Nichiren’s Sangha Series Lay Disciples: Nanjo Tokimitsu

The extended Nanjō clan was one of the four families that gave full support to Nichiren and his sangha along with Toki Jōnin, Ikegami Munenaka and Munenaka in addition to Shijō Yoritomo. After Byakuren Ajari Nikkō left Minobusan Kuon-ji, causing the first schism in the community, he could yield support from Tokimitsu and his sister Kakju, married to Ishikawa hyōe nyūdō Sanetada, the steward of Omosu. This extended family is perhaps the only one where so many relatives had a direct relationship with Nichiren. The young Tokimitsu, his sons, daughters, brothers and sisters actively supported Nichiren through their whole life in addition to donating land and means for the Shimojō Myōren-ji and Taiseki-ji temples, where descendants of the clan tenured as Abbots and their progenies are still affiliates up to this day. This research will provide a broader factual and historical perspective outside of sectarian considerations and present the whole family into a new light.