Nichiren Shōshū is marked by a strong insistence on priestly authority and a tightly defined lineage. Spiritual leadership is vested in a single line of High Priests at the head temple, Taiseki-ji, who are regarded as the sole legitimate custodians and interpreters of Nichiren’s teaching. This hierarchical, temple-centered structure contrasts with lay-led movements such as Soka Gakkai, which reject the absolute authority of a priesthood and emphasize a more direct relationship between the practitioner and the Mystic Law. Other Nichiren schools, while often maintaining priestly institutions, generally do not accord one High Priest or one temple such exclusive doctrinal authority.

A central point of distinction lies in the understanding of the object of worship. Nichiren Shōshū upholds the Dai-Gohonzon enshrined at Taiseki-ji as the supreme and unique object of worship for all people, and maintains that only Gohonzon transcribed and authorized by its High Priests are valid for practice. Other Nichiren traditions, including Soka Gakkai and various priestly sects, make use of different mandalas or Gohonzon and do not universally recognize the Taiseki-ji Dai-Gohonzon as the sole or necessary focus of devotion. This difference in how the mandala is understood and mediated becomes a visible expression of deeper divergences in doctrine and institutional identity.

The relationship with Soka Gakkai illustrates these tensions in a particularly sharp way. After a long association, Nichiren Shōshū excommunicated Soka Gakkai, asserting that the lay movement had deviated from orthodox teaching and proper reverence for the priesthood. From the perspective of Nichiren Shōshū, authentic practice requires priestly mediation, formal temple worship, and adherence to liturgical forms centered on the Dai-Gohonzon. Soka Gakkai, by contrast, has developed a lay-centered model that stresses faith, chanting, and community-based activities without dependence on a traditional clerical hierarchy.

In relation to other Nichiren sects, Nichiren Shōshū presents itself as the exclusive heir to Nichiren’s true lineage, particularly through its connection to Nikko. Other Nichiren schools tend to be less exclusivist, often recognizing a broader range of legitimate mandalas and lineages, and are generally more open to mutual recognition. Nichiren Shōshū, however, views such plurality as a sign of doctrinal compromise and maintains a stricter, more sharply defined boundary around what it considers authentic Nichiren Buddhism.