was made to behead him at Tatsunokuchi in the early hours of the thirteenth day. The attempt failed, however, and the Daishonin was placed under the custody of Homma Rokuro, Hojo Nobutoki’s deputy. Although the Daishonin estimates in this letter that he would be kept at Echi for four or five days, he was to remain there until the tenth day of the following month.
For the first time in his writings, the Daishonin cites the passage from the Lotus Sutra that reads, “again and again we will be banished.” The implication
here is that, through his previous banishment to Izu (1261–1263) and the upcoming exile to Sado, the Daishonin is reading and experiencing the words “again and again” with his entire being. Although at the end of this letter the Daishonin declares the certainty of his attaining enlightenment in the future, this statement and his conviction in the face of persecution apparent in this letter can be seen as an expression of the Daishonin’s state of life as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
1. The lord of Musashi is Hojo Nobutoki, the governor of Musashi Province, who held this post from 1267 to 1273. He was also the constable of Sado.
2. Homma is Homma Rokuro Saemon- no-jo Shigetsura, a retainer of Hojo Nobutoki and also the deputy constable of Sado.
3. Lotus Sutra, chap. 13.
