As I had not heard from you in a long time, I  was feeling quite anxious. But nothing could  be more wonderful than this matter of Tayu- no-sakan and yourself. It is indeed  marvelous!

It is the usual way of things that when the  latter age begins, sages and worthy men all  vanish, and only slanderers, flatterers, smiling  backstabbers and those of crooked principles  fill the land. So we read in the sutras. To  illustrate, as the water dries up, [fish in] the  pond will be disturbed, and when the wind  blows, the sea will not remain calm. We also  read that in the latter age, because droughts,  epidemics and great rains and winds come in  succession, even the large-hearted become  narrow, and even those who seek the Way  lapse into erroneous views. This being the  case, the sutras tell us, father and mother,  husband and wife, and elder brother and  younger brother will be pitted against one  another, like a hunter and a deer, a cat and a  mouse, or a hawk and a pheasant--to say  nothing of quarrels among strangers. Ryokan  and other priests, inspired by devils, deceived  your father Saemon-no-tayu and attempted to  destroy the two of you, but you yourself  proved to be wise and heeded my  admonition. Therefore, just as two wheels  support a cart or two legs carry a person, as  two wings enable a bird to fly or as the sun  and moon aid all living beings, the efforts of  you two brothers have led your father to take  faith in the Lotus Sutra. It is solely on account  of you, Hyoe-no-sakan, that matters have  worked out in this way.

According to the teachings of the true sutra,  when the world enters the latter age and  Buddhism falls into complete disorder, a great  sage will appear in the world. For example,  the pine tree, which withstands the frost, is  called the monarch of trees, and the  chrysanthemum, which continues to bloom  after other plants have withered, is known as  a sacred plant. When the world is at peace,  worthy men do not become apparent, but  when the age is in turmoil, both sages and  fools are revealed for what they are. How  pitiful the Hei no Saemon and the lord of  Sagami failed to heed me, Nichiren! If they  had, they would surely not have beheaded  the envoys from the Mongol nation who  arrived before last year. No doubt they regret  it now.

The eighty-first sovereign, the great ruler  known as Emperor Antoku, commissioned  several hundred Shingon teachers, including  the Tendai chief priest Myoun, to offer  prayers in an attempt to subdue Minamoto no  Yoritomo, the general of the right. But their  curses "returned to their originators," as the  sutra says. Myoun was beheaded by  Yoshinaka, and Emperor Antoku was  drowned in the western sea. The eighty- second, eighty-third and eighty-fourth  sovereigns, the tonsured Retired Emperor of  Oki, the Retired Emperor of Awa and the  Retired Emperor of Sado, as well as the  reigning emperor--these four rulers had the  Tendai chief priest and Administrator of  Monks Jien, as well as more than forty other  eminent monks, including the Omuro and  others of the Mii-dera, offer prayers to subdue  the Taira general Yoshitoki. But again, the  curses "returned to their originators," and  these four rulers were banished to remote  islands.

Concerning this great evil teaching [of  Shingon]: The three Great Teachers--Kobo,  Jikaku and Chisho--repudiated Shakyamuni's  golden words that designate the Lotus Sutra  as supreme, reading them to mean that the  Lotus Sutra ranks second or third and that  the Dainichi Sutra is the highest. Because the  above-mentioned emperors placed their trust  in these distorted views, they destroyed both  the nation and themselves in this life and fell  into the hell of incessant suffering in the next.

This next special prayer ritual will be the third.  Among my disciples, those who have passed  away are probably now observing this with  the Buddha's eye. And you who have been  spared, watch with your mortal eyes! The  ruler and other high-ranking officials will be  carried off to a foreign country, and those  people who conducted the prayer ritual will  die insane, or flee to other provinces, or hide  themselves in the mountains and forests. The  messenger of the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni  has twice been paraded through the street,  and his disciples have been thrown into  prison, killed, injured or driven from the  provinces where they were living. Therefore,  the guilt of those offenses will surely extend to  each inhabitant of those provinces. For  example, many will be afflicted with white  leprosy, black leprosy or all manner of other  terribly grave illnesses. My disciples should  understand this matter thoroughly.

With my deep respect,
Nichiren

The ninth day of the ninth month

This letter is specifically intended for Hyoe- no-Sakan. It should also be shown to all my  disciples in general. Do not disclose its  contents to others.