Nichiren via the Lens of Japanese Art
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Tenrei Horiuchi (1903–1982) completed a beautiful series of woodblock prints devoted to Nichiren during the late 1950s.
Nichiren (1222–1282), one of Japan’s most influential Buddhist monks, endured persecution for his uncompromising beliefs and was ultimately exiled to Sado Island.
The above print portrays Nichiren in prison. Despite his confinement, the reverence shown by both a fellow Buddhist monk and a prison guard reflects the profound respect inspired by his unwavering faith.
Nichiren wrote: “More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body. The most valuable of all are the treasures of the heart.”
Horiuchi was a member of the Eastern Religious Art Association (Tōyō Shūkyō Bijutsu Kyōkai). Later in life, he was ordained as a Nichiren Buddhist priest and donated many prints from this remarkable series to Buddhist temples, ensuring that his art would continue to inspire future generations.
Nichiren also warned: “By an increase in anger, warfare arises. By an increase of greed, famine arises. By an increase of stupidity, pestilence arises. Because these three calamities occur, the people’s earthly desires grow all the more intense, and their false views thrive and multiply.”
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