77, Fighting of the Lotus Sutra Organization.

Nichiren in Mt. Minobu of Kai Province ordered his high disciple, Sanmi-bo.

“You are to go to Atsuhara, and you are to support Hoki-bo.

At first, Nichiren dispatched the young Minbu Nikou to support Hoki-bo. He also sent Sanmi-bo, who was good at dispute, to make sure he was fully prepared.

However, Sanmi-bo was not satisfied.

“Why me? I have other work to do. I have an appointment to preach to the court nobles in Kyoto, and there are so few temples and people in such a rural area that it would be better to leave it to Hoki-bo alone.”

Nichiren looked Sanmi-bo in the eye.

“I have a feeling that this Suruga’s propagation is going to be a watershed event. Sanmi-bo, whether in the countryside or in the capital, there is no difference in the land of Buddha.”

Sanmi-bo still looked dissatisfied.

Nichiren reminded him.

“Tell Hoki-bo, Hyuga, and the others that they are to be informed, the people of Suruga are of the same mind.”

Atsuhara is located at the foot of the gentle and beautiful curve of Mt. Fuji.

The voices of chanting were heard everywhere in this area. The gatherings of people who were holding the Lotus Sutra were also becoming more active.

In the village headman's mansion, where farming tools were piled up in a heap, Hoki-bo's sermon was being heard by Nisshu, Niben, and many peasants. The monks and peasants were all in harmony with each other as if they were all comrades of Nichiren. Sometimes there was laughter, which was not typical of a lecture. Among them were Jinshirou, Yagoro, and Yarokuro.

The autumn harvest was approaching in the land of Atsuhara. The rice had grown to the height of a man's waist, and the village was filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest. The harvest was just around the corner.

Irrigation work was also carried out before the rice harvest. This was in preparation for next year's harvest. At the site, a group of farmers, under the guidance of the village headman, cleared the soil with a horse hoe. Rocks were also removed. Eventually, the large area of ground was flooded. It was a moment when fatigue turned to smiles.

This area is located on the southern slope of Mt. Fuji receives a lot of sunlight, so the crops grow well. Fuji's volcanic ash had accumulated over a three-meter area, making the soil sufficiently fertile. Fuji volcanic ash, which is sufficiently fertile, and the subsoil is underlain by underground water. This allowed for a plentiful harvest just by sowing the seeds. This is one of the most blessed areas in Japan.

The author recently visited here.

Iwamoto Jisso-ji Temple, where Nichiren viewed all the sutras in order to compose his Rissho Ankoku Ron, is still standing nearby. Under the dazzling sun, corn was growing in the fields in May. The local people said that after harvesting the corn, they would start rice cultivation. Once the harvest is complete, they plant tomatoes and other crops. This is the kind of land that farmers in other parts of Japan envy.

In the Kamakura period, the land would have been even more fertile. The farmers could expect a good harvest without much effort. It is no wonder that many nuns, high-ranking officials’ wives of the shogunate, owned private land in the area.

At Jinshirou's house, ears of rice were piled up all over the earthen floor.

Jinshirou came home.

“I'm home!”　

His young wife and child greeted him as usual.

Jinshirou threw his legs up. The little boy was there to greet him.

Child gave him a hug.

“You are tired, aren't you? Did the soil preparation go well?”

“Next year's harvest will be bigger. I'm looking forward to it. It looks like we'll make it through another year.”

“I really am. It's been a long time since I've had such a good year. We have a good harvest and everyone is healthy. The plague has subsided. I guess it's all thanks to our faith.”

Jinshirou said to himself.

“I hope nothing happens to us.”

The main concern for the peasants is whether or not there will be a good harvest. A good harvest would allow the family to live to see another year. If there was a poor harvest, the family and its members would be in mortal danger.

In general, no peasant could harvest his own crops. They all borrowed copper coins and rice husks from the landowners and village headmen to harvest the rice. If the harvest was good, they could pay back their debts, but if the harvest was bad, they not only starved, but also had to take on debt. If the following year's crop failed again, they would have to consider fleeing the city at night.

Peasants usually had no property. In the worst case scenario, they would have to sell their children and servants in order to pay off their debts.

The earnest pleas of the peasants of that time remain to this day.

The man who made the appeal was a farmer from the Chiba region named Shinshi-Nyudo. This appeal was written on the reverse side of the paper Nichiren had written, and was discovered by accident in modern times. It is a so-called paper-back letter. Although it is only a fragment, it is a valuable source of information on the life of the peasants at that time.

The peasant's novice, Nyudo, pleads in the following manner.

"The 'payment of the rice crop fee' was to be paid as part of the cost of building a new Katori-sha shrine in Shimousa Province, and should have come from Katori, Oto, and Kanzaki (all in the vicinity of Katori-sha), but unfortunately, due to lack of funds, the payment was not made, and in exchange, Hachirota (or perhaps his eldest son or a powerful attendant) was taken away by the government officer. The result was that the Although he managed to get an order from the lord Chiba that Hachirota would be returned to him, Hachirota still has not returned to him (probably because he could not fulfill the condition that the return of Hachirota would have been conditional on the full payment of the rice crop fee).

