title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in Southern Tuscany, and cultivated trade in Livorno. To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of Mulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on Mulberry leaves). He shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg hegemony by marrying the first non-Habsburg candidate since Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence, Christina of Lorraine, a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba. To strengthen the new Tuscan alliance, he married the deceased Francesco's younger daughter, Marie, to Henry IV of France. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged. Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando sponsored a Tuscan colony in America, with the intention of establishing a Tuscan settlement in the area of what is now French Guiana. Despite all of these incentives to economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence, at dawn of the 17th century, was a mere 75,000 souls, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy: Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo and Naples. Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to be wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty. The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources. The fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Ferdinando, despite no longer being a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive Papal conclaves; elections which chose the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected as Pope Leo XI. Leo XI died less than a month later, but fortunately for the Medici his successor Pope Paul V was also pro-Medici. Ferdinando's pro-Papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overcome with religious orders, all of whom were not obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; however, his inaction in international affairs drew Tuscany into the provincial yolk of politics.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Ferdinando's elder son, Cosimo, mounted the throne following his death. Like his uncle, Francesco I, government held no appeal for him, and Tuscany was ruled by his ministers. Cosimo II's twelve-year reign was punctuated by his contented marriage with Maria Maddalena and his patronage of astronomer Galileo Galilei.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: When Cosimo died, his oldest son, Ferdinando, was still a minor. This led to a regency of Ferdinand's grandmother, Dowager Grand Duchess Christina, and his mother, Maria Maddalena of Austria. Christina heavily relied on priests as advisors, lifting Cosimo I's ban on clergy holding administrative roles in government, and promoted monasticism. Christina dominated her grandson long after he came of age until her death in 1636. His mother and grandmother arranged a marriage with Vittoria della Rovere, a granddaughter of the Duke of Urbino, in 1634. Together they had two children: Cosimo, in 1642, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro, in 1660.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Ferdinando was obsessed with new technology, and had several hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the Pitti. In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici, the Grand Duke's youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento, which set up to attract scientists from all over Tuscany to Florence for mutual study.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Tuscany was one of the states of the Holy Roman Empire that sided with the Emperor in the Thirty Years War, sending thousands of troops to support the pro-Imperial side from 1631. Among the commanders of the detachment were three of the grand duke's brothers; two died and one, Mattias de'Medici, became general of artillery and served for a decade. Like the Empire's other loyal Italian subjects, the Tuscans were "hawks" who supported prosecuting the war to its conclusion. Francesco de' Medici, Mattias de'Medici, and Ottavio Piccolomini (an Imperial general of Sienese origin) were among the ringleaders in the plot to assassinate field marshal Albrecht von Wallenstein, for which they were rewarded with spoils by Emperor Ferdinand II.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Urban VIII in 1643. The treasury was so empty that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds. The interest rate was lowered by 0.75%. The economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places. The exchequer was barely adequate to cover the state's current expenditure, resulting in a complete termination of banking operations for the Medici. Ferdinando II died in 1670, succeeded by his oldest surviving son Cosimo.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Cosimo III's reign was characterised by drastic changes and a sharp decline of the Grand Duchy. Cosimo III was of a puritan character, banning May celebrations, forcing prostitutes to pay for licenses and, beheading sodomites. He also instituted several laws censoring education and introduced anti-Jewish legislation. He imposed crippling taxes while the country's population continued to decline. By 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt, and the population of Florence had declined by approximately 50%, while the population of the entire grand duchy had decreased by an estimated 40%. The once powerful navy was reduced to a pitiful state.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his feudal overlord, high dues. He sent munitions to the Emperor during the Battle of Vienna. Tuscany was neutral during the War of the Spanish Succession, partly due to Tuscany's ramshackle military; a 1718 military review revealed that the army numbered less than 3,000 men, many of whom were infirm and elderly. Meanwhile, the state's capital, Florence, had become full of beggars. Europe heard of the perils of Tuscany, and Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor asserted a remote claim to the grand duchy (through some Medici descent), but died before he could press the matter. The Treaty of the Hague reconfirmed the statuses of Tuscany and Parma-Piacenza as imperial fiefs.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Cosimo married Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. Their union wrought a high level of discontentment, but despite the tension they had three children, Ferdinando, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine and the last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de' Medici. Neither of Cosimo's two sons was a suitable heir; Ferdinando was an alcoholic and epileptic, while his younger son, Gian Gastone, according to historian Paul Strathern, was not appropriate material for the role of sovereign.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Cosimo contemplated restoring the Republic of Florence, a decision that was complicated by the Grand Duchy's feudal status: Florence was an Imperial fief, Siena a Spanish one. The plan was about to be approved by the powers convened at Geertruidenberg when Cosimo abruptly added that if himself and his two sons predeceased his daughter, the Electress Palatine, she should succeed and the republic be re-instituted following her death. The proposal sank, and ultimately died with Cosimo in 1723.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Cosimo III was succeeded by his son, Gian Gastone, who, for most of his life, kept to his bed and acted in an unregal manner, rarely appearing to his subjects, to the extent that, at times, he had been thought dead. Gian Gastone would repeal his father's puritan laws. In 1731, the Powers gathered at Vienna to decide who would succeed Gian Gastone. They drew up the Treaty of Vienna, which gave the grand ducal throne to Don Carlos, Duke of Parma. Gian Gastone was not as steadfast in negotiating Tuscany's future as his father was. He capitulated to foreign demands, and instead of endorsing the claim to the throne of his closest male relative, the prince of Ottajano, he allowed Tuscany to be bestowed upon Francis Stephen of Lorraine. Don Carlos became King of Naples shortly after his arrival in Florence in 1735, by the Treaty of Turin. Soon after, Francis Stephen of Lorraine became heir to the Tuscan throne. Gian Gastone had no say in events and had become quite attached to the Spanish Infante. The Tuscans despised the new occupying "Lorrainers", as they interfered with the Tuscan government, while the occupying Spaniards had not done so. On July 9 1737, Gian Gastone died; the last male Medici of the Grand Ducal line.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Francis I (as Francis Stephen became known) lived in Florence briefly with his wife, the Habsburg heiress Maria Theresa, who became Tuscany's grand duchess. Francis had to cede his ancestral Duchy of Lorraine in order to accommodate the deposed ruler of Poland, whose daughter Marie Leszczyńska became Queen of France and of Navarre in 1725. Marie's father Stanisław I of Poland ruled Lorraine as compensation for his loss of the Kingdom of Poland. Francis was reluctant to resign the duchy, but Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (Maria Theresa's father) stated that if he didn't relinquish his rights to Lorraine, he could not marry Maria Theresa. Francis did not live in his Tuscan realm, and lived in the capital of his wife's realm, Vienna. He was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1745. He died at Innsbruck from a stroke in 1765; his wife pledged the rest of her life to mourning him, while co-ruling with her son, and Francis' imperial successor Joseph II. Tuscany passed to another son, Leopold, through secundogeniture. The administrative structure of the grand duchy itself would see little change under Francis I.