Even at its best, Nichiren Shoshu is not traditional Buddhism, since it has displaced the historical Buddha with its founder, Nichiren Daishonin. At its worst, Nichiren Shoshu is not Buddhism at all, being a nationalistic Japanese religion that has existed for several centuries in various forms. Nichiren Daishonin lived in the thirteenth century, when Buddhism was already thriving in Japan. He preached that only his teachings were true Buddhism, that all other sects had deviated from genuine Buddhadharma. He maintained that anyone who chanted the Buddha's name would eventually find himself in hell. He said that Ch'an practitioners were following the teachings of heavenly demons.

His intentions were to drive out all forms of Buddhism, so that only his sect remained. But he failed. His extremist behavior only served to unite the different schools of Buddhism against him, and Nichiren himself was almost executed.

In the centuries that followed, there was a metamorphosis within his religion. Followers of Nichiren realized how extreme his teachings were, and returned to traditional Buddhism. However, after World War II, followers of the Buddhist version of Nichiren's teachings decided that they wanted something that was distinctively and uniquely Japanese. They returned to Nichiren's teachings and followed them explicitly, calling themselves the True Followers of Nichiren. They refused to accept any other sect of Buddhism, even the old sect of Nichiren. Today, they use the name of Buddhism to spread their own teachings. In the United States, this religion is called Nichiren Shoshu. It is not Buddhism as I understand or teach it.