Within Nichiren Shōshū, the spiritual current is understood to flow in a single, unbroken line from Nichiren Daishonin through a succession of High Priests (Hossu) at Taiseki-ji. The lineage begins with Nichiren Daishonin, revered as the founder, and passes to Nikkō Shōnin, who is regarded as the designated successor and the second High Priest. From Nikkō it continues to Nichimoku Shōnin, recognized as the third High Priest, and then onward through many generations of successors at Taiseki-ji. This transmission is described as a one-to-one bestowal of the heritage of the Law, forming a continuous spiritual and institutional chain.

Over the centuries, this line of High Priests has been counted as a fixed succession, each inheriting responsibility for safeguarding the teachings centered on the Lotus Sutra and the Three Great Secret Laws. While the names of every High Priest are not always enumerated in brief summaries, the tradition emphasizes that there has been no break in the transmission from Nichiren Daishonin through Nikkō and Nichimoku down to the present. The focus is less on cataloging every individual and more on affirming the integrity of the single lineage that runs through Taiseki-ji as the central seat.

In more recent times, particular High Priests are often singled out as especially significant within this ongoing stream. Among these are Nittatsu Shōnin, followed by Nikken Shōnin, and then Nichinyo Shōnin, who is recognized as the current High Priest in this succession. These figures are viewed as inheritors of the same spiritual mandate first entrusted to Nikkō by Nichiren Daishonin. Through them, the sect understands the living continuity of Nichiren’s intent to be preserved, not merely as a matter of institutional office, but as the careful handing down of faith, doctrine, and practice from teacher to disciple.