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Since their accession to the throne of Grand Dukes, the Habsburgs continually tried to make Tuscany a source of military power, to little success, as Tuscany had declined and demilitarized in the 18th century. Such was the failure of their initial effort that Vienna declared Tuscany to be neutral during the War of the Austrian Succession, and enemy troops crossed it unopposed. At that time the Habsburgs' efforts had only managed to muster a standing army of 3,000 poorly-trained troops. A modest plan to create a 5,000-strong Tuscan army under German officers was only semi-successful. Tuscan troops served the Emperor in Silesia during the Seven Years' War. The first contingent of 3,000 troops arrived in 1758, followed by a second contingent of 1,500, and subsequent smaller ones to replace losses from battle and disease. The fear that the Emperor would impose conscription on the duchy caused 2% of the population to flee to the Papal States.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Francis' second surviving son Peter Leopold became grand duke of Tuscany and ruled the country until his brother Joseph's death. He was unpopular among his subjects, though his many reforms brought the Grand Duchy to a level of stability that had not been seen in quite a while.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Leopold developed and supported many social and economic reforms. He revamped the taxation and tariff system. Smallpox vaccination was made systematically available (Leopold's mother Maria Theresa had been a huge supporter on inoculation against smallpox), and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold also abolished capital punishment. On 30 November 1786, after having de facto blocked capital executions (the last was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the penal code that abolished the death penalty and ordered the destruction of all the instruments for capital execution in his land. Torture was also banned.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Leopold also introduced radical reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of the mentally ill. On 23 January 1774, the "legge sui pazzi" (law regarding the insane) was established, the first of its kind to be introduced in Europe, allowing steps to be taken to hospitalize individuals deemed insane. A few years later Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the Bonifacio. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, Vincenzo Chiarugi, at its head. Chiarugi and his collaborators introduced new humanitarian regulations in the running of the hospital and caring for the mentally ill patients, including banning the use of chains and physical punishment, and in so doing have been recognized as early pioneers of what later came to be known as the moral treatment movement.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Leopold attempted to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the government. These measures, which disturbed the deeply rooted convictions of his people and brought him into collision with the pope, were not successful.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Leopold also approved and collaborated on the development of a political constitution, said to have anticipated by many years the promulgation of the French constitution and which presented some similarities with the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1778. Leopold's concept of this was based on respect for the political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative. However, the constitution was so radically new that it garnered opposition even from those who might have benefited from it. In 1790, Emperor Joseph II died without issue and Leopold was called to Vienna, to assume the rule of his family's Austrian dominions and become Emperor. His second son Ferdinand became ruler of the Grand Duchy. Leopold himself died in 1792.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Leopold was succeeded by Ferdinand III. Ferdinand was the son of the incumbent Grand Duke, and Grand Duchess Maria Louisa. He was forced out by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars, first in spring 1799 when a jacobin provisional government was created by the French army, and then after the Treaty of Aranjuez (1801), becoming instead Elector of Salzburg, ruling the territory of the former archbishopric. The Grand Duchy was then dissolved, and replaced by the Kingdom of Etruria under the house of Bourbon-Parma, in compensation for their loss of Duchy of Parma. In 1803, the first King of Etruria, Louis I, died and was succeeded by his infant son, Charles Louis, under the regency of his mother, Queen María Luisa.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Etruria lasted less than a decade. By the Treaty of Fontainebleau (27 October 1807), Etruria was to be annexed by France. The negotiations had been between Spain and France, and the Etrurian regent was kept entirely in the dark, only being informed that she would have to leave her young son's kingdom on 23 November 1807. She and her court left on 10 December. On 30 May 1808, Etruria was formally annexed to France. An "Extraordinary Giunta" was placed in charge under General Jacques François Menou. Tuscany was divided into the "départements" of Arno, Méditerranée and Ombrone. In March 1809 a "General Government of the Departments of Tuscany" was set up, and Napoleon Bonaparte put his sister Elisa Bonaparte at its head, with the title of Grand Duchess of Tuscany.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: The Napoleonic system collapsed in 1814, and the following territorial settlement, the Congress of Vienna, ceded the State of Presidi to a restored Tuscany. Ferdinand III resumed his rule, and died in 1824. Italian nationalism exploded in the post-Napoleonic years, leading to the establishment of secret societies bent on a unified Italy. Whence these leagues arrived in Tuscany, a concerned Ferdinand requisitioned an Austrian garrison, from his brother Emperor Francis of Austria, for the defence of the state. Ferdinand aligned Tuscany with Austria.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Following Ferdinand's death, his elder son, Leopold II, succeeded him. Leopold was contemporarily acknowledged as a liberal monarch. Despite his merits, most his subjects still dismissed him as a foreigner. His affinity for Austria was equally unpalatable. In 1847, Leopold, following the death of the then-incumbent Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise of Austria, and the secret Treaty of Florence (1844), annexed the Duchy of Lucca, a state created solely to accommodate the House of Bourbon-Parma until they could re-assume their Parmese sovereignty. The Duke of Lucca decided to abdicate his throne in favor of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopoldo II, while the Lucca territories of Montignoso, Gallicano, Minucciano and Castiglione di Garfagnana were given to Modena. Tuscany then ceded its Lunigiana territories to Modena with the exception of Pontremoli which passed to the Duchy of Parma. The same year, a Tuscan state council was brought into being.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In Leopold's years Italy was engulfed in popular rebellion, culminating in the Revolutions of 1848. The said revolution toppled the throne of France, and caused disarray across Europe. In Tuscany, Leopold II sanctioned a liberal constitution; and instituted a liberal ministry. Despite his attempts at acquiescence, street fighting in opposition to the regime sprang up in August, in Livorno. Leopold II lent his support to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Austro-Sardinian War. In February 1849, Leopold II had to abandon Tuscany to Republicans and sought refuge in the Neapolitan city of Gaeta. A provisional republic was established in his stead. It was only with Austrian assistance that Leopold could return to Florence. The constitution was revoked in 1852. The Austrian garrison was withdrawn in 1855.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: The Second Austro-Sardinian war broke out in the summer of 1859. Leopold felt obliged to espouse Austria's cause. Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia captured Tuscany in its entirety, and held it for the duration of the conflict; Leopold fled Tuscany as a result. The Peace of Villafranca allowed Leopold to return once more. Upon arrival, he abdicated in favour of his elder son, Ferdinand. Ferdinand IV's hypothetical reign didn't last long; the House of Habsburg-Lorraine was formally deposed by the National Assembly on 16 August 1859.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In December 1859, the Grand Duchy was joined to the Duchies of Modena and Parma to form the United Provinces of Central Italy, which were annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia a few months later. On 22 March 1860, after a referendum that voted overwhelmingly (95%) in favour of a union with Sardinia; Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia. Italy was unified in 1870, when the remains of the Papal States were annexed in that September, deposing Pope Pius IX.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Tuscany was divided into two main administrative districts: the "stato nuovo" (the new state) consisting of the former Republic of Siena, and the "stato vecchio" (the old state), the old Republic of Florence and her dependencies. The two areas were governed by separate laws. They were divided because the "stato nuovo" was a Spanish fief and the "stato vecchio" an Imperial one. Siena was ruled by a governor appointed by the grand duke. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor proclaimed Alessandro de' Medici, ruler of Florence "for his lifetime, and after his death to be succeeded by his sons, male heirs and successors, of his body, by order of primogeniture, and failing them by the closest male of the Medici family, and likewise in succession forever, by order of primogeniture."


