We, ordinary people, are ignorant because we do not fear or take heed to what is written in the sūtras and commentaries. Nor do we concern ourselves about events likely to occur in the future. I am sure that Hei no Saemonnojō Yoritsuna, Akita Jōnosuke, and others will be enraged with us, Nichiren Buddhists, and persecute us with great intensity. You should summon your resolve and be prepared for it. Please consider things from the position of those who would be deployed in Kyushu to fight against the Mongols, those who are on the way to Kyushu as well as those who have already been fighting. Thus far our fellow Nichiren Buddhists have not experienced such suffering. The warriors in Kyushu, however, are encountering the horrible agony of death and will fall into the realm of hell if they are killed in battle. On the other hand, though we encounter great perils now, we are sure to become Buddhas in the next life. This is like moxa treatment, painful but bearable if we keep in mind the beneficial aftereffects.

Shōnin Gonan Ji, Persecution Befalling Nichiren Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 119-120