It was night on the thirteenth day of the month. Dozens of soldiers were on guard duty around my room and in the big garden. As it was the thirteenth night of the ninth month and the moon was shining in the clear sky, I stepped out into the garden at midnight to recite the verse at the end of the 16th chapter, “The Life Span of the Buddha,” of the Lotus Sūtra several times. In addition, after briefly explaining the comparative superiority of various Buddhist schools and outline of the Lotus Sūtra, I declared to the moon:

“Are you not the Moon God who attended the assembly in which the Buddha Śākyamuni preached the Lotus Sūtra? Are you not the very Moon God who was ordered directly by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eleventh chapter, “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures,” of the Lotus Sūtra to spread the Lotus Sūtra and protect the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra after His death? Are you not the god who was touched by the Buddha on the head three times and made a great vow to carry out the Buddha’s order without fail in the twenty-second chapter, “Transmission,” of the Lotus Sūtra? The vow you made in front of the Buddha would be mere empty words if not for the great difficulties of Nichiren and if you had no chance to carry out your vow. At this moment I am faced with such a great difficulty for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. You should be delighted to take the place of a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, carry out the Buddha’s order and show the evidence of your oath. It is quite unbelievable that you have not shown any sign of fulfilling your oath at the very moment when Nichiren is condemned for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. Should there be no sign in Japan where Nichiren is sentenced to be exiled, I will not return to Kamakura even if I were to be pardoned. What happens to you, Moon God, who does not show any sign but continues to shine carefree in a clear sky? It is preached in the Sūtra of the Great Assembly: ‘The sun and moon will not shine;’ in the Sūtra of the Benevolent King: ‘The sun and moon will lose their brightness;’ and in the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor ‘The 33 gods each gets angry’ in the land where the True Dharma is slandered. What happened to you, Moon God? Why can you not respond?”

In this manner I sternly accused the Moon God. Perhaps because of this a star looking like Venus suddenly came down from the heaven and perched on a branch of a plum tree in the front garden. The soldiers on guard duty were all astonished at its sight and jumped off the veranda. Some crouched in the garden, while others ran and hid themselves behind the house. Soon the whole sky became dark, strong winds began to blow, and the horrible sound of the howling sea of Enoshima Island echoed in the sky as loudly as huge drums.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 30-31