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Following the Republic's surrender in the Siege of Florence, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor issued a proclamation explicitly stating that he and he alone could determine the government of Florence. On 12 August 1530, the Emperor created the Medici hereditary rulers ("capo") of the "Republic" of Florence. Pope Clement VII willed his relative Alessandro de' Medici to be the monarchical ruler of Florence, and went about requisitioning that dignity carefully; he wanted to give the impression that the Florentines democratically chose Alessandro to be their monarch. In April 1532, the Pope convinced the "Balía", Florence's ruling commission, to draw up a new constitution. The document in question was officiated on the 27th of that month. It formally created a hereditary monarchy, abolished the age-old "signoria" (elective government) and the office of "gonfaloniere" (titular ruler of Florence elected for a two-month term); in their place was the "consigliere", a four-man council elected for a three-month term, headed by the "Duke of the Florentine Republic" (and later the Grand Duke of Tuscany). The Senate, composed of forty-eight men, chosen by the constitutional reform commission, was vested with the prerogative of determining Florence's financial, security, and foreign policies. Additionally, the senate appointed the commissions of war and public security, and the governors of Pisa, Arezzo, Prato, Voltera and Cortona and ambassadors. To be eligible, one had to be male and a noble. The Council of Two Hundred was a petitions court; membership was for life. This constitution was still in effect through the Medicean grand duchy, albeit the institutions decayed and powerless by the rule of Ferdinando II.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Over time, the Medici acquired several territories, which included: the County of Pitigliano, purchased from the Orsini family in 1604; the County of Santa Fiora, acquired from the House of Sforza in 1633; Spain ceded Pontremoli in 1650, Silvia Piccolomini sold her estates, the Marquisate of Castiglione at the time of Cosimo I, Lordship of Pietra Santa, and the Duchy of Capistrano and the city of Penna in the Kingdom of Naples. Vittoria della Rovere brought the Duchies of Montefeltro and Rovere into the family in 1631, upon her death in 1694, they passed to her younger son, Francesco Maria de' Medici. They reverted to the crown with the ascension of Gian Gastone.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Gian Gastone, the last Medici, resigned the grand duchy to Francis Stephen of Lorraine. Under him, Tuscany was ruled by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, Prince de Craon. Francis Stephen altered the laws of succession in 1763, when he declared his second son, Leopold, heir to the grand duchy. If Leopold's line were to become extinct, it would revert to the main line. Every grand duke after Leopold resided in Florence; they were considered to be pro-Habsburg. The grand duke Leopold II agreed to ratify a liberal constitution in 1848. He was briefly deposed by a provisional government in 1849, but restored to power the same year by Austrian troops. The government was finally dissolved upon its annexation to the United Provinces of Central Italy in 1859. The court moved to Salzburg and lived there in exile until 1918.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In addition to its regular army, the duchy maintained a citizen-militia. This was used both for the protection of towns and fortresses that the army was not able to garrison, and as a reserve from which semi-trained men would be drawn into the army. The militia had its origins in 1498, in the predecessor state of the Florentine Republic. By 1506, it numbered 20,000 men, of whom 70% carried pikes, 20% halberds/bills and hog-spears, and 10% either arquebuses or crossbows. However, the size and quality of the duchy's militia varied throughout its existence, as did its army.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: From 1553 to 1559, Tuscany raised 30,000 troops for their participation in the Last Italian War, which saw the Republic of Siena being added to the duchy. For the decades thereafter, the grand dukes only maintained a peacetime force of 2,500 soldiers, 500 cavalry to patrol the coasts and 2,000 infantry to man castles (Cosimo I having significantly expanded Tuscany's fortification network in an effort to defend the country). An anonymous Venetian intelligence report from the late 16th century stated that Tuscany could spend 800,000 ducats annually on war (half as much as the Spanish-held Kingdom of Naples despite having a quarter of its population), and could raise 40,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, counting soldiers, militia, and mercenaries from nearby Corsica and Romagna, a force massively out of proportion to its population. Hanlon considers the report overly optimistic, but with some basis in fact.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In response to the Türkenkriege during the Long Turkish War starting in 1593, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany sent 100,000 scudi and 3,600 soldiers (3,000 infantry and 600 cavalry) to support the Holy Roman Emperor in Hungary, plus smaller detachments thereafter (there were 2,000 Tuscans in the Imperial army in Hungary by 1601). A Tuscan-Spanish treaty that bound the two at the end of the Italian Wars demanded that Tuscany send 5,000 troops to the Spanish army if ever Lombardy or Naples was attacked. In 1613, Cosimo II sent 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, along with an undisclosed number of Tuscan adventurers, to aid the Spanish after Savoy launched an invasion of the Monferrato.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In 1631, the grand duke sent 7,000 troops (6,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry) to join Wallenstein's army in support of the Emperor during the Thirty Years War. From 1629 to 1630 he also sent 6,000 troops to join the Spanish in the War of the Mantuan Succession, plus a naval detachment and funds to pay for 4,000 Swiss mercenaries. In 1643, during the Castro War, the Tuscan army was between 5,000 and 10,000 good troops, including foreign mercenaries but not including militia. Yves-Marie Berce figures that most of those troops were of French or Swiss origin, but Hanlon disputes this, saying that Italians comprised a larger portion, and that the specific origins of the troops have very little information to go on. He also cites the fact that many Italians served as mercenaries outside of Italy, though he admits that (other than the well-known mercenary tradition of Corsica) there is no information on their state origins. The duchy's largest military deployment came during this war, when in June 1643 over 10,000 troops (7,000 Tuscans in eight regiments of infantry recruited from militia, garrison troops, and veteran mercenaries; 1 regiment of German infantry; 2,400 cavalry, a quarter of whom were Germans; and 1 regiment of Tuscan dragoons) with 18 cannons invaded the Papal States holding of Umbria, while other troops and militia were left garrisoning the grand duchy's major citadels, coastal forts, and border forts. Militia were recruited into the army as needed to replace losses.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: Tuscany's economic and military strength cratered from the second half of the 17th century onward, which was reflected in the quality of its army; by 1740 it only consisted of a few thousand poorly-trained men and was considered impotent to such a degree that its Habsburgs rulers allowed enemy troops to cross the duchy unopposed.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In 1572 the Tuscan navy consisted of 11 galleys, 2 galleasses, 2 galleons, 6 frigates, and various transports, carrying in all 200 guns, manned by 100 knights, 900 seamen, and 2,500 oarsmen. With the end of Spanish subsidies, in 1574 the navy shrunk to 4 galleys. Grand Duke Ferdinand I sought to expand Tuscany's naval strength during his reign, and cooperated with the Order of Saint Stephen, which often blurred the line between itself and the Tuscan navy. The Order in 1604 counted among its fleet 6 galleys, 3 roundships/"bertoni", 2 transports, 1 galleon, and 1 galleass, supplemented by other ships financed by corsairs flying the Tuscan banner. Ferdinand I expanded the Tuscan fleet after expanding the arsenal at Livorno, and oversaw many raids by both the navy and Order, including on Chios in 1599 (a failure), Prevesa in 1605 (5 galleys with 400 Tuscan militia; a success), various Turkish ports in 1606 (6 galleys, some roundships, and 750 Tuscan soldiers; a success), and Bone in 1607 (8 galleys, 9 "bertoni", and 1 galleon, with 2,300 soldiers; a success). From 1560 to 1609, the Tuscan fleet captured 76 galiots, 7 galleys, 2 large roundships, and 67 minor craft, taking 9,620 slaves and liberating 2,076 Christians. The preponderance of small vessels among the prizes indicates that most of the trophies were easy victories.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: The Tuscans were early pioneers in the deployment of roundships, as technology made manpower-heavy galleys less efficient. They launched several big ships at Portoferraio after 1601, with an armament of 40 guns each yet only 60 seamen each. 8 of them around 1610 floated a total of 200 guns. They began to raid independently of the galleys on long voyages to the Levant. In 1608, they intercepted a Turkish convoy of 42 vessels off Rhodes, seizing 9 and netting 600 slaves and a booty of 1 million ducats, equivalent to two years of revenue for the whole grand duchy. Under Grand Duke Cosimo II, 7 roundships carrying 1,800 soldiers were sent to the Mediterranean from 1609 to 1611. This expedition was less successful, costing 800 men and 4 ships disabled. The grand duke also enticed English corsairs in North Africa to use Livorno as a base instead in exchange for amnesty and a share of their profits; Livorno quickly became a corsair capital, with the corsairs preying on both Muslim and Christian shipping.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: After 1612, the Tuscans progressively stopped sending out expeditions and limited their naval operations to patrols. This can be observed in the register of prizes of the Order of Saint Stephen. It lists some 238 vessels captured from 1563 to 1688; enemy galleys captured from 1568 to 1599 were 11 (for the loss of an identical number), and another 17 were seized between 1602 and 1635. Only 1 was captured after 1635. A notable incident in this time was a naval battle off Sardinia in October 1624, in which 15 Tuscan, Papal, and Neapolitan galleys converged on a flotilla of 5 Algerian pirate vessels (including a large flagship). In the 10-hour battle, punctuated by cannon fire and boarding actions, 600 pirates were killed or captured and they lost 4 of the 5 ships (3 sunk, 1 captured), while the Italians lost 60 dead.


