Back to the Index

Back to the Gosho

Reply to Kyo-o
- Kyo-o dono Gohenji -

BACKGROUND:

This Gosho was written on August 15, 1273, and addressed to Kyo'o, Shijo Kingo's infant daughter. However, Kyo'o was then only one year old, so it seems likely that Nichiren Daishonin was addressing her parents, Shijo Kingo and Nichigennyo. They had two children: Kyo'o and another daughter, Tsukimaro, a year older. Both were apparently named by the Daishonin. Shijo Kingo himself was already forty when Tsukimaro was born, and for that reason, the children must have been doubly precious to the couple. As can be gathered from the letter's opening, it was written in answer to a message from either Shijo Kingo or his wife, informing the Daishonin of their baby's serious illness. He was then living in exile at Ichinosawa, Sado Island.

The "Reply to Kyo'o," though relatively short, is significant because the Daishonin had earlier bestowed the Gohonzon on Shijo Kingo, and in this letter he explains the significance of that rare honor. Few other individuals had received the object of worship. He writes, "This Gohonzon was never known, let alone inscribed, by anyone in the Former or Middle Day of the Law." The Daishonin declares that the Gohonzon is the embodiment of his own life and the true object of worship. He urges Kingo and his wife to believe in it firmly.

The Daishonin uses the example of a lion in attack to explain that he had put all his energy into inscribing the Gohonzon. He goes on to say that with this same intensity applied to their practice, Shijo Kingo and his wife can definitely help their baby daughter to recover and become a family that is perfectly happy and free from worry.

Designed by Will Kallander