[A letter of explanation written by Nichiren Shōnin on behalf of Shijō Yorimoto on the 25th of the sixth month in the third year of the Kenji Period (1277) and submitted to the lord of the Ema Family.]

Thus severely criticized by Sammi-kō, Ryūzō-bō replied: “No such person, who would spread the dharma at the risk of his own life, exists in this Latter Age of Degeneration. We fear the world and are overly concerned with the opinions of people. I do not think that you, Sammi-kō, will actually do as you say.”

Sammi-kō refuted him, saying: “How can you discern the mind of others? I am a disciple of Nichiren Shōnin, who is now well known in Japan. Nichiren Shōnin, my master, a monk of this Latter Age, does not seek fame as monks of these days do, has never fawned upon the powerful, and has not committed any notorious act. He is but a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, who believes that Japan is now filled with evil teachings such as those fostered by the True Word, Zen and Pure Land Sects as well as priests slandering the True Dharma. These sects revered by everyone from the emperor on top to the subjects below, have become formidable enemies of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Lord Teacher of the Lotus Sūtra. As a result, Nichiren Shōnin has come to the conclusion, according to sūtras, that the people of Japan will be abandoned by the gods and deities and attacked by foreign countries in this life, and in the next life they will all be sent to the Hell of Incessant Suffering.

“And yet, if Nichiren insists on what is stated in the sūtras, he is certain to encounter challenges and abuse; and if he does not, he cannot escape Śākyamuni Buddha’s condemnation. It is said in the Nirvana Sūtra: ‘If an honest monk, upon seeing those who break the teachings of Buddhism, does not reproach, banish, or interrogate them, he in turn will become an enemy of Buddhism.’ Concluding that if he feared the world to such an extent that he failed to speak out about the truth of the Lotus Sūtra and thus be cast down into the evil realms as a result, Nichiren has continually preached this truth for some twenty years since the fifth of the Kenchō Era (1235) till this year, the third of the Kenji Era (1277). As a result, he has suffered numerous persecutions privately and two punishments by the rulers of Japan. I, Sammi, was one of those who was arrested on the 12th of the ninth month of the eighth year of the Bun’ei Era (1271) and ready to be beheaded. Do you dare to call me a monk who would fear for his life?”

Yorimoto Chinjō, Yorimoto’s Letter of Explanation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 103-104