title: Grand Duchy of Tuscany

text: In 1686, Tuscany sent 4 galleys, 4 galiots, and 2 other vessels carrying 870 soldiers to participate in the Morean War (a battalion of 400 Tuscans were already serving there). In 1687 the Tuscans sent an additional 4 galleys, plus 2 hired foreign galleys, carrying 860 more soldiers, including German mercenaries. In 1688, another 6 galleys and 860 soldiers joined the fray. All three contingents suffered high casualties, a third for the first two and over half for the third.


title: Isaiah Stannard

text: Isaiah Stannard (born October 1, 2004) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben in "Good Girls".


title: Isaiah Stannard

text: Isaiah has appeared in a couple television programs, a single film, and a few short films. His first major credited role was a voiceover of the Croatian short film "", where he provided the English voiceover for the young Carl Sagan. His other extra work includes his appearance in "Brad's Status", and his role in short films such as "Party Dress", where he played Harper. His largest role was his recurring appearance in "Good Girls", where he played Ben (formerly known as Sadie), a trans character that received a large degree of positive support in his coming-out scene. Isaiah also appeared in "Genera+ion" as Evan.


title: Isaiah Stannard

text: Isaiah Stannard was born in Manhattan, New York City on October 1, 2004. A notable feature of his life is his openness about being transgender; all of his acting roles after his coming out have been trans characters. Isaiah is outspoken about his experience with transitioning and how it affected his career. During the early stages of filming for "Good Girls" Isaiah came out as transgender, identifying as male. This led to an open conversation between Isaiah and executive producer Jenna Bans about how best to portray the character.


title: Heritage USA

text: Heritage USA was an American Christian-themed water park, theme park and residential complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, built by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, founders of "The PTL Club".


title: Heritage USA

text: The park, which occupied , was built by church builder Roe Messner. Since its closure in 1989, projects have been constructed on the land it once occupied, portions of which have been sold to several companies.


title: Heritage USA

text: The former Heritage USA facilities in Fort Mill, South Carolina, which were purchased by MorningStar Fellowship Church in 2004, were renamed Heritage International Ministries (H.I.M.).


title: Heritage USA

text: Heritage USA opened in 1978, and by 1986, it attracted nearly 6 million visitors annually and employed around 2,500 people. The facilities included the 501-room Heritage Grand Hotel, the attraction Main Street USA, an indoor shopping complex, the Heritage Village Church, Upper Room, a 400-unit campground, The Jerusalem Amphitheater, conference facilities, King's Castle, a skating rink, prayer and counseling services, cable television production studios, Bible and evangelism school, visitor retreat housing, staff and volunteer housing, timeshares and the Heritage Island water park and recreational facilities. It was the third-largest theme park by attendance, with 4.9 million visitors per year, behind only Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Heritage USA was described as a Christian version of Disneyland; before the scandal leading to its closure, Jim Bakker had plans to expand the park.


title: Heritage USA

text: According to the September 21, 1987, issue of "Time" magazine, televangelist Jerry Falwell "plunged" down a "hellish" water slide called the "Typhoon" wearing a suit, fulfilling "a promise made during a fund-raising drive that netted $20 million for the debt-ridden PTL". This drive eventually took the PTL Club and Heritage USA from Jim Bakker. The article said Jim Bakker "arranged for Falwell to take over PTL in March in an effort to avoid what he called a 'hostile takeover' of the television ministry by people threatening to expose a sexual encounter he admitted to having seven years earlier with church secretary Jessica Hahn." Photographs of Falwell's water-slide plunge circulated worldwide. Video of the slide is also available on YouTube.


title: Heritage USA

text: At Heritage USA's peak, when it earned $126 million per year, the IRS revoked its tax exemption. Soon after Bakker's federal indictment and public condemnation for raping and drugging Jessica Hahn and a man seven years before, park attendance dropped. Falwell said the park competed unfairly with tax-paying attractions and that the tax-exempt ministry should be separated from PTL's business interests. Under Falwell's leadership, Heritage USA sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with debts estimated at $72 million.


title: Heritage USA

text: In return for a promised lifetime annual four-day vacation stay, 165,000 people had donated $1,000 to Jim Bakker's planned Heritage USA hotel tower; each donor received $6.54 in compensation. Starting in 1987, Bakker's legal and personal troubles made headlines, and in September 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused severe damage to many of the buildings. Heritage USA closed shortly after the storm.


title: Heritage USA

text: In 1991, the Heritage USA property was purchased for $52 million by San Diego evangelist Morris Cerullo in partnership with a Malaysian investment group, MUI Group (Malayan United Industries Berhad). The property was renamed "New Heritage USA". The partnership between Cerullo and MUI ended over a disagreement concerning Cerullo's issuance of discount cards for the theme park. MUI filed suit against Cerullo and ultimately bought out his interest in the venture, renaming the property Regent Park. Cerullo retained control of PTL's cable network, which at the time was known as "The Inspirational Network", ultimately moving it to Charlotte, North Carolina and renaming it "The New Inspirational Network".


title: Heritage USA

text: , it is known as The Inspiration Network (INSP). MUI is the parent company of Laura Ashley plc, which moved its US headquarters and distribution center to the property. The corporate offices of Laura Ashley are located in the former PTL World Outreach Center, a pyramid-shaped building that formerly housed the Bakkers' offices and those of the leaders of PTL. Since MUI purchased the building, it has been renamed "The Regent Building". Through its local subsidiary Regent Carolina Corporation, MUI built a golf course and residential development on most of the former Heritage USA property.


title: Heritage USA

text: For a short period in the 1990s, MUI operated the 501-room hotel and resort under a management agreement with Radisson Hotels, calling the property the "Radisson Grand Resort," but the complex was not successful as a secular venture and ultimately closed and fell into disrepair. In December 2004, the remainder of the property was sold to Coulston Enterprises, owned by local developer and former MUI executive Earl Coulston. Coulston Enterprises sold portions of the property that had housed the PTL Ministry to MorningStar Ministries of Charlotte, headed by Rick Joyner; and Flames-of-Fire Ministries of Fort Mill, headed by Coulston's wife Sabrina.


title: Heritage USA

text: MorningStar has undertaken ongoing renovations to the portions of the property purchased by the ministry, including the Heritage tower, despite a few wishing to see the tower torn down and erecting a new billboard on Interstate 77 calling for its demolition. The buildings that had housed Flames-of-Fire were sold to The Broadcast Group, a television and multi-media production company headed by Dr. Dale Hill, who formerly worked for Bakker and PTL. Coulston Enterprises has developed several new subdivisions that include houses and restaurants on the remainder of the property.


