[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.]

In order to make sure which is the right teaching for attaining Buddhahood, I have listened to the words and sermons of various priests. As a result, I have come to believe in the Lotus Sūtra, in which it is expounded that Nichiren Shōnin is the Bodhisattva Superior Practice commanded by Śākyamuni Buddha, Lord of the Sahā World and parent of all living beings, to appear in the Latter Age of Degeneration as a messenger of the Buddha with the duty of propagating the Lotus Sūtra.

Yorimoto Chinjō, Yorimoto’s Letter of Explanation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 110