The Style of the Various Copies of the Nichiren shōnin chūgasan

Abstract

The Nichiren shōnin chūgasan 日蓮聖人註画讃 is a biography of Nichiren 日蓮 (1222–1282) written by Nitchō 日澄 (1441–1510). This book has 12 versions written in Chinese and 9 in Japanese. Those written in Japanese can be classified into two main groups: (a) the Myōrenji 妙蓮寺 and Spencer version, and (b) the Honmonji 本門寺 version, together with published books of the Edo period. The Myōkenji 妙顕寺 version has different contents from the major types.