Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1999 26/3-4 REVIEW ARTICLE

liography. Accounts of N ichiren，s life go back to the early fourteenth century. Perhaps the earliest, the Goden dodai 御伝土代，was written by Nichido 日垣（1283-1341)，a third-generation disciple. What purports to be an autobiographical account contained within the apocryphal Hokke hon-monshu yosho 法華本門宗要鈔[STN 3: 2158-68) probably dates from around the same time. Hagiographies of Nichiren continued to appear throughout the medieval and early modern periods. Over the centuries, the dramatic events of his life have been represented not only in written accounts but also in painting，sculpture, plays, novels, poetry, and, more recently, films and manga.1 Critical scholarly biography 1 Several influential medieval and early modern accounts are contained in Nichiren Shdnin denkishu (N ichirenshu Zensho Kankokai 1974). For an index of N ichiren biographi cal literature from the medieval period through 1981，see N ichiren Shoshu 1982. For an overview o f modern literary treatments o f Nichiren, see Ishikawa 1980