title: Heritage USA

text: In January 2006, a 24-hour prayer ministry opened at the former Heritage USA. Musicians and prayer leaders formed The Zadok House of Prayer (ZHOP) after relocating from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. In April 2009, ZHOP vacated the grounds, and the building that housed their ministry, a former PTL warehouse complex, was sold to MorningStar Fellowship Church. It now houses MorningStar's K-12 private school Comenius School of Creative Leadership (CSCL). In late 2006, the IRS placed a tax lien for $13.2 million on Regent Carolina Corporation, which had not yet transferred control of the golf course, common areas and roads to the Regent Park homeowners association. The golf course was subsequently sold to Southern Gailes. In 2018, Rick Joyner expressed interest in rebuilding the theme park.


title: Heritage USA

text: Coulston entered into a lease/purchase agreement in April 2009 with The Broadcast Group, a multimedia production and training company founded in 1986 by former PTL Television Network executive Dr. Dale Hill, for the portion of the property encompassing the former Barn auditorium, Total Learning Center and PTL Television Network Studios. The studio production facility was renamed "The Broadcast Group Complex". The former PTL Television Studios and adjacent Total Learning Center complex were almost immediately renovated and reopened upon the closing of the lease/purchase agreement in 2009. The Barn Auditorium renovations were completed in April 2012 and the facility was reopened and renamed "The Barn at Regent Park".


title: Heritage USA

text: In February 2014, The Broadcast Group suddenly relocated their operations from the buildings to a nearby office park in Fort Mill and shortly afterwards it was announced that all of the buildings and the surrounding 18-acre property had been acquired by Antioch International Church, which operating from a converted/renovated former PTL warehouse near the Heritage Grand Hotel, for $3.81 million on April 24, 2014; according to York County, South Carolina tax records. Antioch moved their church to a property at 8400 Regent Parkway and now uses the former Barn Auditorium as their new church home. The complex comprising The Barn & studios has since been renamed The River Place.


title: Heritage USA

text: In January 2009, a group called "Friends of The Upper Room" created an online petition to Flames-of-Fire Ministry and Coulston Enterprises—then owners of The Upper Room—asking them to consider donating the property to another ministry or selling it at a reduced price to save the property from rumored demolition plans. The Upper Room building and surrounding properties were placed on the market.


title: Heritage USA

text: In November 2010, over 565 people had signed the petition and rumors that The Upper Room's owners planned to demolish it continued to circulate. In May 2010, the Friends of the Upper Room called for interested people worldwide to pray daily to ensure the building's future. On November 19, 2010, it was announced that The Upper Room had been acquired by Christian concert promoter Russell James, who planned to begin renovations on December 1, 2010, with planned opening date of January 1, 2011; it would be known as the Upper Room Chapel.


title: Heritage USA

text: The facility underwent extensive restoration; the outdoor "Walk of Faith" was restored and is again used as a house of intercessory prayer. It will ultimately be open 24 hours a day, with live video streaming through a website.


title: Heritage USA

text: MorningStar Fellowship Church bought the tower from Coulston Enterprises in 2004 on the condition that the tower be torn down in two years, or Coulston would be paid $300,000. York County approved a development plan in 2005 that would have required the tower be torn down. Later, MorningStar persuaded the county to let the ministry complete the tower. In 2013, MorningStar sued the county for breaching the development agreement, and the county claimed MorningStar did. The county continued to appeal its claims until 2019, and a joint agreement in 2020 gave MorningStar time to start the process of finishing the tower for senior housing. The county reinstated lawsuits in 2021, and continues to claim the tower should have come down by 2013 because it is unfit for the purpose. On March 16, 2022, the county stated in a news release that it never stood in MorningStar's way but says codes require an unsafe building to be demolished. Numerous supporters of MorningStar have asked York County Council to change its mind, and MorningStar has filed another legal motion.


title: Heritage USA

text: On March 19, 2013, developer Earl Coulston, who had purchased much of the former Heritage USA property, began demolishing "The King's Castle", an abandoned arcade and go-kart track that was originally intended to house the world's largest Wendy's restaurant. The building was under construction at the time of the Bakkers' departure in the late 1980s; construction ceased when Heritage USA entered bankruptcy and payments to contractor Roe Messner were stopped. The castle was later completed by Heritage USA's then-new owner Regent Carolina Corporation (f/k/a New Heritage Carolina Corporation), a subsidiary of MUI Corporation of Malaysia. It was used for several years as an arcade and go-kart track before closing and falling into disrepair and abandonment.


title: Heritage USA

text: Coulston jointly owned the building with neighboring MorningStar Fellowship Church as his property line ran through the rear portion of the building. MorningStar had originally intended the castle to be renovated and used as a youth center but later determined that it had been too heavily vandalized and was in too much disrepair to renovate. Coulston approached MorningStar and offered to pay for the cost of demolition because it was partially on his property and abutted a nearby housing complex he was developing. As soon as demolition began, it was halted the same day because the contractor did not have proper permission from either the State of South Carolina or York County. Demolition resumed once the proper permits were secured and the site has since been cleared.


title: Heritage USA

text: The property encompassing the "Jerusalem Amphitheater" (also known as "King's Arena") and campground is owned by Earl Coulston. The campgrounds have been renovated and are now known as Crown Cove RV Park. The outdoor amphitheater has been demolished. A large portion of the amphitheater was demolished as part of Coulston's plan to retrofit it with a roof and turn it into a venue for youth concerts. This never materialized and the amphitheater remained abandoned for many years before being demolished in October 2012.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as Hokkeshū (, meaning "Lotus Sect") is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools. Its teachings derive from some 300–400 extant letters and treatises either authored by or attributed to Nichiren.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism generally sources its basic doctrine from the Lotus Sutra claiming that all sentient beings possess an internal Buddha-nature capable to gain Buddhahood in current life existence. There are three essential aspects to Nichiren Buddhism:


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: After his death, Nichiren left to both his senior disciples and lay followers the mandate to widely propagate the "Gohonzon" and chanting the "Daimoku" in order to secure the peace and prosperity of society.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Traditionalist Nichiren Buddhist temple groups are commonly associated with Nichiren Shōshū and various Nichiren-shū schools. In addition, modern lay organizations not affiliated with temples such as Soka Gakkai, Kenshokai, Shoshinkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Honmon Butsuryū-shū also exist while some Japanese new religions are Nichiren-inspired lay groups.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The Soka Gakkai International is often called "the most prominent Japanese 'export' religion to draw significant numbers of non-Japanese converts", by which Nichiren Buddhism has spread throughout the world.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren upheld the belief that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest degree of Buddhist teachings and proposed a classification system that ranks the quality of religions and various Nichiren schools can be either accommodating or vigorously opposed to any other forms of Buddhism or religious beliefs. Debate whether Nichiren's role as a Bodhisattvas of the Earth, a mortal saint, or an "Original Buddha" of the third age of Buddhism varies across its followers. Nichiren Buddhism is practiced in many countries. The largest groups are Soka Gakkai International, Nichiren Shu, and Nichiren Shōshū.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren's teachings encompass a significant number of concepts. Briefly, the basic practice of Nichiren Buddhism is chanting the invocation "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" to an object called the "Gohonzon". Embracing "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" entails both chanting and having the mind of faith ("shinjin"). Both the invocation and the Gohonzon, as taught by Nichiren, embody the title and essence of the Lotus Sutra, which he taught as the only valid scripture for the Latter Day of the Law, as well as the life state of Buddhahood inherent in all life.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren considered that in the Latter Day of the Law – a time of human strife and confusion, when Buddhism would be in decline – Buddhism had to be more than the theoretical or meditative practice it had become, but was meant to be practiced "with the body", that is, in one's actions and the consequent results that are manifested. More important than the formality of ritual, he claimed, was the substance of the practitioner's life in which the spiritual and material aspects are interrelated. He considered conditions in the world to be a reflection of the conditions of the inner lives of people; the premise of his first major remonstrance, Rissho Ankoku Ron (Establishing The Correct Teaching for the Peace of The Land), is that if a nation abandons heretical forms of Buddhism and adopts faith in the Lotus Sutra, the nation will know peace and security. He considered his disciples the "Bodhisattvas of the Earth" who appeared in the Lotus Sutra with the vow to spread the correct teaching and thereby establish a peaceful and just society. For Nichiren, enlightenment is not limited to one's inner life, but is "something that called for actualization in endeavors toward the transformation of the land, toward the realization of an ideal society."


