entering her body. Through a miracle, he acquired a thorough knowledge
of the whole Buddhist canon, in the course of which he met with words,
which he converted into that formula which is constantly in the mouth of
the members of the Nichiren sect, Namu-my[=o]-ho-ren-gé-ky[=o]--"O, the
Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Law."[20] His history, full of
amazing activity and of romantic adventure, is surrounded by a perfect
sunrise splendor, or, shall we say, sunset gorgeousness, of mythology
and fable. The scenes of his life are mostly laid in the region of the
modern T[=o]ki[=o], and to the cultivated traveller, its story lends
fascinating charms to the landscape in the region of Yedo Bay. Nichiren
was a fiery patriot, and ultra-democratic in his sympathies. He was a
radical believer in "Japan for the Japanese." He was an ecclesiastical
_Soshi_. He felt that the developments of Buddhism already made, were
not sufficiently comprehensive, or fully suited to the common people.
So, in A.D. 1282, he founded a new sect which gradually included within
its pantheon all possible Buddhas, and canonized pretty nearly all the
saints, righteous men and favorite heroes known to Dai Nippon. Nichiren
first made Japan the centre of the universe, and then brought religion
down to the lowest. He considered that the period in which he lived was
the latter day of the law, and that all creatures ought to share in the
merit of Buddha-hood. Only the original Buddha is the real moon in the
sky, but all Buddhas of the subordinate states are like the images of
the moon, reflected upon the waters. All these different Buddhas, be
they gods or men, beasts, birds or snakes, are to be honored. Indeed,
they are both honored and worshipped in the Nichiren pantheon. Besides
the historic Buddha, this sect, which is the most idolatrous of all,
admits as objects of its reverence such personages as Nichiren, the
founder; Kato Kiyomasa, the general who led the army of invasion in
Korea and was the persecutor of the Christians; and Shichimen--a word
which means seven points of the compass or seven faces. This Shichimen