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June 16, 2000
Former Hokkeko Chairperson's
Wife Urges High Priest to Resign
By Ted Morino
Editor In Chief
The wife of the former chairman of the Hokkeko Federation
has called for High Priest Nikken Abe?s resignation. Prompted
by the high priest?s destruction of the Grand Main Temple
(Sho-Hondo), Hisako Hirasawa, wife of the late Masukichi
Hirasawa, wrote a letter to the high priest on April 22
to urge him to resign immediately. (The Hokkeko Federation
is the umbrella organization of the groups that belong
directly to their individual local temples of Nichiren
Shoshu.)
Mrs. Hirasawa?s request for the earliest resignation of
the high priest, which also serves as her wake-up call
to all temple members, is significant as it can be viewed
to represent the voices of the many temple members in
Japan.
Mrs. Hirasawa starts her letter by lamenting the plight
of the head temple under the leadership of High Priest
Nikken. She says: “High Priest Nikken, the beautiful
settings surrounding the head temple of Nichiren Shoshu
have been in constant decline in recent years as you have
destroyed many important buildings on its grounds, one
after another. Even the Grand Main Temple, which had been
highly regarded by the world?s people, was brought to
ruin in dark smoke and ashes.”
Mrs. Hirasawa asserts that the high priest is solely responsible
for the decay of the sect. She then points out the significance
of Judge Fumio Shimoda of the Tokyo District Court clearly
stating in the recent ruling in the Seattle Incident trial
that High Priest Nikken?s remarks can?t be trusted.
While she refers to the reasons why High Priest Nikken?s
legitimacy as a Nichiren Shoshu high priest is doubtful,
she delves into another deep-seated cause that propelled
him to run counter to the former high priest, Nittatsu,
and the SGI. She states: “It seems to me that you,
High Priest Nikken, deeply resented the fact that High
Priest Nittatsu did not nominate you as next high priest
before he died. Your grudge against him prompted you to
destroy the hallmarks of his accomplishments, one after
another. Your dark emotions coerced you to destroy even
the Grand Main Temple.”She then states: “I
most reverently and wholeheartedly empathize with the
following people in conjunction with the destruction of
the Grand Main Temple: First, how would Nichiren Shoshu
High Priest Nittatsu feel about its destruction? How would
all the priests and their family members who participated
in making offerings for the construction of the Grand
Main Temple feel about its destruction?
“Second, how would Daisaku Ikeda, who was then the
head of all Nichiren Shoshu lay societies, who initiated
the construction of the Grand Main Temple feel? How would
the 8 million believers who made offerings for its construction
feel?
“Third, how would Mr. Kimio Yokoyama, who put his
life into designing and constructing it to reply to the
high expectations that were placed upon him by all those
people, feel now?”
“Foolish as I am, I can never forget the sight of
its destruction I saw it on video. I can?t resist crying,
due to the sorrow I feel each time I recall the sight
of the Grand Main Temple falling.”
Touching upon the authoritarianism that crept into Nichiren
Shoshu after High Priest Nikken took office in 1979, Mrs.
Hirasawa cites this example: “In the days of the
former high priest, Nittatsu, it was indeed a honorable
thing to take a position in the Hokkeko, since it was
based upon an appointment system. However, these days
when we are assigned to a new position, the certificate
we receive says ?you are now ordered to fulfill the responsibility
of….? The wording in the certificate sounds like
a lord giving an order to his subject.”
She then describes how she feels toward the head temple:
“When High Priest Nittatsu was in office, it was
a great pleasure to visit the head temple. But nowadays,
we don?t want to go to Taiseki-ji. I don?t feel like paying
a visit to the head temple, where acolytes don?t smile
at all. They always look nervous and give me the impression
that they are scared of something.”
Mrs. Hirasawa then calls to each temple member as follows.
“The current chairperson of the Hokkeko Federation
shows up occasionally at Kuon-ji temple of Mount Minobu.
Dear Hokkeko members, don?t you care that the correct
faith of Nichiren Shoshu is being lost? ... I urge Hokkeko
members to open their eyes and judge things correctly
with the sharpened eyes of faith. ... Blessed with an
extended life span thanks to faith in Nichiren Daishonin?s
Buddhism, I am still alive at the age of 80. All Hokkeko
members, please take what I wrote here as a sincere old
believer?s heartfelt cry.”
Mrs. Hirasawa ends her remonstration with High Priest
Nikken saying that “I am ready to sacrifice myself
for Buddhism any time. With this resolution, I wrote this
to refute the slander of High Priest Nikken.”
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