Fujufuse School of Nichiren Sect (日蓮宗不受不施派)
Fujufuse (Not Receive and Not Give) School of the Nichiren Sect is a sect whose founder was Nichiren and the school founder was Nichio.
Sect founder
Nichiren
School founder
Nichio
Sozan (head temple)
Myokaku-ji Temple (Okayama City) (Okayama Prefecture)
Summary
In the Azuchi-momoyama Period, Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, who was then kanpaku (chief advisor to the Emperor), ordered Nichiren Sect Buddhist monks to attend senso-kuyo (a memorial service conducted by one thousand priests) to be held for the purpose of praying for the repose of his late mother Omandokoro (1595). At that time, Nichiren Sect's Buddhist monks were split into two groups, namely the Jufuse School that insisted on attending in order to protect the sect, and the Fujufuse School that insisted on refusing attendance in accordance with the religious regulations of Fuju-fuse-gi(nothing could be received or given). Only Nichio of Kyoto Myokaku-ji Temple refused attendance and left Myokaku-ji Temple. Further, Ieyasu TOKUGAWA ordered Nichio and Nissho (belonging to the Jufuse School) to hold a debate at Osaka-jo Castle (Osaka Tairon (Debate in Osaka)) and banished Nichio, who didn't bow to authority, to Tsushima Province (1599). 13 years later, Nichio was pardoned and returned to Myokaku-ji Temple.
In the Edo period, Nissen of Kuon-ji Temple on Mt. Minobu (Jufuse School) complained to bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) that Nichiju of Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple in Musashi Province (Fujufuse School) took believers out of Kuon-ji Temple on Mt. Minobu by slandering it (in 1630) and both schools held a debate at the behest of bakufu (Miike Tairon (Debate between Ikegami School and Minobu School)). At that time, as Kuon-ji Temple on Mt. Minobu had a close relationship with bakufu, including its privilege as motodera (head temple), it took advantage of such a relationship and as a result, the Fujufuse School, which was not appreciated by the ruler from a political standpoint, lost the case and the monks of the school were banished. Nichio was supposed to be banished to Tsushima again, but as he had already died, his ashes were banished.
Bakufu then banned the Fujufuse School (in 1665), including a ban on terauke (to register with a temple in order to prove their Buddhist faith) (refer to the column on the terauke system) (the ban on terauke by the Fujufuse School), based on 'Tsuchimizu Kuyo-ron' (土水供養論) in which bakufu asserted that the temple's estate was the shogun's offering to a temple and drinking water while walking on a road was also the shogun's offering. Under such circumstances, some temples, such as Tanjo-ji Temple in Awa Kominato, secretly kept the doctrine of fujufuse by establishing 'Hiden School' (悲田派), which ostensibly compromised with bakufu using the pretext that the temple's estate was a charity to the poor, but such a fact was revealed and the monks involved were banished (in 1691).
Many of the believers of the Fujufuse School concealed themselves in Kazusa Province, Shimofusa Province and Awa Province, which had been Nichiren's home turf and Bizen Province and Bicchu Province (Okayama Domain) where Nichiren Sect believers had increased in the Muromachi period. Like crypto-Christian, they also were searched severely and once arrested, they were punished or forced to submit written oaths of conversion. Although the believers of the Fujufuse School depended on other sects or schools for terauke, many of them were actually 'naishin' (内信), those who believed in the Fujufuse School at heart, and some ardent believers were ashamed of depending on other sects or schools for terauke and became 'donors (法立, horyu)' for the Fujufuse School by seceding from the school. Buddhist monks of the Fujufuse school were called 'hocchu' and they were led by 'hoto' (the light of Buddhism) at each place. According to the doctrine of the Fujufuse School, as 'naishin' were distinguished from believers of fujufuse and were not allowed to donate offerings directly to 'hocchu,' these 'donors' played the role of mediating between them. Such strong ties among believers constituted a firm underground organization and the Fujufuse School survived this era thanks to it. In this period, a dispute arose among the believers of fujufuse in Okayama concerning whether or not 'horyu' were allowed to act as doshi (Lead Chanter) and this dispute became a problem not only in Okayama but in the entire Fujufuse School. Since then, the school was split into the Fudoshi School (Komon school) which was led by Nikko, who was in exile in Hyuga Province, and the Doshi School which was led by Nichigyo, who was in exile in Sanuki Province, and the former became Fujufuse Nichiren Komon School and the latter became the Fujufuse School of Nichiren Sect.
After the Meiji Restoration, upon the request for restoration of the school and official government permission for the school's name, which was made by the Fujufuse School led by Shakunissho, the government promulgated (April 10, 1876) the restoration of the Fujufuse School and granted permission for the school's name on the grounds of religious liberty. Thereafter, Shakunissho founded Ryuge Kyoin Temple in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, renamed it Myokaku-ji Temple after Nichio's Kyoto Myokaku-ji Temple and selected it as the head temple of Fujufuse School of Nichiren Sect (in 1882).