However, last year again, because I was unable to pay the outstanding rice payment in full, an elderly mother, two children, and a servant, all of whom were now 60 years old, were taken away, and all household goods, including pots and pans, ramie, and hemp were seized. One of the servants was immediately sold off, and the 13 kan for his services was combined with the kan that had been delivered previously to make a total of 14 kan, which was the equivalent of the unpaid amount of unhulled rice of 10,000 koku (3.8 square kilograms). Even so, the people still complained that the amount was still insufficient, and they would come into the house day and night to accuse us of being inadequate, which made us feel very uncomfortable and helpless.

I am in such a helpless state of mind that I cannot bear to leave Nagata District, which has been the domain of Lord Chiba's ancestors, and as a resident of Nagata-District, it would be unbearable for me to leave this land and wander off into exile in any direction. I would also like you to relieve me so that I can continue to live in this land. If you will do this, I would be happy to serve as the attendant to the princess of the lord Chiba. I would like to ask your master Chiba for his permission to this effect. I would be most grateful for your kindness.” ‘Susumu Ishii, Reading the Middle Ages, The Shape of the Middle Ages.’

Shinji Nyudo was a farmer in the service of the Shimousa Chiba clan. Incidentally, Toki Jonin also served the Chiba clan as a civil official.

If the rice crop, or annual tribute, failed, the family and its members were doomed to a miserable fate. He would be blamed for hiding his personal wealth. If his request was not heeded, he would be banished or flee the country (see note), and finally, he would be reduced to a lowly servant.

A servant is a slave. In this period, servants were an important productive force, just like livestock. As the complaint states, one servant is sold for as much as 13 kan.

Moreover, a servant has no personality. They were simply treated in a good way. It was disastrous when a male and female servant bore a child and their masters were different people. If the child was a boy, it was given to the father's master, and if it was a girl, it was given to the mother's master. This was the law in the Kamakura period. Even though it was common at that time, it was an unbelievable time from today's perspective.

Nichiren attributed the reason for his great suffering to the slanderous law of his past life. To strongly believe in the right Buddha law, we attract the sin karma of past lives. He likens this to the relationship between a peasant and a landowner.

“One who climbs a high mountain must eventually descend. One who slights another will in turn be despised. One who deprecates those of handsome appearance will be born ugly. One who robs another of food and clothing is sure to fall into the world of hungry spirits. One who mocks a person who observes the precepts and is worthy of respect will be born to an impoverished and lowly family. One who slanders a family that embraces the correct teaching will be born to a family that holds erroneous views. One who laughs at those who cherish the precepts faithfully will be born a commoner and meet with persecution from one’s sovereign. This is the general law of cause and effect.

My sufferings, however, are not ascribable to this causal law. In the past, I despised the votaries of the Lotus Sutra. I also ridiculed the sutra itself, sometimes with exaggerated praise and other times with contempt—that sutra as magnificent as two moons shining side by side, two stars conjoined, one Mount Hua placed atop another, or two jewels combined. This is why I have experienced the aforementioned eight kinds of sufferings. Usually these sufferings appear one at a time, on into the boundless future, but Nichiren has denounced the enemies of the Lotus Sutra so severely that all eight have descended at once. This is like the case of a peasant heavily in debt to the steward of his village and to other authorities. As long as he remains in his village or district, rather than mercilessly hounding him, they defer his debts from one year to the next. But when he tries to leave, they rush over and demand that he repay everything at once. This is what the sutra means when it states, ‘It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law.’” ‘Writings from Sado Island’

Even though the peasants could not be blamed while they were on the land, they were bound to the land until they paid back their debts to the landowner. When they could no longer help themselves and had to flee, they were faced with severe calamity, just like Nyudo who had entered the land.

It was April. The early summer sun was shining.

Jinshirou was walking along a footpath.

He looked over and saw a farmer and a samurai quarreling in the distance. Among the peasants were Yagoro and Yarokuro.

Jinshirou rushed over to them.

A Shinto ritual was being performed at a shrine in Atsuhara. The clamor was deafening at a time when everyone should be quiet.

A warrior was on edge. He was from Ryusen-ji Temple.

“What are you talking about, you peasant?”

Yagoro would not be defeated.

“What is it you want? Are you still a servant of the Buddha?”

“What? A Lotus Sutra -crazed peasant.”

“Yes, we believe in the Lotus Sutra. What are you people? You are ordained priests, and yet you are happy to poison rivers, kill fish, and kill beasts. Have you no shame?”

They grabbed each other.

Jinshirou intervened.

“Wait! What's going on?”

Yagoro was excited.

“There's nothing wrong with it. We were just walking down the street, and suddenly you started harassing us.”

The samurai also became angry.

“You are the ones. You are the ones who looked at me funny.”

“What?”

