Myoren
Myoren
妙蓮 Myoren
(1) (d. 1267) The Buddhist name of Nichiren's mother, Umegiku-nyo. Myoren means Wonderful Lotus. His father Mikuni no Taifu's Buddhist name was Myonichi, or Wonderful Sun.
See also; Ume-giku-nyo.
(2) (d. 1323) A follower of Nichiren and the wife of NanjoTokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, Japan. Myoren (Wonderful Lotus) is the Buddhist name given her by Nichiren; her real name was Otozuru. During the Atsuhara Persecution, she helped her husband protect and support Nichiren's followers despite government pressures imposed on them, such as unreasonably heavy taxes. They had nine sons and four daughters. The couple consistently made offerings to Nichiren. After Nichiren's death, they remained loyal to his designated successor, Nikko, offering a part of their fief, an area called Oishigahara, for the building of a temple that was the origin of Taiseki-ji. Myoren spent her later years in comfort and died peacefully on the thirteenth day of the eighth month, 1323. In the third month of the following year, Tokimitsu built Myoren-ji temple in Myoren's honor. Their children persisted in faith as they carried on their parents' efforts to spread Nichiren's teachings.
See also NanjoTokimitsu.
