The age of real Nichiren priests

5. The Nichiren Sect in the Azuchi and Momoyama PeriodsThe representatives of the Nichiren Sect had a debate with those of the Jodo Sect by permission of the then ruler Nobunaga Oda in 1579. The judge, who had previously been ordered secretly by the ruler to persecute the Nichiren debaters, an­nounced that the delegates of the Nichiren Sect had been argued down. The Nichiren priests had to submit a written apology. Three of the debaters were beheaded. Hideyoshi Toyotomi was tolerant towards the Nichiren Sect, but punished a Nichiren priest who had refused to attend an  intersectarian Buddhist ceremony. -- The Saddharmapundarika and its Influence