.

It is certain that Nikken does not possess the transfer box even today.

It has been confirmed that Jitoku Kawabe, who knows every detail about Nikken’s ascension to the position of high priest, once mentioned to several priests within Nichiren Shoshu, “Nikken does not have the transfer box at hand.” And Kawabe once accidentally said to a Gakkai leader, “The transfer box does not exist at the head temple.” Concerned about his careless remark, he later called back the leader, saying to him to remedy his mistake, “As a matter of fact, it was in a safe of the Internal Bureau of the head temple.” The leader, who was ignorant of the significance of Kawabe’s first remark on the transfer box, is said to have good-naturedly responded to Kawabe’s second call, “That was good for you.”

In 2002, which marked the 750th anniversary of the establishment of true Buddhism, doubts about the legitimacy of Nikken as high priest of Nichiren Shoshu flared up again.

What triggered it was the fact that Nichiren Shoshu lost at the Supreme Court in three separate legal cases. The arguments for these cases were that Nichiren Shoshu demanded three seceded temples to return their temple buildings to Nichiren Shoshu. In these court cases, Nichiren Shoshu could not prove to the court's satisfaction that High Priest Nikken was a legitimate high priest of Nichiren Shoshu.

In the meantime, just before Nichiren Shoshu celebrates its 750th anniversary, Nikken brought forth a new theory, claiming that Nichiren Daishonin founded Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on two different occasions, first in March and the second in April, 1253. Eventually, Nikken carried out a new ceremony called “A Great Ceremony to Celebrate the Opening of the New Teaching” on March 28, 2002, thus adding fuel to the argument about his illegitimacy. 

To wipe out these doubts, Nikken formed a group called “Nichiren Shoshu Youthful Priests’ Group for Refuting Erroneous Teachings” in August 2002 and had it write a document to rebut the doubt of his legitimacy.

However, as expected, no mention was made in this document about the transfer box. When it comes to the issue of the transfer box, Nikken can’t do anything about it, so he has no choice but to remain quiet. There must be serious reasons why he can’t touch upon this subject. 

Nikken’s Questionable Way of Changing His Nichi-go Title After He Took Office
59th High Priest Nichiko Hori described the contents of the transfer box as this: “Documents related to the ‘One Hundred and Six Articles (Hyaku Rokka Sho)’ and ‘On the True Cause (Hon’nin-myo Sho)’ and a piece of paper that carries the names of the successive high priests who participated in their respective transfer ceremonies." It is said that the piece of paper that Nichiko Hori refers to is something like a lineage chart that specifies who transferred the heritage to whom.

The next question is whether this piece of paper carries the name of Nikken Abe as 67th high priest of Nichiren Shoshu. 

We will discuss this matter in detail later in this book, but Nikken claims that he informally received the heritage on April 15, 1978. At that point in time, Nikken’s name was Shinno Abe. His Nichiren Shoshu priesthood hierarchy class was daisozu, which means he was below the class of noke and that he did not qualify to openly use his nichi-go title.

The nichi-go title is the name that each priest receives from the high priest when he becomes entitled to wear a kesa robe. He can activate it or use it openly as his name only after he ascends to the class of noke or gonnosojo in the school’s hierarchy. 

Nikken began to use his own nichi-go title only after he obtained the highest position of daisojo (high priest) in the turmoil after Nittatsu Shonin’s sudden death. And the nichi-go title that Nikken originally had was not Nikken. In other words, after he became high priest, he abandoned his original nichi-go title and named himself Nikken on his own volition.

A priest, who was versed in the situation surrounding the sudden death of the former high priest, refers to a behind-the-scenes story about Nikken’s renaming: “After a temporary wake was over for the deceased high priest, I went to a dormitory lodging of the head temple where Nikken stayed, to ask him about his nichi-go title. I needed to know about it for the announcement in the next day’s Seikyo Shimbun. At that time, Nikken said to me, ‘As a matter of fact, I am in trouble, as my nichi-go title is Nichiji, which is the same as that of Rev. Hayase of Hodo-in.’ Then I said to him, ‘Unless you decide upon your nichi-go title tonight, your nichi-go name won’t make it in tomorrow’s issue of the Seikyo Shimbun.’ Then Nikken said, ‘Oh, no. Mr. Hayase is now on the way back to Tokyo, so, I can’t contact him now.’ Nikken said, ‘Anyway, please give me a little more time,’ and I left where he was, expecting I would get his nichi-go title later.”

