A brief history of Taisekiji

Nikko (1246-1333) left Minobu, moved to Oishi-ga-hara in 1288, where  his 
mother's old home was.  He founded Taisekiji in 1290.  He also founded 
another temple by the name of Hommonji at Omosu, Kitayama, in 1298, and 
spent the rest of his life there.  On his deathbed, he transmitted Taisekiji 
to Nichimoku (1260-1333), and Hommonji to Nichidai (1294-1384). 

After Nikko's death, Nichimoku started from Taisekiji with Nichigo 
(1272-1353) for Kyoto to convert the Emperor to Nichiren's religion, 
entrusting Nichido (1283-1341) with the care of the temple.  Nichimoku died 
along the way to Kyoto, and Nichigo returned to Taisekiji only to find that 
the temple was occupied by Nichido.  Nichigo in vain tried to recover the 
temple.  Without success he retired to Hota, where he founded Myohonji 
sometime between 1342 and 1344. 

Nichidai of Hommonji was disliked by Ishikawa Sanetada, the patron of the 
temple.  Nichimyo became the chief priest of the temple, and Nichidai 
retired to Nishiyama, where he founded Hommonji in 1343, the namesake of the 
temple at Kitayama. 

Nanjo Tokimitsu followed Nikke (1252-1334), another disciple of Nikko. 
After Nikke died in 1334, Tokimitsu remodelled his residence at Shimoji into 
a temple called Myorenji. 

Myohonji at Hota succeeded in founding a temple at Koizumi in Fuji District 
as a stronghold against Taisekiji in 1406.  The temple was named Kuonji, the 
namesake of the temple at Minobu. 

Taisekiji, Kitayama Hommonji, Nichiyama Hommonji, Myorenji, and Koisumi 
Kuonji were called the Five Fuji Temples of the Komon-ha or Nikko School. 
Nichizon (1265-1345), another disciple of Nikko, was very active in founding 
temples.  He founded Jogyo-in in Kyoto in 1339.  he transmitted this temple 
to Nichi-in.  Nichidai (1309-1369, different in kanji from Nichidai of 
Nishiyama Hommonji), another disciple of Nichizon, complained of the 
transmission to Nichi-in, left the temple founding Juhonji in the same city 
in 1363. 

Kuonji at Minobu was merely a local temple until Nitcho (1422-1500) became 
the chief priest of the temple in 1362.  Through his untiring efforts, 
Minobusan Kuonji rapidly became a large temple.  Seeing this, the Five Fuji 
Temples became nervous. 

Nichigen (?-1486) of Nishiyama Hommonji wrote the Gonin-shohasho- kemmon, in 
which the "Nichiren-hombutsu-ron" or the identification of Nichiren with the Buddha

was for the first time advocated in history. The date of this writing was not given;

but since a political period called "Kajuji-Hirohashi-Ryoke-Buke-Denso" (1470-1479)

was called "this period" in this writing, the date of writing cannot precede 1470. 

The second most important event, characterizing the Komon-ha teachings,

was the publication of the Hyaku-gojikka-jo, in which the Niko-sojo or "Two 
Transfer Documents" were mentioned.  This book was written by Nikkyo 
(1428-1489?) at Taisekiji in 1480.  Nikkyo was primarily a priest of Juhonji 
in Kyoto.  He was attracted by the Nichiren-hombutsu-ron and moved to 
Taisekiji in or before 1480, and became a disciple of Nichi-u (1409-1482), 
the chief priest of Taisekiji.  In those days Nichi-u was friendly with 
Nichigen of Nishiyama Hommonji. 

The Nichiren-hombutsu-ron, the Two Transfer Documents, and the Ita-
mandara are the three pillars which build up the Taisekiji theology. These
three pillars were erected within ten years or so. Incidentally, the designation 
of Nishiyama Hommonji as the right place for Hommon-no- Kaidan is omitted 
from the explanation of the Minobu Sojo, as stated in the English dictionary 
published by the Nichiren Shoshu International Center. 

