It was followed closely in popularity by the Komeito ( Clean Government Party ), founded in 1964 as the political arm of the Soka Gakkai ( Value Creation Society ), until 1991 a lay organization affiliated with the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist sect.

Nichiren Buddhism includes various schools with their own interpretations of Nichiren's teachings, the most prominent being Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai ; however, despite the differences between schools, all Nichiren sects share the fundamental practice of chanting daimoku.

Nichiren Shoshu believe that Nichiren designated five senior priests, and one successor, Nikko.

* Nichiren Shōshū yōgi ( 日蓮正宗要義 ; " The essential tenets of Nichiren Shoshu ").

* Nichiren Shōshū-shi no kisoteki kenkyū ( 日蓮正宗史の基礎的研究 ; " A study of fundaments of Nichiren Shoshu history ").

* Nichiren Shōshū Nyūmon ( 日蓮正宗入門 ; " Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu ").

* Kyōgaku Yōgo Kaisetsu Shū ( 教学解説用語集 ; " Glossary of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist terms ").

* ReligionFacts. com on Nichiren Buddhism Contains some inaccuracies ; e. g., the photo of an altar is not of a Nichiren Shoshu one.

* February 7 – Nikko, Japanese priest, founder of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism ( b. 1246 )

* November 15 – Nichimoku, Japanese priest, the 3rd high priest of Taisekiji temple and Nichiren Shoshu ( b. 1260 )

* 1279 – October 12 – The Dai-Gohonzon, the supreme object of veneration of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, is inscribed by Nichiren.

The Dai-Gohonzon is a mandala believed by Nichiren Shoshu to have been inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin in Chinese and Sanskrit characters on October 12, 1279.

The transcriptions of the Dai-Gohonzon made by the successive high priests of Nichiren Shoshu are called, simply, Gohonzon ( go is an honorific prefix indicating respect ).

Regardless of their type, all Gohonzon issued by Nichiren Shoshu have been consecrated by one of the successive High Priests in an " Opening of the Eyes Ceremony ", conducted in the Dai-Gohonzon's sanctuary, and thus have the same power, as defined by Nichiren Daishonin himself in his Gosho " The Four Debts of Gratitude ".

In addition to the two main teachings of chanting and the Gohonzon, Nichiren Buddhism expounds the doctrine of the Ten Worlds of life, The Ten Factors of existence, the principle of The Three Thousand Realms in a single moment of life and the teachings of The Three Proofs for verification of the validity of teachings.

All of these teachings are shared and identical in most schools and groups of Nichiren Buddhism, however, different interpretations are found for the doctrine of the ” Three Great Secret Dharmas ”, called also “ The Three Great Secret Laws ”, and Three Jewels.

For example, Nichiren Shōshū doctrine extends Tendai's classification of the Buddhist sutras into five time periods and eight categories ( 五時八教: goji-hakkyō ), its theory of 3, 000 interpenetrating realms within a single life-moment ( 一念三千: Ichinen Sanzen ), and its view of the Three Truths ( 三諦: Santai ).

A fundamental doctrine in Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism is reverence for the Three Treasures, called sambō or sampō ( 三宝 ) in Japanese.

The central importance for Nichiren Shoshu believers of revering and expressing gratitude to the Three Treasures in the True Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is explained in the Gosho " The Four Debts of Gratitude ".

The ( O ) daimoku is the first of the Three Great Secret Dharmas ( Laws ) ( 三大秘法 ) ( J. sandai-hihō ) revealed by Nichiren.

The main differences in beliefs of both sides center on: The doctrine of Heritage of the Law: attributed by the Priesthood to " one person " the High Priest while attributed by the Sōka Gakkai to ordinary people, The Priesthood's demand for " Absolute faith and Strict Obedience " to the High Priest a demand contrasted with SGI definition of related relationship: " mentor and disciple are comrades standing side by side ”, and also: The doctrine of the Three Treasures, in which the Treasure of the Priest is taught by the Sōka Gakkai as the Sangha or " Community of Believers ", while it is restricted solely to the Priest, by Nichiren Shōshū administration.

A similarity, common to most Nichiren schools, is the shared doctrine of The Three Great Hidden Dharmas, referred to in some schools as theThree Great Secret Laws, as “... it was in order to put the insight of Ichinen Sanzen into actual practice that Nichiren Shonin taught The Three Great Secret Dharmas: the Gohonzon, the Essential Focus of Reverence, the Odaimoku, the great Title of the Lotos Sutra ; and the Kaidan, the Precept Platform .”

