Shortly before Nichiren Daishonin passed away, he took steps to designate Nikko Shonin (1246-1333) as his legitimate successor. Having thus, in two transfer documents, entrusted all of his teachings to Nikko Shonin, the Daishonin passed away on October 13, 1282, at Ikegami in present-day Tokyo. In the transfer documents, the Daishonin states plainly that Nikko Shonin should lead in the propagation of the Daishonin’s teachings and become the chief priest of Kuon-ji temple in Minobu.

Nikko Shonin was one of the Daishonin’s six senior disciples, and was the third anlong them iti the order of conversion. He had become the Daishonin’s disciple when he was thirteen years old, an acolyte pursuing his studies. Later, while accompanying the Daishonin during some of his severest trials, such as the Izu and Sado exiles, Nikko Shonin heard many of the Daishonin’s most important teachings firsthand. For this reason, and because of his strong faith and excellent understanding, Nikko Shonin correctly perceived the true nature of the Daishonin’s identity and intentions.

Nikko Shonin returned to Minobu after the Daishonin’s passing to take up the responsibilities of chief priest. At this point the other five senior priests returned to the regions around Japan where they were directing propagation activities. Although they shared responsibility with Nikko Shonin on rotating basis for attending to the Daishonin’s tomb, none of them returned to carry out his duty.

Furthermore, misunderstanding the true significance of the Daishonin’s Buddhism, they became estranged from Nikko Shonin, and even, to protect themselves from persecution, began to identify themselves as priests of the long-established Tendai sect.

Meanwhile, Nikko Shonin appointed Niko one of the five senior priests, who had returned to Minobu, as the head of studies. However, Niko persisted in his wrong ideas, and, under his influence, the steward of the Minobu area, Hakiri Sanenaga, took to disobeying the Daishonin’s teachings; he then ignored all of Nikko Shonin’s instructions to desist in this behavior.

At this point, in the spring of 1289, Nikko Shonin, convinced that at Minobu he could no longer properly protect the true teachings of Buddhism, left the area with his followers, bearing with him the Dai-Gohonzon, the Daishonin’s ashes and other treasures.

When he arrived in Ueno Village near Mt. Fuji, the steward of the village, Nanjo Tokimitsu, also a lay follower of Nikko Shonin, not only offered him temporary residence, but shortly thereafter offered a nearby tract of land at the foot of Mt. Fuji. This was the very sort of place Nichiren Daishonin had indicated in his writings as the best site on which to build the center for the spread of Buddhism. Here, in October 1290, Nikko Shonin, with the help of his followers, completed a temple, which marked the beginning of Taiseki-ji.

From this moment on, Nikko Shonin concentrated all his efforts on collecting the Daishonin’s writings, promoting his teachings, educating disciples, advancing propagation and remonstrating with officials of the government.

In January 1333, shortly before his death, Nikko Shonin wrote the “Nikko yuikai okitnon” (Twenty-six Admonitions of Nikko), which includes the well known article: “Until kasen-rufu is achieved, propagate the Law to the full extent of your ability without begrudging your life.” Then, after appointing Nichimoku Shonin as high priest of Taiseki-ji, Nikko Shonin passed away on February 7, 1333, at the age of eighty-eight.

Kratko pre nego je preminuo, Ničiren Dajšonin je preduzeo korake da naimenuje Nikko Šonina (1246-1333) za svog zakonitog naslednika. Poverivši mu tako, dvoma dokumentima, sva svoja učenja, Dajšonin je preminuo 13. oktobra, 1282. u Ikegamiju, današnjem Tokiju. U ovim dokumentima Dajšonin jasno izjavljuje da Nikko Šonin treba da ima glavnu ulogu u propagiranju Dajšoninovih učenja i da postane glavni sveštenik hrama Kuon-đi u Minobuu.

Nikko Šonin je bio jedan od Dajšoninovih šest učenika i treći među njima po redu preobraćanja. Bio je postao Dajšoninov učenik kada mu je bilo trinaest godina, baveći se učenjem kao pomoćnik. Kasnije, kada se pridružio Dajšoninu tokom nekih od njegovih najtežih suđenja, kao što su oni u vezi sa progonstvima na Izu i Sado, Nikko Šonin je čuo mnoštvo Dajšoninovih najvažnijih učenja iz prve ruke. Stoga, a i usled svoje jake vere i izvrsnog razumevanja, Nikko Šonin je ispravno zapazio pravu prirodu Dajšoninovog identiteta i njegovih namera.

U međuvremenu, Nikko Šonin je odredio da Niko, jedan od pet starijih sveštenika, koji se bio vratio na Minobu, bude odgovoran za učenje i studije. Međutim, Niko je ostao uporan u svojim pogrešnim idejama i, pod njegovim uticajem, nadzornik Minobu područja, Hakiri Sanenaga, odlučio je da ne posluša Dajšoninova učenja, a zatim je ignorisao sve instrukcije Nikko Šonina da se mane takvog ponašanja.

Tada, u proleće 1289., Nikko Šonin, ubeđen da više ne bi mogao da ispravno zaštiti prava budistička učenja na Minobuu, napustio je ovo područje sa svojim sledbenicima, ponevši sa sobom Dai Gohonzon, Dajšoniv pepeo i druge dragocenosti.

Kada je stigao u selo Ueno, blizu planine Fuđi, nadzornik sela, Nanđo Tokimitsu, takođe i laički sledbenik Nikko Šonina, ne samo da mu je ponudio privremen boravak, već mu je ubrzo ponudio i jedno obližnje parče zemlje u podnožju planine Fuđi. Bila je to baš onakvo mesto na koje je Ničiren Dajšonin bio ukazao u svojim spisima kao na najbolji predeo na kome bi izgradio centar za širenje budizma. Tu, oktobra 1290., Nikko Šonin, uz pomoć svojih sledbenika, završio je hram, što je označilo početak Taiseki-đija.

Januara 1333, kratko pred svoju smrt, Nikko Šonin je napisao “Nikko juikai okitnon” (Nikkovih dvadeset šest podsećanja), u okviru čega se nalazi dobro poznata odredba: “Sve dok se kozen rufu ne postigne, propagiraj Zakon svim svojim sposobnostima ne žaleći svoj život”. Zatim, nakon što je postavio Ničimoku Šonina za visokog sveštenika Taiseki-đija, Nikko Šonin je preminuo, 7. februara 1333., u svojoj osamdeset osmoj godini.