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The specific task to be pursued by Nichiren's disciples was the widespread propagation of his teachings (the invocation and the "Gohonzon") in a way that would affect actual change in the world's societies so that the sanctuary, or seat, of Buddhism could be built. Nichiren saw this sanctuary as a specific seat of his Buddhism, but there is thought that he also meant it in a more general sense, that is, wherever his Buddhism would be practiced. This sanctuary, along with the invocation and "Gohonzon", comprise "the three great secret laws (or dharmas)" found in the Lotus Sutra.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism originated in 13th-century feudal Japan. It is one of six new forms of "Shin Bukkyo" (English: "New Buddhism") of "Kamakura Buddhism." The arrival of these new schools was a response to the social and political upheaval in Japan during this time as power passed from the nobility to a shogunate military dictatorship led by the Minamoto clan and later to the Hōjō clan. A prevailing pessimism existed associated with the perceived arrival of the Age of the Latter Day of the Law. The era was marked by an intertwining relationship between Buddhist schools and the state which included clerical corruption.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: By Nichiren's time the Lotus Sūtra was firmly established in Japan. From the ninth century, Japanese rulers decreed that the Lotus Sūtra be recited in temples for its "nation-saving" qualities. It was the most frequently read and recited sutra by the literate lay class and its message was disseminated widely through art, folk tales, music, and theater. It was commonly held that it had powers to bestow spiritual and worldly benefits to individuals. However, even Mount Hiei, the seat of Tiantai Lotus Sutra devotion, had come to adopt an eclectic assortment of esoteric rituals and Pure Land practices as "expedient means" to understand the sutra itself.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren developed his thinking in this midst of confusing Lotus Sutra practices and a competing array of other "Old Buddhism" and "New Buddhism" schools. The biographical development of his thinking is sourced almost entirely from his extant writings as there is no documentation about him in the public records of his times. Modern scholarship on Nichiren's life tries to provide sophisticated textual and sociohistorical analyses to cull longstanding myths about Nichiren that accrued over time from what is actually concretized.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: It is clear that from an early point in his studies Nichiren came to focus on the Lotus Sutra as the culmination and central message of Shakyamuni. As his life unfolded he engaged in a "circular hermeneutic" in which the interplay of the Lotus Sutra text and his personal experiences verified and enriched each other in his mind. As a result, there are significant turning points as his teachings reach full maturity. Scholar Yoshirō Tamura categorizes the development of Nichiren's thinking into three periods:


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: For more than 20 years Nichiren examined Buddhist texts and commentaries at Mount Hiei's Enryaku-ji temple and other major centers of Buddhist study in Japan. In later writings he claimed he was motivated by four primary questions: (1) What were the essentials of the competing Buddhist sects so they could be ranked according to their merits and flaws? (2) Which of the many Buddhist scriptures that had reached Japan represented the essence of Shakyamuni's teaching? (3) How could he be assured of the certainty of his own enlightenment? (4) Why was the Imperial house defeated by the Kamakura regime in 1221 despite the prayers and rituals of Tendai and Shingon priests? He eventually concluded that the highest teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha ( – ) were to be found in the Lotus Sutra. Throughout his career Nichiren carried his personal copy of the Lotus Sutra which he continually annotated. The mantra he expounded on 28 April 1253, known as the "Daimoku" or "Odaimoku", Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, expresses his devotion to the Lotus Sutra.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: From this early stage of his career, Nichiren started to engage in fierce polemics criticizing the teachings of Buddhism taught by the other sects of his day, a practice that continued and expanded throughout his life. Although Nichiren accepted the Tendai theoretical constructs of "original enlightenment" ("hongaku shisō") and "attaining Buddhahood in one's present form" ("sokushin jobutsu") he drew a distinction, insisting both concepts should be seen as practical and realizable amidst the concrete realities of daily life. He took issue with other Buddhist schools of his time that stressed transcendence over immanence. Nichiren's emphasis on "self-power" (Jpn. "ji-riki") led him to harshly criticize Honen and his Pure Land Buddhism school because of its exclusive reliance on Amida Buddha for salvation which resulted in "other-dependence." (Jpn. "ta-riki") In addition to his critique of Pure Land Buddhism, he later expanded his polemics to criticisms of the Zen, Shingon, and Ritsu sects. These four critiques were later collectively referred to as his "four dictums." Later in his writings, Nichiren referred to his early exegeses of the Pure Land teachings as just the starting point for his polemics against the esoteric teachings, which he had deemed as a far more significant matter of concern. Adding to his criticisms of esoteric Shingon, Nichiren wrote detailed condemnations about the Tendai school which had abandoned its Lotus Sutra-exclusiveness and incorporated esoteric doctrines and rituals as well as faith in the soteriological power of Amida Buddha.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The target of his tactics expanded during the early part of his career. Between 1253 and 1259 he proselytized and converted individuals, mainly attracting mid- to lower-ranking samurai and local landholders and debated resident priests in Pure Land temples. In 1260, however, he attempted to directly reform society as a whole by submitting a treatise entitled ""Risshō Ankoku Ron"" (""Establishment of the Legitimate Teaching for the Protection of the Country"") to Hōjō Tokiyori, the "de facto" leader of the nation.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In it he cites passages from the Ninnō, Yakushi, Daijuku, and Konkōmyō sutras. Drawing on Tendai thinking about the non duality of person and land, Nichiren argued that the truth and efficacy of the people's religious practice will be expressed in the outer conditions of their land and society. He thereby associated the natural disasters of his age with the nation's attachment to inferior teachings, predicted foreign invasion and internal rebellion, and called for the return to legitimate dharma to protect the country. Although the role of Buddhism in "nation-protection" ("chingo kokka") was well-established in Japan at this time, in this thesis Nichiren explicitly held the leadership of the country directly responsible for the safety of the land.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: During the middle stage of his career, in refuting other religious schools publicly and vociferously, Nichiren provoked the ire of the country's rulers and of the priests of the sects he criticized. As a result, he was subjected to persecution which included two assassination attempts, an attempted beheading and two exiles. His first exile, to Izu Peninsula (1261–1263), convinced Nichiren that he was "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra ("Jpn. Hokke shikidoku")," fulfilling the predictions on the 13th chapter ("Fortitude") that votaries would be persecuted by ignorant lay people, influential priests, and their friends in high places.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren began to argue that through "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra," rather than just studying its text for literal meaning, a country and its people could be protected. According to Habito, Nichiren argued that bodily reading the Lotus Sutra entails four aspects:


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: His three-year exile to Sado Island proved to be another key turning point in Nichiren's life. Here he began inscribing the "Gohonzon" and wrote several major theses in which he claimed that he was Bodhisattva Superior Practices, the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: He concludes his work "The Opening of the Eyes" with the declaration "I will be the pillar of Japan; I will be the eyes of Japan; I will be the vessel of Japan. Inviolable shall remain these vows!" His thinking now went beyond theories of karmic retribution or guarantees of the Lotus Sutra as a protective force. Rather, he expressed a resolve to fulfill his mission despite the consequences. All of his disciples, he asserted, should emulate his spirit and work just like him in helping all people open their innate Buddha lives even though this means entails encountering enormous challenges.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren's teachings reached their full maturity between the years 1274 and 1282 while he resided in primitive settings at Mount Minobu located in today's Yamanashi Prefecture. During this time he devoted himself to training disciples, produced most of the "Gohonzon" which he sent to followers, and authored works constituting half of his extant writings including six treatises that were categorized by his follower Nikkō as among his ten most important.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In 1278 the "Atsuhara Affair" ("Atsuhara Persecution") occurred, culminating three years later. In the prior stage of his career, between 1261 and 1273, Nichiren endured and overcame numerous trials that were directed at him personally including assassination attempts, an attempted execution, and two exiles, thereby "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra" ("shikidoku" 色読). In so doing, according to him, he validated the 13th ("Fortitude") chapter of the Lotus Sutra in which a host of bodhisattvas promise to face numerous trials that follow in the wake of upholding and spreading the sutra in the evil age following the death of the Buddha: slander and abuse; attack by swords and staves; enmity from kings, ministers, and respected monks; and repeated banishment.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: On two occasions, however, the persecution was aimed at his followers. First, in 1271, in conjunction with the arrest and attempted execution of Nichiren and his subsequent exile to Sado, many of his disciples were arrested, banished, or had lands confiscated by the government. At that time, Nichiren stated, most recanted their faith in order to escape the government's actions. In contrast, during the Atsuhara episode twenty lay peasant-farmer followers were arrested on questionable charges and tortured; three were ultimately executed. This time none recanted their faith. Some of his prominent followers in other parts of the country were also being persecuted but maintained their faith as well.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Although Nichiren was situated in Minobu, far from the scene of the persecution, the Fuji district of present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, Nichiren held his community together in the face of significant oppression through a sophisticated display of legal and rhetorical responses. He also drew on a wide array of support from the network of leading monks and lay disciples he had raised, some of whom were also experiencing persecution at the hands of the government.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Throughout the events he wrote many letters to his disciples in which he gave context to the unfolding events by asserting that severe trials have deep significance. According to Stone, "By standing firm under interrogation, the Atsuhara peasants had proved their faith in Nichiren's eyes, graduating in his estimation from 'ignorant people' to devotees meriting equally with himself the name of 'practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.'" During this time Nichiren inscribed 114 mandalas that are extant today, 49 of which have been identified as being inscribed for individual lay followers and which may have served to deepen the bond between teacher and disciple. In addition, a few very large mandalas were inscribed, apparently intended for use at gathering places, suggesting the existence of some type of conventicle structure.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The Atsuhara Affair also gave Nichiren the opportunity to better define what was to become Nichiren Buddhism. He stressed that meeting great trials was a part of the practice of the Lotus Sutra; the great persecutions of Atsuhara were not results of karmic retribution but were the historical unfolding of the Buddhist Dharma. The vague "single good of the true vehicle" which he advocated in the "Risshō ankoku ron" now took final form as chanting the Lotus Sutra's "daimoku" or title which he described as the heart of the "origin teaching" ("honmon" 本門) of the Lotus Sutra. This, he now claimed, lay hidden in the depths of the 16th ("The Life Span of the Tathāgata") chapter, never before being revealed, but intended by the Buddha solely for the beginning of the Final Dharma Age.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: A prolific writer, Nichiren's personal communiques among his followers as well as numerous treatises detail his view of the correct form of practice for the "Latter Day of the Law" ("mappō"); lay out his views on other Buddhist schools, particularly those of influence during his lifetime; and elucidate his interpretations of Buddhist teachings that preceded his. These writings are collectively known as "Gosho" (御書) or "Nichiren ibun" (日蓮遺文).


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Out of 162 historically identified followers of Nichiren, 47 were women. Many of his writings were to women followers in which he displays strong empathy for their struggles, and continually stressed the Lotus Sutra's teaching that all people, men and women equally, can become enlightened just as they are. His voice is sensitive and kind which differs from the strident picture painted about him by critics.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Which of these writings, including the "Ongi Kuden" (orally transmitted teachings), are deemed authentic or apocryphal is a matter of debate within the various schools of today's Nichiren Buddhism. His "Rissho Ankoku Ron", preserved at Shochuzan Hokekyo-ji, is one of the National Treasures of Japan.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: After Nichiren's death in 1282 the Kamakura shogunate weakened largely due to financial and political stresses resulting from defending the country from the Mongols. It was replaced by the Ashikaga shogunate (1336–1573), which in turn was succeeded by the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1600), and then the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868). During these time periods, collectively comprising Japan's medieval history, Nichiren Buddhism experienced considerable fracturing, growth, turbulence and decline. A prevailing characteristic of the movement in medieval Japan was its lack of understanding of Nichiren's own spiritual realization. Serious commentaries about Nichiren's theology did not appear for almost two hundred years. This contributed to divisive doctrinal confrontations that were often superficial and dogmatic.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: This long history of foundings, divisions, and mergers have led to today's 37 legally incorporated Nichiren Buddhist groups. In the modern period, Nichiren Buddhism experienced a revival, largely initiated by lay people and lay movements.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Several denominations comprise the umbrella term "Nichiren Buddhism" which was known at the time as the "Hokkeshū" (Lotus School) or "Nichirenshū" (Nichiren School). The splintering of Nichiren's teachings into different schools began several years after Nichiren's passing. Despite their differences, however, the Nichiren groups shared commonalities: asserting the primacy of the Lotus Sutra, tracing Nichiren as their founder, centering religious practice on chanting "Namu-myoho-renge-kyo", using the "Gohonzon" in meditative practice, insisting on the need for propagation, and participating in remonstrations with the authorities.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The movement was supported financially by local warlords or stewards ("jitõ") who often founded tightly organized clan temples ("ujidera") that were frequently led by sons who became priests. Most Nichiren schools point to the founding date of their respective head or main temple (for example, Nichiren Shū the year 1281, Nichiren Shōshū the year 1288, and Kempon Hokke Shu the year 1384) although they did not legally incorporate as religious bodies until the late 19th and early 20th century. A last wave of temple mergers took place in the 1950s.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The roots of this splintering can be traced to the organization of the Nichiren community during his life. In 1282, one year before his death, Nichiren named "six senior priests" ("rokurōsō") disciple to lead his community: Nikkō Shonin (日興), Nisshō (日昭), Nichirō (日朗), Nikō (日向), Nitchō (日頂), and Nichiji (日持). Each had led communities of followers in different parts of the Kanto region of Japan and these groups, after Nichiren's death, ultimately morphed into lineages of schools.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nikkō Shonin, Nichirō, and Nisshō were the core of the Minobu (also known as the Nikō or Kuon-ji) "monryu" or school. Nikō became the second chief abbot of Minobu (Nichiren is considered by this school to be the first). Nichirō's direct lineage was called the Nichirō or Hikigayatsu "monryu". Nisshō's lineage became the Nisshō or Hama "monryu". Nitchō formed the Nakayama lineage but later returned to become a follower of Nikkō. Nichiji, originally another follower of Nikkō, eventually traveled to the Asian continent (ca. 1295) on a missionary journey and some scholarship suggests he reached northern China, Manchuria, and possibly Mongolia. Kuon-ji Temple in Mount Minobu eventually became the head temple of today's Nichiren Shū, the largest branch among traditional schools, encompassing the schools and temples tracing their origins to Nikō, Nichirō, Nisshō, Nitchō, and Nichiji. The lay and/or new religious movements Reiyūkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, and Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga stem from this lineage.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nikkō left Kuon-ji in 1289 and became the founder of what was to be called the Nikkō "monryu" or lineage. He founded a center at the foot of Mount Fuji which would later be known as the Taisekiji temple of Nichiren Shōshū. Soka Gakkai is the largest independent lay organization that shares roots with this lineage.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The cleavage between Nichiren groups has also been classified by the so-called "Itchi" (meaning unity or harmony) and "Shoretsu" (a contraction of two words meaning superior/inferior) lineages.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Although there were rivalries and unique interpretations among the early Hokkeshũ lineages, none were as deep and distinct as the divide between the Nikkō or Fuji school and the rest of the tradition. Animosity and discord among the six senior disciples started after the second death anniversary of Nichiren's 100th Day Memorial ceremony (23 January 1283) when the rotation system as agreed upon the ""Shuso Gosenge Kiroku"" (English: Record document of founder's demise) and "Rimbo Cho" (English: Rotation Wheel System) to clean and maintain Nichiren's grave. By the third anniversary of Nichiren's passing (13 October 1284), these arrangements seemed to have broken down. Nikkō claimed that the other five senior priests no longer returned to Nichiren's tomb in Mount Minobu, citing signs of neglect at the gravesite. He took up residency and overall responsibility for Kuonji temple while Nikō served as its doctrinal instructor. Before long tensions grew between the two concerning the behavior of Hakii Nanbu Rokurō Sanenaga, the steward of the Minobu district and the temple's patron.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nikkō accused Sanenaga of unorthodox practices deemed to be heretical such as crafting a standing statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as an object of worship, providing funding for the construction of a Pure Land "stupa" in Fuji, and visiting and worshiping at the Mishima Taisha Shinto shrine which was an honorary shrine of the Hōjō clan shogunate. Nikkō regarded the latter as a violation of Nichiren's "Rissho ankoku ron".