Nichi-u died in 1482.  Nikkyo moved to Hyuga Province (Miyazaki-ken) around 
1483.  Nichigen of Nishiyama Hommonji died in 1486.  Nikkyo returned to 
Taisekiji in 1489, but soon afterwards moved to Kitayama Hommonji, not 
Nishiyama Hommonji. Taisekiji was included among the temples protected by

Lord Imagawa Ujiteru of Suruga Province in 1529; the other four Fuji Temples

were not. This shows that Taisekiji was the largest of the Five Fuji Temples at

that time. 

Jogyo-in and Juhonji in Kyoto were burned down by the Hieizan Monk Army 
together with 19 other Nichiren Temples in 1536.  Nisshin (1508-1576), a 
priest of Juhonji, persuaded Nichizai (chief priest of Juhonji) into 
reconciliation with Jogyo-in, and succeeded in uniting the two temples into 
a new temple named Yoboji in 1548.  Nichizai died in 1555, and Nisshin 
became the chief priest of the temple that same year. 

Furthermore, Nisshin attempted to make peace between the other Komon-ha 
temples.  Through his efforts, the priests of all those temples became 
friendly with each other except Nichi-in, the chief priest of Taisekiji. 

Nisshin died in 1576, and Nichi-in died in 1589.  Nisshu, who succeeded 
Nichin-in, was very clever.  He preferred material prosperity by depending 
on Kyoto temple subsidy to proud loneliness by sticking to an ideological 
product.  According to the request of Yoboji, he shelved up the Ita-mandara 
question, and allowed Yoboji to control Taisekiji.  he agreed that the next 
chief priest of Taisekiji would be appointed from among the priests of 
Yoboji.  Nisshu died in 1617, and after that for as long as 90 years 
(1617-1707), the chief priests of Taisekiji were imported from Yoboji.  This 
change of policy brought a luck.  At the request of Yoboji, Lady Kyo-dai-in, 
the wife of Lord Hachisuka Yoshishige of Awa Province (Tokushima-ken), 
dedicated a magnificent Main Hall to Taisekiji with her own land revenue in 
1632. 

However, the financial power of Yoboji was weakened in the course of time, 
just as that of many other Kyoto temples, because the seat of the government 
of Japan had already been transferred from Kyoto to Yedo. 

It was fortunate for Taisekiji that the temple could get in touch with the 
Tokugawa family. Kofu Tsunatoyo (1663-1713), Lord of Kofu in Kai Province 
(Yamanshi-ken), was a grandson of the third Shogun Tokugawa Iyemitsu.  He 
married Nijo Hiroko, a Kyoto noble.  While the young couple lived in Yedo, 
and the wife happened to become a believer of Nichi-ei, the chief priest of 
Jozaiji, a temple related to Taisekiji. 

In 1707, the post of the chief priest of Taisekiji became vacant, and no 
more Yoboji priests were to be appointed.  Backed up by the wife of Kofu 
Tsunatoyo, Nichi-ei of Jozaiji became the chief priest of Taisekiji. 

In 1709, Kofu Tsunatoyo became the sixth Shogun, changing his name to 
Tokugawa Iyenobu.  In 1713 he died, and the widow, Ten-ei-in in her 
dharma-name, dedicated a gorgeous Temple Gate to Taisekiji.  Now Taisekiji 
became a temple connected with the Tokugawa Shogunate.  The Ita-mandara was 
housed deep into the store-house because the Tokugawa relationship had more 
advertising value than a plank inscription. 

Taisekiji claims that Ten-ei-in was a daughter of the Emperor  Go-mizuno-o 
(1596-1680).  But it is unbelievable that the wife of the Shogun, who was 
born in 1663, was a daughter of the Emperor who was born in 1596. 

When the Meiji Era began in 1868, all the temples connected with the 
Taokugawa family lost power. Taisekiji brought the Ita-mandara to the front 
for survival, and fomented absolute exclusionism with characterized the 
Taisekiji theology.