Dai-Gohonzon

The Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teachings, commonly known as the Dai-Gohonzon (Japanese: 大御本尊 The Supreme (Great) Gohonzon), is a venerated calligraphic mandala image inscribed with Sanskrit and Chinese characters on a plank of Japanese camphorwood. The image is under the ownership and custody of the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood and is currently enshrined in the Shumidan high altar within the Hoando storagehouse building of Taiseki-ji.

According to the doctrinal beliefs of Nichiren Shōshū, the image was created by Nichiren Daishonin and is the supreme object of worship and veneration by the Nichiren Shoshu faithful. Unlike common Gohonzons enshrined by Nichiren Buddhists, the Dai-Gohonzon is not enshrined with Shikimi Japanese evergreen plants. Furthermore, the image is not exposed for ordinary public viewing except on major events deemed such by Nichiren Shoshu. Due to beliefs of its sacred nature, its "audience" is restricted to only believing Hokkeko pilgrims. The recitation of gongyo ritual is not directly performed to the mandala, rather the ritual of Gokaihi is directly offered instead.

On 7 November 2014, the president of Soka Gakkai Minoru Harada declared in SGI publication Seikyo Shimbun that the Dai-Gohonzon enshrined in Taisekiji Temple is no longer their main object of worship, a decision that came along with changes to their Gongyo prayers, which no longer mentioned any explicit prayers for the high priests of Nichiren Shōshū nor the Buddhist protection gods of Shoten Zenjin.

Previously, the Dai-Gohonzon image was widely venerated among Soka Gakkai historical founding leaders and its members. After the excommunication of the Soka Gakkai International by Nichiren Shoshu on 28 November 1991, the devotion to the Dai-Gohonzon became less prominent due to the claim of ownership by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood along with the declined emphasis of Soka Gakkai on traditional Japanese Buddhist piety and religiosity.

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