History
In 1378, Nichijitsu constructed Myokaku-ji Temple (Kyoto City) (Kyoto Prefecture).
In 1595, Nichio of Myokaku-ji Temple (Kyoto City) (Kyoto Prefecture) refused to attend senso kuyo, held by Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI, while asserting fujufusegi and was oppressed.
In 1599, Ieyasu TOKUGAWA ordered Nichio, who was a monk of Myokaku-ji Temple (Kyoto City) (Kyoto Prefecture) and represented Fujufuse School, and Nichiju, who was a monk of Honman-ji Temple (Kyoto Prefecture) and represented Jufuse school, to hold a debate at Osaka-jo Castle (Osaka tairon) and Nichio was banished.
In 1630, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered the holding of a debate at Edo-jo Castle (Miike tairon) between monks belonging to Fujufuse School, Nichiju of Ikegami Honmon-ji Temple (Tokyo), Nikken of Hokkekyo-ji Temple (Chiba Prefecture), Nikko of Hondo-ji Temple (Chiba Prefecture), Nichiryo of Konishi Danrin (a school annexed to a temple) (Chiba Prefecture), Nisshin of Enyu-ji Temple (Meguro-ku Ward, Tokyo) (Tokyo) and Nichiju of Nakamura Danrin (Chiba Prefecture), and those belonging to Jufuse School, Nikkan of Kuon-ji Temple (Yamanashi Prefecture), Nichien of Kuon-ji Temple (Yamanashi Prefecture), Nissen of Kuon-ji Temple (Yamanashi Prefecture), Nitto of Myoko-ji Temple (Chiba Prefecture), Nichijun of Myohokke-ji Temple and Niccho of Renei-ji Temple (Shizuoka Prefecture), and Nichiju, Nikken, Nikko, Nichiryo, Nisshin and Nichiju were banished.
In 1666, the Tokugawa shogunate issued Tsuchimizu Kuyo Rei (土水供養令, the act for kuyo (Buddhist memorial service) based on the thought that temple estates are regarded as kuyo of shogunate) and based on it, Nikko of Noro Danrin (Chiba Prefecture) was accused of teaching fujufusegi and was banished.
In 1669, the Tokugawa shogunate banned terauke by the Fujufuse School and the school has been oppressed for a long time since then.
In 1871, the Meiji Government abolished the terauke system and the ban was removed.
In 1876, the Meiji Government permitted the restoration of the Fujufuse School of Nichiren Sect.
In 1941, Myokaku-ji Temple (Okayama City) (Okayama Prefecture) of the Fujufuse School of Nichiren Sect and Honkaku-ji Temple (Okayama City) (Okayama Prefecture) of the Fujufuse Nichiren Komon School merged and officially named itself Honge Seishu Sect.
In 1946, Honge Seishu Sect was split into two schools and each of them became independent.
Others
In Sagami Province (Kanagawa Prefecture), the teachings of this school were spread with Myohon-ji Temple in Kamakura being the center of propagation activities. According to 'Fujufusecho' (literally, the list of Fujufuse temples) compiled in 1667, there were 26 temples as shown below : Rensho-ji Temple (Odawara City), Hosen-ji Temple (Sakawa), Rensen-ji Temple (Itabashi (Odawara City)), Renkyu-ji Temple (Ogikubo (Odawara City)) and Daien-ji Temple (Nuta) in Ashikagashimo-gun, Myorin-ji Temple (Oiso-machi), Myodai-ji Temple (Higashikoiso) and Myosho-ji Temple (Higashikoiso) in Yurugi-gun, Honjo-ji Temple (Funako) in Aiko-gun, Teisei-ji Temple (Tamura), Ryuan-ji Temple (Shimohirama), Ryusei-ji Temple (Ogami), Chogen-ji Temple (Soya), Hogen-ji Temple (Soya) and Rensho-ji Temple (Teradanawa) in Osumi-gun, Myogen-ji Temple (Shimootani), Honzai-ji Temple (Takada), Myoko-ji Temple (Murota), Myoko-ji Temple (Ichinomiya) and Myozen-ji Temple (Fujisawa City) in Koza-gun and Honko-ji Temple (Omachi), Myoten-ji Temple (Koshigoe), Honryu-ji Temple (Koshigoe), Bukko-ji Temple (Fueta), Myocho-ji Temple (Ranbashi) and Enkyu-ji Temple (Tokiwa) in Kamakura-gun. The above accounts for 68% of branch temples listed in 'Honmatsu cho' (The book of the relation between head and branch temples) compiled in 1633.
(refer to page 353 of Kamakura City, "The History of Kamakura-City, The overview of modern history" Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1990)