Nisshin (monk)

Nisshin was born in Kazusa province on October 14, 1407. After receiving instruction from his paternal uncle Nichiei, Nisshin entered Hokekyo-ji. In 1427, Nisshin travelled towards the capital stopping at various temples along the way in Kamakura, Kyoto, and other such cities. As he did so, he spread his teachings. In 1433 he continued towards Hizen province as a head priest of the Nakayamonryū lineage with some followers. However, due to harsh shakubu preachings, Nisshin himself was heavily opposed and eventually expelled from the Nakayamonryū lineage. Then in 1437 as Nisshin made his way still towards the capital, he opened Honpō-ji. Along the way, he was also able to convert many temples into those following the Nichiren school of Buddhism. In doing such, he gained the opportunity to preach to the shōgun of the time, Ashikaga Yoshinori. Nisshin used this time to preach about not giving alms to temples. This talk unfortunately aggravated the shōgun so that he placed a ban upon Nisshin's sermons.

Nisshin, of course, couldn't stop himself from spreading his teachings and violated the ban. In 1440, he was imprisoned as punishment for breaking the ban and his temple destroyed. He continued to preach even during his imprisonment. As the legend goes, during his imprisonment, Nisshin had a pot put over his head to shut him up. It's said not even a scolding hot pot could make Nisshin stop sermonizing. This story became known as the tale of the “pot-wearing saint” or sometimes referred to as “the pot-wearing Nisshin.”

In 1441, during the Kakitsu era, there was the Kakitsu uprising. This uprising saw the assassination of the 6th shōgun. Because of this, Nisshin was able to escape his imprisonment and began rebuilding his temple Honpō-ji. The year 1460 however saw the destruction of Honpō-ji once again. This was because Nisshin had continued to preach despite the previous ban on his actions. The temple was destroyed and Nisshin was summoned to the capital by the 8th shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Nisshin was escorted by Chiba Mototane to Kyoto. He was taken to the residence of Hosokawa Mochikata to be imprisoned this time. While imprisoned there, he made the acquaintance of Hon'ami Honkō (Kiyonobu), of the distinguished Hon'ami family of sword experts.,^[1] who became his devout follower. The two were both able to become free from their imprisonment thanks to the collaboration of local lords. These lords also frequently gave to Honpō-ji. Nisshin continued preaching in Honpō-ji until his death in 1488 at the age of 82 years-old.

Most famous of Nisshin's practices was that of the Fuju Fuse—refusing to accept or give donations to others outside of the Hokke lineages. This practice was meant to portray an image of self-sustaining and self-governing ability within the sect. In doing so, Nisshin's line had not only regained some power to the organization but began to set a competitive tone against legal authorities. This would add fuel to the later fires of movements to remove more power from Buddhist organizations and the subsequent destruction of temples.^[2]