The priest continues: “Just before midnight I received a phone call from Shin’ei Yagi who was in the same dormitory lodging. Yagi said to me, ‘The high priest has decided on his new nichi-go title. It’s Nikken. According to him, since his father’s nichi-go title was Nikkai, he has chosen the name Nikken after the Buddhist term kaiken, which means to open and reveal.”

This is a very strange story. Nikken must have been long aware that his nichi-go title was Nichiji, the same one as Hayase’s. If he had truly received the heritage from Nittatsu Shonin, there would be a statement within the transfer box, to the effect that “I hereby transfer the heritage to Shinno Abe or Nichiji Abe.” There would have been no problem if there were a description of “Nichiji Abe” on the piece of paper in box, even if Nichiji is the same as Hayase’s nichi-go title. All Nikken had to do was to proudly take office as Nichiji Abe and later asked Hayase to change his nichi-go title. 

And even if Nikken had chosen to be very considerate toward Hayase and used a different nichi-go title, Nikken would have to bring up the subject with Nittatsu Shonin, especially at the point where he received the heritage. He should have changed it on that occasion, after thoroughly discussing the matter directly with Nittatsu Shonin.

What actually Nikken did was just before he took office, he impatiently abandoned the nichi-go title that he had originally received from his mentor and renamed himself Nikken. It was as if he were engaged in name-playing, with his father’s name Nichikai and adding his own name Nikken, to come up with the Buddhist term kaiken (to open and reveal). His renaming reflects his denial of and opposition to his mentor’s intent. To put another way, his new name is a reflection of his arrogance. We don’t see any evidence of humility or strictness in his attitude toward the transfer ceremony, which is rooted in the spirit of mentor and disciple.

Nikken’s last minute decision concerning his nichi-go title eloquently proves that he is a fake high priest. There could not be any mention of Abe Nikken in the document contained in the transfer box.

Concerning the lineage record in the transfer box, Nichiko Hori states that Nissei Shonin has been erased from this lineage record of the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu. In other words,  the 17th high priest, Nissei Shonin, who advocated the heretical teaching of building a statute of Shakyamuni and reciting the sutra to it in the Edo period, has been stricken off the list of the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu.

For about a hundred years in the Edo period, Taiseki-ji imported various priests of the heretical Yoho-ji temple in Kyoto to become Nichiren Shoshu high priests. They include the 15th high priest Nissho Shonin through the 23rd high priest, Nikkei Shonin. Because of this, slanderous doctrines expounded by the Yoho-ji temple found their way into the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu. Nichiko Hori was very strict, especially regarding Nissei Shonin who advocated the importance of cherishing the statue of Shakyamuni. In his “Essential Teachings of the Fuji School,” Nichiko Shonin clearly criticizes Nissei Shonin, saying, “Nissei, in particular, gained clout in Edo, building local temples, and expanding his forces there. In the meantime, he began to build statues of Shakyamuni, and recite the sutra to it, thus injecting Yoho-ji’s doctrines into our school.”

However, Nikken has defended Nissei Shonin, repeatedly commenting in opposition to Nichiko Shonin’s view, saying, “Nichiko Hori is saying something that is hard to understand” or “Nichiko Hori was a great scholar, but it seems to me that his view of Nissei Shonin was a bit biased.”

Regarding the matter of Nissei Shonin’s dismissal from the lineage record, Nikken cannot do anything to confirm or deny it, because he does not possess the transfer box or the documents within it. It is certain that Nikken is very much concerned about whether Nissei Shonin was taken off the list. Nikken senses that his own name could also be omitted from the Nichiren Shoshu’s successive high priests’ lineage list.

On January 1, 2002, Nikken had to withdraw his litigation in his appeal trial of the Seattle case at the High Court after he had lost the case in the first trial. During the audience he gave to Hokkeko leaders right after he withdrew the case, he stated in relief, “Now, I won’t be as criticized, as Nissei Shonin was.”

Nikken was afraid of having his name taken off the lineage record of Nichiren Shoshu. His fear must have stemmed not only from the outcome of the Seattle Trial, but also from his awareness that he stole the position of high priest through his conspiracy and lies.

Nikken once haphazardly said to some people, “For some reason, I’ll have to stay in the position of high priest till I die.”

Here “for some reason” means that Nikken became high priest without receiving the heritage from Nittatsu Shonin. He has no heritage. Nor does he have the transfer box. In other words, Nikken has nothing to transfer to a next high priest. This is how Nikken is.