The Nichiren or Lotus Sect, founded by Nichiren日蓮(1222-1282) as one of the new Buddhist schools of the Kamakura Period, is based on the recitation of the title of the Saddharmapundarikasutra.'Homage to the Lotus Scripture of the Wonderous Law'南無妙法蓮華經was proclaimed as the supreme form of veneration of the Truth, and this new teaching, in spite of the strong polemic tone against other sects, had the advantage of being easy to understand and practice. Many of the believers of the Nichiren Sect came from among lower samurai class, fishermen, merchants, and artisans, who in more recent periods became very active in the cities of Kyoto and Edo. Their chief temples in Kyoto were Honpo-ji本法寺, Honkoku-ji本圀寺, Honno-ji本能寺while Ikegami Honmon-ji池上本門寺was their main centre in Edo. They often engaged in strong debates with the Shin真宗, Pure Land浄土宗, and Tendai天台宗Sects. In this paper, I analyse from the viewpoint of the history of Buddhist culture the role of such temples and their believers, with a special focus on Shibamata Taishakuten Daikyo-ji柴又帝繹天題經寺.
