Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on August 11, 2009
How did Nikken become high priest?
To answer this, we have to go over the day of 66th high priest Nittatsu’s funeral. According to Hossu Sasho, a memoir written by Nichiren Shoshu reformist priest, the following conversation took place on that day of July 22, 1979:
In the early morning, high priest Nittatsu’s body was delivered to the reception room of his quarters. Then, the recitation of the sutra and chanting of daimoku was done by his relatives and those close to him at the head temple.
Keido Hosoi and Takudo Hosoi (high priest Nittatsu’s sons), Jiun Sugano (high priest Nittatsu’s son-in-law), and others were talking in the high priest’s secretary’s west office, when General Administrator Abe (Nikken) arrived. He was supposed to have led the recitation of the sutra and the chanting of daimoku beside the deceased high priest at 7:15 AM.
Upon seeing them, Abe asked, “Did you hear anything about who will succeed him?” Obviously, Abe was asking about the transmission of the heritage and the office of high priest.
Jiun Sugano replied, “Aren’t you, Mr. General Administrator, succeeding him?”
Hearing Sugano say this, Nikken murmured, “Oh, is that right? Yes, you’re right…” Wearing a complex expression on his face, he nodded ponderously.
It was these words uttered by Sugano that decided Nikken would be the next high priest.
Nichiren Shoshu makes a big deal out of transferring the heritage from high priest to high priest. But the above statement shows in reality how the heritage had been transferred in this case.
In those days, there were two major factions in Nichiren Shoshu. One was the Hoki-kai group, which is the Hayase family’s faction. The other was the Myokan-kai group, which was Nittatsu’s faction. They were involved in a power struggle at the head temple with each other.
Why did they choose Abe? Nichiji was the head of the Hoki-kai group, and Nittatsu’s disciples did not like the idea of turning the office over to this group. The Myokan-kai is said to have been satisfied by nominating Abe for the next high priest even though he was not from the Myokan-kai faction. At least he wasn’t from the Hoki-kai faction.
What was the Myokan-kai group thinking when Nittatsu passed away without designating anybody for the next high priest? It was inconceivable in Nichiren Shoshu for a high priest to die without selecting his successor. According to the school’s philosophy, there must not be any form of discontinuity in the transmission of its heritage. Therefore, the Myokan-kai group was forced to select the next high priest, whoever he may be. Because of the urgency, the Myokan-kai group is said to have chosen Nikken as the next high priest.
Later, when Nikken was dealing with the Shoshin-kai (a group that doubted his legitimacy as 67th high priest) he took advantage of this dilemma by stating, “If you insist that I did not receive the heritage, it will mean that Nittatsu Shonin, whom you respect, passed way without transferring the heritage to anybody.”
When high priest Nittatsu passed away, the matter that most concerned the Hosoi family and Sugano was that they had to avoid a situation where Nittatsu Shonin had failed to nominate his successor.
Put another way, Nikken did not become the high priest because he received the heritage. He became one because Sugano responded to him by asking, “Aren’t you, Mr. General Administrator, succeeding him?”
At the executive priests’ conference held a few hours later, Nikken brought forth his own story, stating “As a matter of fact, I did receive the heritage on April 15 of the previous year.” This statement by Nikken was his way of reacting to Sugano’s decisive words.
This article is based on Hossu Sasho (Self-Appointed High Priest) by Nichiren Shoshu Yushu Goho Domei (League of Concerned Priests for Protecting the Law) published in 2003.