Nitchō (日頂, 1252 – April 19, 1317), also known as Niccho or Iyo-bo, was a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
disciple of
Nichiren
was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''.
Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...
who helped founding
Ikegami Honmon-ji and
Hongaku-ji.
Nitchō was the stepson of
Toki Jonin. In his youth he studied
Tendai
, also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...
Buddhism, but joined Nichiren on Jonin's recommendation, and followed him to
Sado Island
is an island located in the eastern part of the Sea of Japan, under the jurisdiction of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, with a coastline of . In October 2017, Sado Island had a population of 55,212 people. Sado Island covers an area of ...
. He helped Nikkō found Honmon-ji.
Nitcho (日頂) is not to be confused with Nitcho (日澄) (1262-1310), who was Toki Jonin's biological son. Nitcho (日澄) became Nikko's disciple in 1300, and became the first chief instructor of Omosu Seminary in the
Suruga province
was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...
.
[Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, "Nitcho": "[日澄](1262-1310): ...in 1300 gave his allegiance to Nikko... and became the first chief instructor of Omosu Seminary"]
References
External links
The Six Major Disciples of Nichiren
1252 births
1317 deaths
Japanese Buddhist clergy
Nichiren-shū Buddhist monks
Nichiren Buddhism
Buddhist clergy of the Kamakura period
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