Lawsuit by Nichiren Shoshu is Dismissed

July 31, 2009

 

There was an interesting ruling by the Kyoto District Court June 15, 2009. The case involves a lawsuit by Nichiren Shoshu against a temple that seceded during the Shoshin-kai priest excommunication. The Shoshin-kai is a group of about 180 priests who challenged Nikken’s succession in 1980 and were subsequently excommunicated by Nikken. When these priests left Nichiren Shoshu, those who were chief priests maintained ownership of their respective temples.

 

Once the chief priest of one of these temples died, Nichiren Shoshu has been successful in reclaiming ownership of the temples—that is until this recent decision concerning Jyuhon-ji temple. The former chief priest Fujikawa was a Shoshin-kai priest and had been ostracized by Nikken. He died in April of 2008. Nichiren Shoshu filed a complaint earlier this year against Jyuhon-ji temple’s new chief priest, Yamaguchi, who currently resides at the temple, to return the temple to Nichiren Shoshu.

 

The judge in this case was particularly interested in the legitimacy of Nikken’s authority to be high priest. This is significant because for the first time, an authority outside the priesthood and Soka Gakkai has publicly questioned the legitimacy of Nikken’s succession to the office of high priest.

 

 One of the supporting points the judge referred to was the fact that there was no transfer box used as in the traditional transition of one high priest to another. He argued that excommunicating the former, deceased, chief priest of the temple in Kyoto was invalid since Nikken did not receive a proper transfer of the position of high priest. The judge dismissed Nichiren Shoshu’s claim to the temple.

 

Nichiren Shoshu priests were shocked and disappointed. Nichiren Shoshu has continued to claim that the transfer box never left the head temple, but no one has ever seen it, even during the annual Mushibarai Ceremony when all the treasures of the head temple are brought out for display. Once again, the significance of this ruling is that a Japanese court has questioned the legitimacy of Nikken’s succession.