January 20, 2025
GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU GREAT FIGURES WHO HAD FAITH IN NICHIREN SHU(8)
ABUTSU-BO AND HIS WIFE, SENNICHI-AMA
By Rev. Sensho Komukai
Abutsu-bo (1189-1279) was an Imperial Palace guard for the ex-Emperor Juntoku. When the retired emperor was exiled to Sado Island due to the Jokyu Disturbance, Abutsu-bo went with him as an attendant. The Emperor Juntoku passed away in 1242. Abutsu-bo and his wife, Sennichi-ama, remained on Sado and entered the priesthood to pray for the repose of his soul. They built a hermitage near his imperial tomb to chant the Nembutsu every single day for the ex-Emperor Juntoku.
On November 1, 1271, Nichiren Shonin, who was banished to Sado Island, was confined to a run-down hut called Sammaido Hall in Tsukahara. The news that Nichiren, an evil monk who was notorious for being a bitter enemy of Amitabha Buddha, was exiled to Sado Island, quickly spread throughout the island. Abutsu-bo had a virulent hostility towards Nichiren Shonin, who completely denied the Nembutsu teachings that he and his wife had held in great faith for 30 years. Abutsu-bo decided to go to the Sammaido Hall, willing to cut down the evil monk with a sword, if necessary.
Upon meeting, Abutsu-bo demanded an explanation for Nichiren Shonin’s insistence that the Nembutsu teaching would lead people into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Nichiren Shonin took time to explain why the Lotus Sutra was the supreme teaching. His lucid explanation and persuasive argument for the superiority of the Lotus Sutra reduced Abutsu-bo to silence, making him aware of how closed-minded he had been towards Buddhist teachings other than the Nembutsu. Abutsu-bo became convinced that the Lotus Sutra was the only teaching to save all living beings in this Saha World.
Abutsu-bo and his wife, Sennichi-ama, became ardent followers of Nichiren Shonin. They devotedly supported him on Sado Island. Nichiren Shonin greatly appreciated their dedicated support, saying in his letter to Sennichi-ama, “I will never forget that you visited me, often under the cloak of night, with your husband, Abutsu-bo, who carried a chest on his back while the local stewards and Pure Land Buddhists guarded my hut day and night, preventing anyone from visiting me. It made me wonder whether my mother had been reborn on Sado to support me.”
Later, Nichiren Shonin was pardoned and returned to Kamakura in 1274. Nichiren Shonin later entered Mt. Minobu. Abutsu-bo, showing no sign of senility in his old age, visited his residence at Minobu, a journey of 20 days from Sado Island. He visited Minobu three times with the sole desire of seeing Nichiren Shonin. Abutsu-bo made his last trip to Minobu at the age of 90. Abutsu-bo died at the age of 91 in 1279. In accordance with his last will, his bones were buried at Mt. Minobu, close to Nichiren Shonin’s hermitage. Nichiren Shonin gave Sennichi-ama the Gohonzon indicating that women were guaranteed to attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra. It measured 157 centimeters in length, and 103 centimeters in width. It was written for her by Nichiren Shonin when he was preparing to leave Sado Island. Nichiren Shonin also gave Sennichi-ama the Threefold Lotus Sutra in 10 fascicles and a dyed silk robe of a priest. All of these gifts proved that Nichiren Shonin showed a great deal of appreciation to Abutsu-bo and Sennichi-ama for their devoted support for him on Sado Island. They had a prominent faith in the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Shonin.
Later on, Myosenji Temple was built by one of their great-grandchildren on the site where the home of Abutsu-bo and Sennichi-ama stood on Sado Island.