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The Matsubagayatsu Persecution, the Izu Exile 1. Introduction This month, continuing my sermon from last month about the submission of the Rissho ankoku-ron, I will talk about the Matsubagayatsu Persecution, the Izu Exile, and the Komatsubara Persecution. During the Daishonin’s lifetime, various calamities, such as gales, famine, and epidemics ravaged Japan, one after another. Society was in a constant state of trauma and the people were afflicted with great sufferingThe Shogunate called upon the priests from the various sects of Buddhism and ordered them to offer prayers to eliminate the rampant natural disasters. Their prayers, however, failed to produce even the slightest effect . T he disasters never ceased. Witnessing the se social conditions, the Daishonin assessed the root cause of this misfortune, based on the deep wisdom of the True Buddha that he possessed, and wrote the Rissho ankoku-ron. In it, he revealed the fundamental causes of this misfortune, and he clarified the method to bring an end to the calamities. ２．The Matsubagayatsu Persecution After the Daishonin submitted the Rissho ankoku-ron, the number of the people who converted to his teaching increased little by little. The Daishonin’s teachings began to gradually attract the attention of the people in Kamakura. In the Rissho ankoku-ron, the Daishonin outlined the major causes of the disasters plaguing Japan as follows: (1) The people in society have turned their backs on True Buddhism and have upheld evil teachings; therefore, disasters have arisen. (2) The guardian deities, whose original function is to protect the people who uphold the correct Law , have been starved of the Law and abandoned the nation. They have returned to their places of origin; therefore, disasters have arrived . (3) The devils, whose negative function is to inflict various misfortunes, have replaced the guardian deities and now reside in the country; as a result, unprecedented disasters have struck, one after another. One of the Daishonin’s primary assertions in the Rissho ankoku-ron is that the fundamental cause of the disasters and misfortune is the decline of the correct Law and the spread of evil doctrines. Therefore, Nichiren Daishonin admonished the Shogunate: You must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart and embrace the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine of the Lotus Sutra. (Gosho, p. 250; MW-2, p. 45) After the Daishonin submitted the Rissho ankoku-ron, the priests of the Zen, Nembutsu, and Ritsu sects secretly plotted in order to defend themselves and protect their profits. They planed to kill the Daishonin. Their plot was carried out as a night attack on the 27th day of the eighth month in the first year of Bun’no (1260). Many Nembutsu priests and believers, who assumed that the Shogunate supported them, attacked the Daishonin at his Matsubagayatsu hermitage. This event happened on the 40th day after the Rissho ankoku-ron was submitted.
Nichiren Daishonin related this incident in the “Letter to Shimoyama”: Several thousand assassins rushed to Nichiren’s hermitage at midnight. They attacked and tried to kill me. In any case, that night I was able to escape. (Gosho, p. 1150) Nichiren Daishonin, indeed, encountered a life threatening persecution. This attack is called the “Matsubagayatsu Persecution.” After escaping, the Daishonin left Kamakura and stayed for a while in Shimousa province at the residence of one of his believers, Toki Jonin. Even though the Daishonin met severe persecutions, his determination to propagate True Buddhism never waned. During his stay in Shimousa province, the Daishonin converted Ota Jomyo and Soya Kyoshin to True Buddhism. ３.The Izu Exile Having survived the Matsubagayatsu persecution, Nichiren Daishonin returned to Kamakura the following year, the first year of Kocho (1261). He then began to propagate True Buddhism even more than before. The Nembutsu priests and believers were absolutely astonished. They wanted to challenge the Daishonin to a debate, but they knew it would be impossible for them to win. Since they failed in their attack on the Matsubagayatsu hermitage, they appealed to the Shogunate to secretly punish the Daishonin. Both the Regent Hojo Nagatoki and his father Shigetoki (Gokurakuji) hated and resented the Daishonin; therefore, they promptly responded to the complaint filed by the Nembutsu followers. Without any investigation, the Shogunate exiled Nichiren Daishonin, who was completely innocent, to Kawana in Izu peninsula on the twelfth day of the fifth month in the first year of Kocho (1261). The Daishonin stated in the “Reply to Myoho-bikuni”: Upon hearing these, the Nembutsu followers tempted various people in order to kill me. Because their plot failed, Nagatoki, the lord of the province of Musashi who was the son of Gokurakuji and knew his father’s sentiments, exiled me to Izu province with no justifiable cause. (Gosho, p. 1263) The Nembutsu followers were unable to assassinate the Daishonin at Matsubagayatsu, but they had no intention of letting him live. Therefore, the Daishonin was exiled to Izu. Being treated as a criminal, the Daishonin was put on a boat that crossed the Sagami gulf and left on a beach in Kawana on the Izu peninsula. The Daishonin stated in the “Izu Exile”:
On the twelfth day of the fifth month, having been exiled, I arrived at a
beach I had never even heard of before. When I left the boat, [I was]
still suffering from seasickness. When it was almost sunset, a passing fisherman found the Daishonin, who was suffering from seasickness. The fisherman was Funamori Yasaburo, who with his wife protected the Daishonin for thirty days, paying no attention to the tremendous risk he was taking. Later, Nichiren Daishonin sent a letter of appreciation to Funamori Yasaburo who had demonstrated the spirit of protection: And yet, though I was there in the fifth month when rice was scarce, you secretly fed me. It would almost seem as though my parents had been reborn in Kawana close to Ito in Izu Province. (Gosho, p. 261; MW-2, pp. 53-54) The Lord, Ito Hachiro-zaemon, and the people in Kawana looked at Funamori Yasaburo’s service to the Daishonin very coldly, because they knew that the Daishonin had been exiled as a criminal. However, Lord Ito Hachiro-zaemon soon fell seriously ill. He made every effort to find a cure for his illness; however, his condition did not improve. Finally, he requested the Daishonin to pray for his recovery.