Offering the sutra entails reciting the Expedient Means ( second ) and the Life Span of the Tathagata ( sixteenth ) chapters of the Lotus Sutra ; the silent prayers are five formal meditations expressing gratitude for the Three Treasures as defined in Nichiren Shoshu, and the merit accrued through Buddhist practices.

Its temples have many of Nichiren ’ s most important personal artifacts and writings ( which are considered National Treasures of Japan ) in their safekeeping.

Nichiren Buddhism is based on the Lotus Sutra, which teaches that all people have an innate Buddha nature and are therefore inherently capable of attaining enlightenment in their current form and present lifetime.

The two outstanding doctrines of the Lotus Sutra, which were the focus of Nichiren ’ s teachings and practice are: the attainment of Buddhahood by all people in their lifetime, and the eternal life of the Buddha revealed in the Ceremony in the Air of the Lotus Sutra.

Which of his writings are deemed authentic or apocryphal is also being treated different within the various schools of today's Nichiren Buddhism.

Even though some groups dissociate themselves from other ( Nichiren )- Buddhists most Nichiren Buddhists enjoy a peaceful coexistence with other religious groups in modern times, in societies which are based on freedom of belief.

Nichiren encouraged his disciples not to share in violence: “ Even if other are clad in armor and instigate, my disciples should never do the same.

Nichiren Buddhism emphasizes the sanctity of life and absolute non-violence: “ To deprive a being of life is to commit the gravest kind of sin ”, and considers debate or dialogue as the only avenue to resolve disputes: “ When in public debate, although the teachings that you advocate are perfectly consistent with the truth, you should never on that account be impolite or abusive, or display a conceited attitude.

Therefore Japanese Zen, Pureland and Nichiren, are led by priests ( or minister ) rather than by monks.

Much of Nichiren Shōshū's underlying teachings are extensions of Tendai ( 天台, Cn: Tiantai ) thought.

This signifies that the Law of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō and the Buddha who proclaimed it ( Nichiren Daishonin ) are one.

In Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Daishonin himself is the Treasure of the Buddha ; the Mystic Law of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the Treasure of the Law ; Nikko, who Nichiren Shoshu believe was Nichiren's successor and each of the successive High Priests are the Treasure of the Priesthood.

The seven characters na-mu-myō-hō-ren-ge-kyō are written down the centre of the Gohonzon, the mandala venerated by most Nichiren Buddhists.

The essence of the Lotus Sutra, as Nichiren Daishonin taught, was that all men and women, regardless of social class or place are inherently endowed with this Buddha nature and could therefore attain Buddhahood.

Nichiren the Vimalakirti Sutra stated: "... if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land.

These are translations of the Japanese volume ( The complete works of Nichiren Daishonin ), compiled by 59th Nichiren Shōshū High Priest Nichiko Hori and published by Sōka Gakkai in 1952.

There are several Buddhist schools which follow the basic practice of Nichiren Buddhism consisting of chanting the phrase Nam ( u )- Myoho-Renge-Kyo, and revering the mandala Object of Devotion, the Gohonzon.

Most of other concepts of Nichiren Buddhism are shared between its schools.

Based on the Lotus Sutra's teaching of what it describes as the " unsurpassed Dharma ", Nichiren Buddhism acknowledges the Four Noble Truths as the first sermon, but not as the final teaching of the Buddha.

In his letter " A Comparison between the Lotus and Other Sutras " Nichiren viewed the Four Noble Truths as a specific teaching expounded by the Buddha to the śrāvakas disciples, those who attain awakening by listening to the teachings of a Buddha.

While virtually all Nichiren Buddhist schools regard him as a reincarnation of the Lotus Sutra's Bodhisattva Superior Practices, Jōgyō Bosatsu ( 上行菩薩 ), some schools of Nichiren Buddhism's Nikkō lineages regard him as the actual Buddha of this age, or the Buddha of the Latter day of the Law.

While some schools regard this as features attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha others underline that he identifies himself as a votary of the Lotos Sutra :" Shakyamuni Buddha is the father and mother, teacher and sovereign to all living being ...” and similarly mentioning in his letter ' The Opening of the Eyes ':“ I, Nichiren, am sovereign, teacher, and father and mother to all the people ...”..

Preference for these titles generally depends on the school to which a person belongs, with " Shōnin " being commonly used within Nichiren Shū, which regards Nichiren as a Buddhist reformer and embodiment of Bodhisattva Superior Practices, while " Daishōnin " is the title used by followers of most, but not all, of the schools and temples derived from the Nikkō lineage, most notably the Sōka Gakkai, who regard Nichiren as ' The Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law ' and also Nichiren Shōshū, who regard Nichiren as ' The True Buddha ', or ' Buddha of True Cause '.