085 The Story of Ōhashi no Tarō

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the intercalary third month of the second year of Kenji (1276) to Nanjō Tokimitsu, who lived in Ueno Village, in Suruga Province. Tokimitsu’s father, Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, had died in 1265, when he was seven years old and his mother was pregnant with his younger brother Shichirō Gorō. The death of his father and, later, of his elder brother forced Tokimitsu to assume the duties of steward of Ueno while still in his teens. He was about eighteen years old when he received this letter from the Daishonin.

In the seventh month of 1274, immediately after the Daishonin moved to Minobu, Tokimitsu went to visit him there. Inspired by that reunion—Tokimitsu had met the Daishonin with his parents when he was a child—Tokimitsu devoted himself to faith with renewed earnestness. In the first month of 1275, Nikkō visited the grave of the late Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō on the Daishonin’s behalf; from that time on, Tokimitsu looked up to Nikkō and aided him in propagating the Daishonin’s teachings.

About thirty letters addressed to Nanjō Tokimitsu are extant, no less than eleven written during the two-year period between the Daishonin’s retirement to Minobu and the date of the present letter.

At the beginning of this letter, the Daishonin praises the sincerity of Tokimitsu’s faith, expressed in his offerings of an unlined robe, salt, and oil. Such earnestness, the Daishonin says, ultimately reflects Tokimitsu’s father’s deep faith in the Lotus Sutra and surely must please the late Nanjō.

Next, the Daishonin recounts the tale of Ōhashi no Tarō and his son. According to this story, Ōhashi no Tarō, a general in Kyushu and a descendant of the Taira clan, for some reason incurred the wrath of the shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo and was imprisoned in a cell in Kamakura for twelve years. When his son recited the Lotus Sutra out of his ardent desire to save his father, the power of his recitation moved Yoritomo to stay the execution of and pardon his father. With this story, the Daishonin points out that Tokimitsu’s sincere attitude in faith is the highest expression of filial devotion and will surely save his late father.

In conclusion, the Daishonin addresses the rumor of an impending attack by the Mongols. He emphasizes that only firm faith in the Lotus Sutra will serve as protection against this threat, and points out that, although he himself earnestly wishes to safeguard his followers, the crucial thing is whether or not they develop their own faith.

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