Ishibashi Tanzan 石橋湛山 (1884–1973) was a journalist, economist, and moreover politician, who once served as the Prime Minister of Japan (1956–1957). Ishibashi’s father, Sugita Nippu 杉田日布 (1856–1931), was the 81st Archbishop of Minobu-san Kuon-ji temple 久遠寺.Although Ishibashi became a Nichiren-shū priest under Mochizuki Nichiken 望月日謙 (the 83rd Archbishop), he didn’t choose his own career as a priest. Ishibashi is well known as a representative liberalist of modern Japan.
The aim of this study is to clarify Ishibashi’s point of view on Nichiren Shōnin. Ishibashi focused on Nichiren’s vital pursuit of his faith. Nichiren had strong inner strength, never giving in to tradition and authority. Ishibashi’s liberalistic ideology made him think of Nichiren too as a “liberalist”. Differing from modern Nichirenism, which had a great impact on the Nichiren-shū, Ishibashi had his own unique interpretation of Nichiren.