The two sides quarreled again.

Jinshirou shouted.

“Don't you get it? Fighting is forbidden. If you make a fuss, both the local headman and the local government office will be noisy. Settle it down for the time being.”

Both sides glanced at each other and were about to leave. A samurai cut down one of the peasants and fled.

Blood poured from the peasant's back. Everyone was in an uproar as they carried him away.

A group of the Lotus Sutra believers gathered at Yashirou's house.

　There were men, women, and children of all ages, and some with their families. Among them was the family of Jinshirou. Usually the place was filled with cheerful conversation, but tonight there was a strange atmosphere.

Yashirou, a representative of the Atsuhara congregation, stood up. Yashirou, a newcomer, was suddenly making a name for himself in the congregation. Because he is a representative, his words and actions are radical. Unlike the mild-mannered Jinshirou, Yagoro, and Yarokuro, he was belligerent.

“We will fight to the last. How about it? As you have all seen, the temple is to blame for this incident. We will sue them. We will confront evil.”

They all responded vigorously, but one of them, Jinshirou, objected.

“I disagree. That will not solve anything.”

Yashirou scowled.

“What, Jinshiro, is the wind of cowardice blowing in your face? You saw the peasants who were cut down. If you keep quiet, there will be more injuries.”

Jinshirou was calm.

“I'm sorry too. But think about it. The best thing for us peasants is to be safe. The Lotus Sutra says, ‘The present world is at peace.’ That temple is afraid of the increase in the number of followers of the Lotus Sutra. We can eat if we have a good harvest, but they cannot live without believers.”

“Then what should we do?”

“First, we need to see how things are going."

Yashiro disappointed him.

“You want me to be quiet? Don't be silly. Jinshirou, have you forgotten what we all promised you? Didn't we vow to fill this Atsuhara with the title of the Lotus Sutra?”

“I remember it well. But now is not the time for extremism. I have a feeling that something bad will happen if things continue as they are.”

Yashirou looked down at him.

“You're scared. That's enough, get out.”

Jinshirou's family leaves deserted. He said as he was leaving.

“Yashirou, take it easy. It is important now to protect the believers in Atsuhara.”

Yashirou did not answer.

The situation in Atsuhara was reported to Nichiren in Kai Province from Hoki-bo. Nichiren sent a letter of encouragement from the mountains of Minobu.

“If Hoki-bo, Sado-bo, the others, and the Atsuwara believers have the same mind, even if their bodies are different, they will achieve everything. However, in the case of different minds, they cannot accomplish anything even if together. This is already proven in more than 3000 scrolls of non-Buddhist. Though King Chou of Yin led seven hundred thousand soldiers into battle, they lost for having different minds to each other, to the contrary, King Wu and his only eight hundred men of Chou got victory because they were united with harmony like the one mind. If one has two minds, even one individual is certain to end in failure for a mind's conflict. Even if there are 100 or 1000 people, if they are one mind, they can surely accomplish the purpose. Although there are many people in Japan, they will find it difficult to accomplish anything because they have the same bodies and different minds. In contrast, though Nichiren and his followers are small numbers and are different from each other, because they have the same mind, I believe they will accomplish their great purpose and the Lotus Sutra will spread by all means. Though there are many evils, these cannot win to the single goodness. For example, just as many flame gatherings are quenched by a single water. This is the case about Nichiren and his followers too.” 'Different bodies, A Same Mind.’

He urges monks and peasants to unite.

　Sado-bo is the name of Minbu Nikou. He was a young man of slightly more than twenty-two years old. Hoki-bo was 33 years old. The two converted the monks of Ryusen-ji one after another and made them Nichiren's followers. The gang led by Gyochi was not silent. The feud between them became stronger and stronger.

To be continued.

Note

Banishment or flee the country.

Chousan in Japanese. Fleeing and Dispersing. A means of resistance by peasants against their lords, practiced in Japan from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.

　Peasants would evacuate their manors in groups and temporarily flee to other lands, demanding that their lords reduce their annual tribute or dismiss their lieutenants. They united by performing rituals such as the pledge to god to resist unjust taxation and censure. If their demands were accepted, they returned to their homes and were recognized as a legitimate means of resistance as long as they followed procedures such as submitting peasant petitions, writing letters of petition, and collecting annual tribute that was not subject to dispute.

　Article 42 of the Formulary of Adjudications states: "Concerning the property of a peasant who has fled" Just because a peasant in the territory has fled, his wife and children must not be seized and deprived of their family property. If there is any unpaid tribute, he should be made to pay only the amount of the deficiency. And where the remaining family members live should be left to their own devices." it states.

　King Wu

　Date of birth and death unknown. First king of the Zhou Dynasty in China. He reigned for more than ten years. Son of King Wen. Following in his father's footsteps, he united the country by destroying the Shang King. His younger brothers Gong Dantan of the Zhou Dynasty and Lu Shang of the Zhou Dynasty assisted him. In later times, he was regarded as one of the heroes.