HojoYagenta

HojoYagenta 北条弥源太 (n.d.)

A lay follower of Nichiren who lived in Kamakura, Japan. He was a samurai who belonged to the ruling Hojoclan. Yagenta was a recipient of one of eleven letters Nichiren wrote in 1268 remonstrating with top government officials and religious leaders after a delegate from the Mongol Empire arrived demanding tribute from Japan. The letters briefly restated the declaration Nichiren made eight years previously in his treatise On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land —that the country would suffer foreign invasion and internal strife if the government continued to give its support to erro-neous teachings. Nichiren urged Yagenta to help realize the holding of an open religious debate and thus contribute to ending the disasters. Yagenta received another letter from Nichiren called The Swords of Good and Evil when he offered two fine swords to Nichiren.