Lord Ito had been a Nembutsu believer. But his illness was finally cured through the Daishonin’s prayer. He then became a believer of Nichiren Daishonin. This series of events is called the “Izu Exile.” The details of the Izu and Sado Exiles were outlined in many Goshos and were presented as persecutions by the Shogunate. The Daishonin stated: Therefore, look at Gokurakuji and his followers who have all come to ruin. (Gosho, p. 1413) While Nichiren Daishonin was in exile in Izu, Hojo Nagatoki, who was the ringleader of the persecution, was stricken with an illness and became bedridden, and Shigetoki died in a state of insanity. Those who slandered the Buddha's teachings clearly received severe punishment. It is possible that the Shogunate officials began to hold the Daishonin in awe because of the tragic circumstances surrounding both Nagatoki and Shigetoki. The Daishonin was pardoned from exile in the second month of the third year of Kocho (1263). One year and nine months had passed since the Daishonin had been exiled. 4. The Komatsubara Persecution Nichiren Daishonin returned to his hometown in Awa Province (The southern extremity of Chiba Prefecture) after he was pardoned from the Izu exile. Twelve years had passed since he had established True Buddhism in the fifth year of Kencho (1253). There was a reason for Nichiren Daishonin’s return to his hometown. In fact, the Daishonin’s mother was suffering from a serious illness at that time, and she was in critical condition. The Daishonin stated in the Gosho, “On Prolonging Life”: When I, Nichiren, prayed for my mother, not only was her illness cured, but her life was prolonged by four years. (Gosho, p. 760; MW-1, p. 230) The Daishonin’s prayer prolonged the life of his mother, Myoren, for four years. At the same time, he worked for the propagation of True Buddhism in Awa Province.
The steward of the region, Tojo Kagenobu, a Nembutsu believer who had hated the Daishonin since he declared True Buddhism, watched vigilantly for a chance to assassinate him. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the first year of Bun’ei (1264), Nichiren Daishonin, accompanied by ten attendants, was on the way to the residence of one of his believers, Kudo Yoshitaka. Tojo Kagenobu with several hundred soldiers suddenly ambushed the Daishonin and his followers in Komatsubara.
The Daishonin stated in “Encouragement to a Sick Person”: This year, too, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, between the hours of the Monkey and the Cock (around 5:00 P.M.), on the highway called Matsubara in Tojo in the province of Awa. I was ambushed by hundreds of Nembutsu believers. I was alone except for about ten men accompanying me, only three or four of whom were capable of offering any resistance at all. Arrows fell on us like rain, and swords descended like lightning. One of my disciples was slain in a matter of a moment and two others were gravely wounded. I myself sustained cuts and blows, and it seemed that I was doomed. Yet, for some reason, my attackers failed to kill me; thus I have survived until now. (Gosho, p. 321; MW-6, p. 32) After the fierce battle, Kyonin-bo, the Daishonin’s disciple, and Kudo Yoshitaka died, and other people were seriously wounded. The Daishonin, himself, sustained an injury to his forehead, and his left hand was broken by Kagenobu’s sword. The wound on his forehead was serious. A four-inch scar remained. The Daishonin stated, “Yet, for some reason, my attackers failed to kill me; thus I have survived until now.” (ibid) The Daishonin said that this event was a great persecution. It is called the “Komatsubara Persecution.” One of the Five Cardinal Sins in Buddhism is injuring a Buddha; causing the Buddha’s body to bleed. Tojo Kagenobu, who injured Nichiren Daishonin, suddenly died in a state of insanity soon after he led this attack. 5. Conclusion Today I have discussed the Matsubagayatsu Persecution, the Izu Exile, and the Komatsubara Persecution. When we compare our own difficulties to the persecutions that Nichiren Daishonin encountered, we can understand that we, the believers of the Daishonin in the Latter Day of the Law, must overcome all persecutions and obstacles, no matter what devil may attack us. Let’s follow the example set by Nichiren Daishonin. When we seriously pray to the Gohonzon and do shakubuku, obstacles will interfere with our efforts to propagate True Buddhism without fail. By overcoming various persecutions, Nichiren Daishonin taught us that if we sincerely practice True Buddhism throughout our lives, we will certainly attain Buddhahood. High Priest Nichinyo Shonin instructed. Shakubuku is indeed the primary teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The practice of shakubuku—refuting evil and revealing the truth—is the way to repay our debts of gratitude for the vast and deep mercy of the Three Treasures. Carrying this out is absolutely necessary in order to fulfill the directive of doubling the number of Bodhisattvas of the Earth and then gathering at the Great Assembly. (Dainichiren-720, p. 26) No matter what obstacles may attack us, let us bear in mind that shakubuku is the ultimate practice to repay our debts of gratitude to the Three Treasures.
From the bottom of my heart, I pray that you will deepen your faith and practice toward the “750th Anniversary of Revealing the Truth and Upholding Justice through the Submission of the Rissho ankoku-ron” in 2009. |