Nichiu the leper

In the "Nichiren Shoshu Seiten," p. 734, by Horiimai Nikkyo, it is written that the eighth High Priest, Nichie, transmitted the Dharma to a layman, Abura no Joren, not Nichiu.

This is corroborated in the "Biography of Nichie" found in the Fuji Shugaku Yoshu or Fuji School of Studies edited by Horii Nikkyo v. 5, p.255.. Rev. Hori was the greatest scholar of Taisekiji of the twentieth century and he was a retired High Priest]. These writings are the very records of Transmission of Taisekiji itself.

The 9th High Priest Nichiu..took heritage at 17 years old. He died of leprosy....The source for this story of Nichiu's leprosy, too is found in Hori Nikkyo's Fuji Shugaku Gaku Yo Shu V.5 p.349). It says, "The 9th generation of Taisekiji, Nichiu, became a leper."

And again in Vol.11, p.344 of the above mentioned edition by Horii Nikkyo, there is an attack against Nichiu for various transgressions. In the "Koomom Shoogi", p.561 (Orthodoxy of the Nikko School) another reference to Nichiu and his leprosy is made.

It was Horii Nikkyo who said that he had no idea who "YashiroKunishige" (the name on the daigohonzon) was, or which story of how the mandala came into Taisekiji's possession is true. Nichiu himself said that

Kunishige transferred it to Taisekiji in the 15th Century, which contradicts the story that he had it transferred to wood from a paper gohonzon that had been "hidden" for two hundred years.

The popular version today is that the wooden mandala was taken by Nikko from Minobusan to Taisekiji, but there is no mention of such a large wooden mandala being brought to Taisekiji.

Nichido, the author of biographies of Nichiren, Nikko and Nichimoku doesn't mention such a honzon at all. In fact, there were no wooden Nichiren honzons until the Muromachi period.

Nikko Shonin forbade the inscription of wooden honzons... All of the reeditions of Horii Nikkyo's original compliations have been "revised" and reformatted to omit all objectionable materials that he, while alive, saw fit to print. Another source reference about Nichiu's leprosy is in "Biography of the Patriarch (Nichiren)" by Nisshin of Yoobooji (this temple supplied

Taisekiji with High Priests from the 15th to the 26rd one, because therewere no priests to serve that function at Taisekiji ).

Nichijoo, the Abbot of Kitayama Honmonji, contemporary with Nichiu, wrote, "Nichiu went against the fundamental intention of the founder (Nikko) and inscribed the board honzon which had never been heard of before .....he received the severe punishment for perverted wisdom and blasphemy agaist the Dharma, becoming a leper, and in Sugiyama in the province of Kai (Yamanashi) hiding himself away in shame, he has died".

It is historically recorded that he died in Sugiyama, a very remote place, so that no one would see his condition.

Nichijoo went on to say, with chilling accuracy:

"If Nichiu's madness spreads throughout the world, both the priests and the laity of the discipleship of Nikko will fall to the unremitting hell. How sad for the future."