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is a generic term for a venerated religious object in Japanese Buddhism. It may take the form of a scroll or statuary. The term typically refers to the mainstream use of venerated objects within Nichiren Buddhism, referring to the calligraphic paper [[mandala]] inscribed by the 13th Japanese Buddhist priest [[Nichiren]] 日蓮to which devotional [[chant]]ing is directed.
Linguistically, the root word honzon derives from ancient word , signifying a devotional object of respect or worship, (2025). 9780195132755, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195132755 and with the honorific go- prefix. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged (2012). HarperCollins Publishers.
Varying Nichiren groups accord their own meanings to the term in different ways, signifying their treatment of the object:
Paper scroll are sometimes known as or . The term is used for statuary. are often enshrined within an altar shrine ().
A is inscribed for a specific person or organization, while an is generic and produced through a woodblock printing process. Nichiren and his successors also inscribed smaller that are carried on the person.Stone 1998, p. 153. (2025). 9780761821892, University Press of America. ISBN 9780761821892 (2025). 9781400848058, Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400848058
The founder Nichiren referred to as "the banner of propagation" and "a cluster of blessings."Writings of Nichiren Daishonin 1, p. 832.
Most prominent to all such is the phrase —the primary mantra in Nichiren Buddhism—written down the center in bold calligraphy.Morgan, p. 121. This is called the daimoku or . Right below, also in bold, Nichiren writes his name followed by his seal. This signifies Nichiren's conviction that his life had manifested the essence of the Lotus Sutra.
On the top row can be found the names of The Buddha and Prabhutaratna and the four leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. The names of deities believed to protect the Pure Land, called the Four Heavenly Kings (Bishamonten, Jikokuten, Kōmokuten, and Zōjōten), further occupy the four corners, and Sanskrit characters depicting Aizen Myō-ō and Acala are situated along the left and right outer edges. Within this frame are the names of various Buddhahood, , historical and mythological figures in Buddhism, personages representing the ten realms, and deities drawn from Vedic, Chinese, and Japanese traditions are arranged hierarchically. Each of these names represents some aspect of the Buddha's enlightenment or an important Buddhist concept.Stone, 2003, pp. 277–278.
The first extant was inscribed by Nichiren on 12 October 1271 before his transport to Sado Island. Stone describes it as embryonic in form. On 8 July 1273, Nichiren inscribed a in its full form with the inscription "Nichiren inscribes this for the first time."
During his exile in Sado Island (1271–1274) Nichiren wrote two treatises explaining the significance of the object of devotion from the theoretical perspectives of the person (The Opening of the Eyes) and the Dharma (The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind). (1999). 9781898723660, Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781898723660 Nichiren wrote additional letters to his followers bestowing to them and further explaining their significance: "Letter to Misawa", "Reply to Kyo'o", "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon", and "On the Treasure Tower".
In 28 November 1991, the Soka Gakkai was excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū and thereby lost its source of . By September 1993, the Soka Gakkai began to manufacture their own version and artistic format used today for current members. A transcribed by Nichikan Shōnin, the 26th chief abbot of Taiseki-ji was selected through one of the dissident breakaway priest who provided the woodblock copy when he sided with President Daisaku Ikeda.
The used today by Soka Gakkai was copied and transcribed from the in July 1720 by Nichikan Shōnin (1665–1726), the twenty-sixth High Priest of Nichiren Shōshū. (2025). 9789004234369, Brill. ISBN 9789004234369 Another in possession of the Soka Gakkai is the wooden copy manufactured in 1974 transcribed from the by 64th High Priest Nissho Shōnin, previously enshrined in Osaka, and now enshrined in the main SGI headquarters of Daiseido Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
There are also two inscriptions from Miao-lo's commentary , The Annotations on "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra":
The Soka Gakkai organization maintains that only the conferred by their leadership brings both personal happiness and kosen-rufu, claiming that they possess the true mandate of Nichiren for widespread propagation.
By contrast, Nichiren Shōshū Hokkekō members often omit the honorific term go- when referring to used outside their religion, most especially against the Soka Gakkai variant either as a pejorative derision or refusal to acknowledge the implied sacred nature of the outside their sectarian beliefs, often citing them as either fake and lacking the ceremony prescribed to animate a for its spiritual efficacy. The lesser value of is used by Nichiren Shōshū members instead.
In the Jōdo Shinshū school of Pure Land Buddhism, under Hōnen and Shinran, the use of became more prevalent; they took the form of inscriptions of the sect's mantra Nianfo, other phrases, images of the Buddha, statuary, and even representations of the founder. Rennyo thought the written mantra was more appropriate than a statue but did not ascribe particular powers to it as do Nichiren's followers to their . (1996). 9780895810922, Regents of the Univ. of Calif.. ISBN 9780895810922
In Mikkyō practices such as in Shingon Buddhism, the term refers to the divinity honored in a rite but later came to represent the formal object of worship. The tutelary figure's role is similar to that of the yidam in Tibetan Buddhism. Tutelary deity in Vajrayana, including Mikkyō, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, are crucial to many religious practices. In the famous fire ritual ceremony, the fire itself, while it is being consumed and animated, is also considered a temporary .
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