Although I am not one of those bodhisattvas who emerged from underground, I know that those bodhisattvas will appear in the Latter Age of Degeneration. So, I, as a forerunner of those great bodhisattvas, show the essential dharma, the five Chinese characters of the Wonderful Dharma, in a preliminary manner to the people. It is like the blue bird foretelling the appearance of Hsi-wang-mu (a fairy in ancient China) or a magpie chattering before the arrival of a guest.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 172.