Gohonzon 御本尊—the principal image of worship in Honmon Butsuryū Shū—is a mandala which by means of kanji (Chinese writing characters as used in Japan) depicts Odaimoku 御題目, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō 南無妙法蓮華経 surrounded by Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and guardian deities of … Read More
Hatsu literally means “for the first time,” and Mairi and Sankei means “visiting a temple.” Hatsu Mairi (初参り) or Hatsu Sankei (初参詣) means bringing a newborn baby to a HBS temple for the first time and praying for a happy … Read More
The kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese writing) ‘Gan (元)’ in Gantan-e (元旦会) literally means “the first” or “the beginning,” ‘Tan (旦)’ means the sun appearing on the horizon, and ‘E (会)’ is a “Buddhist service.” Therefore, Gantan-e means the … Read More
Nichiren Shonin was oppressed many times for spreading the Odaimoku, true teaching of the Lotus Sutra, in the age of Mappo (age of degeneration of dharma) as predicted in the Lotus Sutra that people who engage in propagation of the … Read More
Coming down from the inner chamber, Koyu Shonin (the HBS head priest) and other priests chant the Odaimoku loudly to the Kaiko-kinen Gohonzon (the object of worship which Kaido Shonin himself drew commemorating the foundation of HBS) with lay followers … Read More
In Japan, people become adults at the age of twenty under Japanese civil law today. The second Sunday of January is the coming of age ceremony day, which celebrates young people who will become adults that year (precisely, those who … Read More
Nichiren Shonin was born on February 16, 1222 (the fourth year of Jokyu period), in Kominato on the Boso peninsula, present Chiba prefecture. This does not mean just a birth of a man, but the incarnation of Jogyo Bodhisattva who … Read More
Nichiren Shonin, at his age of seventeen, set out on a journey of Buddhist study seeking after true Buddhism. And then, he finally found that the teaching preached in Honmon Happon in the Lotus Sutra can save us, ordinary people … Read More
As well as Kan-shugyo, there is another period that HBS members devote themselves to Asa-sankei to discipline and improve their faith in the heat of the hottest season of the year. This period is called Kaki-sankei. Kaki means “in the … Read More
In 1868 (the first year of Meiji period) after ten years since Honmon Butsuryu Ko established, in accordance with the Restoration of Imperial Rule, the new Meiji government carried out the three major policies on religion in the process of … Read More