It is in connection with sacred geography that the political and ideological character of certain kanjin-style readings becomes most obvious. In a commentary on Chih-i’s Fa-hua wen chü (Words and phrases of the Lotus), Sonshun (1451-1514), a Tendai scholar-monk of the Kantō Eshin tradition, writes concerning Gṛdhrakūṭa (Eagle or Vulture Peak), the mountain where the Lotus Sūtra was said to have been preached:

[As for the tradition that] all Buddhas of the three time periods invariably dwell on this mountain when they expound the Lotus Sūtra: This mountain lies to the northeast of Rājagṛha [the capital of Magadha]. Because the Lotus Sūtra expounds the essential [teaching] that the worldly truth constantly abides, the Lotus is expounded in the direction of the demon gate, and prayers are offered [there] for the well-being of the Son of Heaven, so that the country may be at peace and the people happy. For this reason, [the temples on] Mt. T’ient’ai in the land of the T’ang and on Mt. Hiei in Japan were erected to the northeast of the ruler’s palace and revered as places of practice for the protection of the nation. … Those monks who dwell on Mt. Hiei even for a time should be understood as the assembly who hears the Dharma on Sacred [Eagle] Peak.

Here Sacred Eagle Peak, Mt. T’ien-t’ai, and Mt. Hiei are identified by virtue of all lying in a common direction, namely, northeast of the capital, and in a position to block the malevolent influences thought to originate from that direction. The equation of Mt. Hiei with the site of the Lotus Sūtra’s preaching is used to legitimize its authority as the major cultic center for rituals of nation protection. (Page 163)