I attempted to entice Rev. Hirota of the Shoshinkai into blogging for Fraughtwithperil. He is too busy it seems. He did send me a kind and thoughtful reply however. Just who is the Shoshinkai you ask? They were the break-away group of Priests who left Nichiren Shoshu in the late 70's during the first phase of the "priesthood conflict". Nikken Shonin excommunicated them for speaking out against the growing power of the Soka Gakkai. Among other things however they advocated that the Daigohonzon was not genuine. Funny how things played out...
Here is Rev. Hirota's thoughtful reply. Hopefully I will have more from him.
Rev. Greg
Thank you very much for your letter. For us to correctly believe in Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings, follow, practice, study and teach others correctly and do what is right, we had to separate from the Soka Gakkai and Taisekiji. This is how the Shoshin-kai was born. As for the basis of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings it lies in the 24-character phrase of Bodhisattva Fukyo, and putting his words into action. The spirit of Bodhisattva Fukyo does not exist in either the Soka Gakkai or Taisekiji. You must instill in yourself the spirit of Bodhisattva Fukyo repeatedly. This is how one becomes a true disciple of Nichiren Daishonin and develops the same mind as he. Please carry out your practice to become enlightened. Raido (Rev. Hirota)
Bodhisattva Fukyo’s words: I respect you deeply. I do not despise you, not even a little, or look down on you with contempt, for you have the capacity to become a Buddha of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo if you believe in the law of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo and practice it.
More on religion in Japan. I've been stuck on this subject mostly due to ongoing discussions with close friends in Japan. I am incessantly fascinated with religion and specifically Buddhism as it really exists in Japan. Being an American Buddhist is a distinctly different experience than having been raised in a largely Buddhist nation, just as I am sure being a Japanese Christian is very different than in a Judeo-Christian nation. As always, a big "thank you" to my Japanese Ninja buddies for sharing their inner-most thoughts.
Anyway, enjoy…
Rev. Greg
I wanted to tell you what I have seen here in terms of religion. Japan is primitive in many ways. They have not yet come to see the difference between being Japanese and being a Buddhist or Shinto or whatever. To them, there is a model, an archetype, and they all try to fit into it. Its all mixed up together and nobody bothers to delve.
Japanese all perfunctorily attend and participate in both Japanese Shinto and Japanese Buddhist rituals. they also get married in fake Christian churches with an actor hired to portray a preacher. they sing songs about Jesus and they have to read their vows in English. They call it "American style" weddings. I find this disgusting, but it doesn’t bother them. Why? Because they don’t really, truly, devoutly believe in any of it, not even their own Shinto stuff.
None of this is religion, none of this is faith or worship! It's all just one more form of identity confirmation. One of the many "triggers" you will hear Japanese people say is "Strong beliefs starts wars." I heard my wife say this once and I corrected her quickly. Then I heard a teacher say it, verbatim, so I know that its one of the government propaganda phrases they use to keep people from thinking for themselves or believing in anything.
I remember my wife saying it was ok for us to pray at a Shinto shrine because the shrines were built for everybody, no matter who or what religion or nationality. (I didn’t react well to this, for which I am ashamed) Nothing could be further from the truth. Those shrines are not really religious, nor are they for everybody. In my opinion, they are places built for Japanese to come and reconfirm their identities as Japanese people. Having said that, there are many small, real Christian churches here. I also see a lot of Jehovah’s Witness temples. The Japanese have trouble thinking of Christianity as a simple faith, to them, it is an American religion. Anyway, I’m rambling. I guess I just wanted to say that in my experience, most Japanese don’t believe in anything but the idea of Japanese-ness. That is their only real religion.