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The Nichiren school of Buddhism has perhaps exercised more influence than any other on Japanese NRMs. This school was founded by Niko (1246-1233), disciple of the outspoken, militant and messianic monk Nichiren Daishonin (1222-1288) who was the son of a fisherman from southeastern Japan. The strife-ridden and war-ravaged situation of Japan in the thirteenth century provided ideal conditions for apocalypticism and for messianic figures like Nichiren to flourish. Although Nichiren probably derived much of his teaching and practice from the long-standing esoteric tradition of Japanese Buddhism, his apocalyptic, millenarian message, in which he claimed to be the one sent by the Buddha to spread the word that the then present age was the third and final age of mappo, of degeneration, can only be understood in the context of the precarious situation in the Japan of his day.

Nichiren argued for the creation of a Buddhist state as an important part of his strategy for saving Japan from disaster...

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Major Nichiren Buddhist schools

The following lists are from the Japanese Wikipedia article on Nichiren Buddhism.

Traditional schools and their head temples

Head temple names are given in Roman letters only when the reading could be confirmed. Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia.

Nichiren Shoshu: Sohonzan Taiseki-ji
Nichiren Shu: Sozan Minobuzan Kuon-ji
Honmon Butsuryu Shu ja
Kempon Hokke Shu
Hokkeshu, Honmon Ryu
Hokkeshu, Jinmon Ryu
Hokkeshu, Shinmon Ryu
Honmon Hokke Shu: Daihonzan Myoren-ji
Nichiren Honshu: Honzan Yobo-ji ja
Nichiren Shu Fuju-fuse-ha: Sozan Myokaku-ji
Nichiren Hokke Shu ja
Hokke Nichiren Shu
Hompa Nichiren Shu
Honke Nichiren Shu (Hyogo)
Fuju-fuse Nichiren Komon Shu
Honke Nichiren Shu (Kyoto) ja
Shobo Hokke Shu
Honmon Kyoo Shu ja
Nichiren Komon Shu


Non-traditional schools

Nichiren Shoshu based groups

Fuji Taisekiji Kenshokai (also, just Kenshokai) ja: Excommunicated in the 1970s [1]
Soka Gakkai Founded in 1930 by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, excommunicated in 1991 (leadership) and 1997 (membership) [2]
Shoshinkai Founded in 1980, Excommunicated in 1981 [3]
Honmon Shoshu

Nichiren Shu based groups

Kokuchukai ja Founded in 1914 by Tanaka Chigaku
Nipponzan-Myohoji-Daisanga Founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii
Reiyukai (Spiritual-Friendship-Association) Founded in 1920 by Kakutaro Kubo and Kimi Kotani, Reiyūkai considers itself the grandfather of lay-based new religions devoted to the Lotus Sutra and ancestor veneration. [4]
Rissho Kosei Kai Founded in 1938 by Nikkyo Niwano and Myoko Naganuma [5] [en.wikipedia.org]

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As the invasion of the Mongols grew surer, so did Nichiren's messianic self-image. Deeply ingrained in him was the conviction that he would suffer and even die for the sake of the Buddha. [journals.cambridge.org]

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The SGI are absolute masters at rationalising their absence of altruism or compassion for those less well placed. They plead karma like the 5th ammendment.

"Your problem - you get out of it, your karma put you here. If I help you I will be devaluing the lesson the mystic law (God) is trying to teach you. Now if you don't mind, I am late for the recording studio!"

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From Chapter 15 – This Way To Infinity

“Please have another portion,” said the Mathemagician, filling their bowls once more; and as quickly as they’d finished the first one the second was emptied too. “Don’t stop now,” he insisted, serving them again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

“How very strange,” thought Milo as he finished his seventh helping. “Each one I eat makes me a little hungrier than the one before.”

“Do have some more,” suggested the Mathemagician, and they continued to eat just as fast as he filled the plates.

After Milo had eaten nine portions, Tock eleven, and the Humbug, without once stopping to look up, twenty-three, the Mathemagician blew his whistle for a second time and immediately the pot was removed and the miners returned to work.

“U-g-g-g-h-h-h,” gasped the bug, suddenly realizing that he was twenty-three times hungrier than when he started. “I think I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” complained Milo, whose stomach felt as empty as he could ever remember: “and I ate so much.”

“Yes it was delicious, wasn’t it?” agreed the pleased Dodecahedron, wiping the gravy from several of this mouths. “It’s the specialty of the kingdom – subtraction stew.”

“I have more of an appetite than when I began,” said Tock, leaning weakly against one of the larger rocks.

“Certainly,” replied the Mathemagician; “what did you expect? The more you eat, the hungrier you get. Everyone knows that.”

“They do?” said Milo doubtfully. “Then how do you ever get enough?”

“Enough?” he said impatiently. “Here in Digitopolis we have our meals when we’re full and eat until we’re hungry. That way, when you don’t have anything at all, you have more than enough. It’s a very economical system. You must have been quite stuffed to have eaten so much.”

“It’s completely logical” explained the Dodecahedron. “The more you want, the less you get, and the less you get, the more you have. simple arithmetic, that’s all. Suppose you had something and added something to it. What would that make?”

“More,” said Milo quickly.

“Quite correct,” he nodded. “Now suppose you had something and added nothing to it. What would you have?”

“The same,” he answered again, without much conviction.

“Splendid,” cried the Dodecahedron. “And suppose you had something and added less than nothing to it. What would you have then?”

“FAMINE!” roared the anguished Humbug, who suddenly realized that was exactly what he’d eaten twenty-three bowls of.

“It’s not as bad as all that.” said the Dodecahedron from his most sympathetic face. “In a few hours you’ll be nice and full again – just in time for dinner.”

“Oh dear,” said Milo sadly and softly. “I only eat when I’m hungry.”

“What a curious idea,” said the Mathemagician, raising his staff over his head and scrubbing the rubber end back and forth several times on the ceiling. “The next thing you’ll have us believe is that you only sleep when you’re tired.”