Hokke Shintō
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Hokke Shintō (法華神道, lit. "Lotus Shintō") refers to a form of devotion to the Japanese kami (deities) based on the doctrine of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke-kyō) and its idea of "opening and integrating" (開会, kaie) all teachings.
The focus of worship is the group of protective deities known as the Thirty Guardian Deities (三十番神). Nichizō, a disciple of Nichiren, incorporated this belief into the Nichiren-shū[1] and the Hokke-shū (法華宗), and by the Muromachi period it had spread widely within the sect. There is also a tradition that Saichō (Dengyō Daishi) first enshrined these deities on Mount Hiei.
The guardian deities were enshrined either on temple altars or in shrine pavilions. Rituals followed the precedent of the Tendai tradition at Hiyoshi Taisha, but unlike Tendai practice, no professional Shinto priests were appointed, and rites such as the invocation (kanjō) were performed by lay followers.
The Shinto theologian Yoshida Kanetomo raised questions about the Nichiren sect’s worship of the guardian deities, an incident known as the "Bangami Question-and-Answer Incident" (番神問答事件).[2][3] The debate is recorded in the text Bangami Mondōki.[4]
Along with Kishimojin and the Ten Rākṣasī Women, these deities were revered as benevolent protectors of the Lotus Sutra. However, the Shinbutsu bunri (separation of kami and buddhas) following the Meiji Restoration led to the decline of Hokke Shintō. At the same time, a new religion called Renmonkyō arose, drawing on the Hokke Shintō tradition even though it had no direct connection with either the Tendai or Nichiren sects. Renmonkyō briefly flourished during the early Meiji period.