Picture a single torch carried through the centuries, lighting up the same core belief in chanting the Lotus Sutra. That flame was first grasped by Nichiren Daishonin (1222–1282), who entrusted his secret Dai-Gohonzon to Nikkō Shōnin (1246–1333). From there, an unbroken chain of guardians—known as the successive High Priests—rose to defend and spread his teachings.

Key stops along the way include:

• Nichirō Shōnin and Nisshō Shōnin (both early disciples who helped solidify the practice in the late Kamakura era).
• Nichijō Shōnin through Nichimoku Shōnin, who navigated Samurai patronage and relentless political storms in medieval Japan.
• Nichizan Shōnin and Nichiwa Shōnin, steering the sect through Muromachi turbulence and the rise of other Buddhist schools.
• A long Edo-period stretch with figures like Nichikan Shōnin, whose scholarly rigor laid the foundations for modern Nichiren Shōshū scholarship.
• Turning to the Meiji and Taishō eras, leaders such as Nishiari Shōnin and Fujii Shōnin balanced traditional chanting with the challenges of Western influence.

Fast forward to the 20th century: after Nikken Shōnin’s controversial tenure—which sparked the 1991 rift with Sōka Gakkai—the lineage remained intact. Today, Nichinyo Shōnin serves as the 66th High Priest, enthroned in 1979 and guiding the sect in an age of digital dharma outreach and renewed interest in chanting worldwide. Whether in a quiet Japanese temple or on a livestream gongyo service, that same torch shines on, proof that a spiritual inheritance can survive political storms, social upheaval and the march of modern life.