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In addition, Nikkō made accusatory charges that after Nichiren's death, other disciples slowly began to gradually deviate from what Nikkō viewed as Nichiren's orthodox teachings. Chief among these complaints was the syncretic practices of some of the disciples to worship images of Shakyamuni Buddha. Nikkō admonished other disciple priests for signing their names "Tendai Shamon" (of the Tendai Buddhist school) in documents they sent to the Kamakura government. Furthermore, Nikkō alleged that the other disciples disregarded some of Nichiren's writings written in Katakana rather than in Classical Chinese syllabary.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Sanenaga defended his actions, claiming that it was customary for his political family to provide monetary donations and make homage to the Shinto shrine of the Kamakura shogunate. Nikō tolerated Sanenaga's acts, claiming that similar incidents occurred previously with the knowledge of Nichiren. Sanenaga sided with Nikō and Nikkō departed in 1289 from Minobu. He returned to his home in Suruga Province and established two temples: Taiseki-ji in the Fuji district and Honmonji in Omosu district. He spent most of his life at the latter, where he trained his followers.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: According to Stone, it is not absolutely clear that Nikkō intended to completely break from the other senior disciples and start his own school. However, his followers claimed that he was the only one of the six senior disciples who maintained the purity of Nichiren's legacy. Two documents appeared, first mentioned and discovered by Taiseki-ji High Priest Nikkyo Shonin in 1488, claiming Nichiren transferred his teaching exclusively to Nikkō but their authenticity has been questioned. Taiseki-ji does not dispute that the original documents are missing but holds that certified copies are preserved in their repositories. In contrast, other Nichiren sects vehemently claim them as forgeries since they are not in the original handwriting of Nichiren or Nikkō, holding they were copied down by Nikkō's disciples after his death."


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In addition to using the letters to defend its claim to orthodoxy, the documents may have served to justify Taiseki-ji's claimed superiority over other Nikkō temples, especially Ikegami Honmon-ji, the site of Nichiren's tomb. Even though there had been efforts by temples of the Nikkō lineage in the late 19th century to unify into one single separate Nichiren school the "Kommon-ha", today's Nichiren Shōshū comprises only the Taiseki-ji temple and its dependent temples. It is not identical to the historical Nikkō or Fuji lineage. Parts of the "Kommon-ha", the "Honmon-Shu", eventually became part of Nichiren Shu in the 1950s. New religious movements like Sōka Gakkai, Shōshinkai, and Kenshōkai trace their origins to the Nichiren Shōshū school.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In the early 14th century Hokkeshū followers spread the teachings westward and established congregations (Jpn. "shū") into the imperial capital of Kyoto and as far as Bizen and Bitchu. During this time there is documentation of face-to-face public debates between Hokkeshū and Nembutsu adherents. By the end of the century Hokkeshū temples had been founded all over Kyoto, only being outnumbered by Zen temples. The demographic base of support in Kyoto were members of the merchant class (Jpn. "machishū"), some of whom had acquired great wealth. Tanabe hypothesizes they were drawn to this faith because of Nichiren's emphasis on the "third realm" (Jpn. "daisan hōmon") of the Lotus Sutra, staked out in chapters 10–22, which emphasize practice in the mundane world.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In the 15th century, the political and social order began to collapse and Hokkeshū followers armed themselves. The "Hokke-ikki" was an uprising in 1532 of Hokke followers against the followers of the Pure Land school in 1532. Initially successful it became the most powerful religious group in Kyoto but its fortunes were reversed in 1536 when Mt. Hiei armed forces destroyed twenty-one Hokkeshū temples and killed some 58,000 of its followers. In 1542 permission was granted by the government to rebuild the destroyed temples and the Hokke "machishū" played a crucial role in rebuilding the commerce, industry, and arts in Kyoto. Their influence in the arts and literature continued through the Momoyama (1568–1615) and Edo (1615–1868) periods and many of the most famous artists and literati were drawn from their ranks.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Although the various sects of Nichiren Buddhism were administratively independent, there is evidence of cooperation between them. For example, in 1466 the major Hokke temples in Kyoto signed the Kanshō-era accord (Kanshō "meiyaku") to protect themselves against threats from Mt. Hiei. Despite strong sectarian differences, there is also evidence of interactions between Hokkeshū and Tendai scholar-monks.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: During the Edo period, with the consolidation of power by the Tokugawa shogunate, increased pressure was placed major Buddhist schools and Nichiren temples to conform to governmental policies. Some Hokkeshū adherents, the followers of the so-called Fuju-fuse lineage, adamantly bucked this policy based on their readings of Nichiren's teachings to neither take ("fuju") nor give ("fuse") offerings from non-believers. Suppressed, adherents often held their meetings clandestinely which led to the Fuju-fuse persecution and numerous executions of believers in 1668. During this time of persecution, most likely to prevent young priests from adopting a passion for propagation, Nichiren seminaries emphasized Tendai studies with only a few top-ranking students permitted to study some of Nichiren's writings.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: During the Edo period the majority of Hokkeshū temples were subsumed into the shogunate's Danka system, an imposed nationwide parish system designed to ensure religious peace and root out Christianity. In this system Buddhist temples, in addition to their ceremonial duties, were forced to carry out state administrative functions. Thereby they became agents of the government and were prohibited to engage in any missionary activities. Hokkeshū temples were now obligated, just like those of other Buddhist schools, to focus on funeral and memorial services ("Sōshiki bukkyō") as their main activity. Stagnation was often the price for the protected status.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism was deeply influenced by the transition from the Tokugawa (1600–1868) to Meiji (1868–1912) periods in nineteenth-century Japan. The changeover from early modern ("kinsei") to modern ("kindai") was marked by the transformation of late-feudal institutions into modern ones as well as the political transition from shogunal to imperial rule and the economic shift from national isolation to integration in the world economy. This entailed creating a centralized state, stitching together some 260 feudal domains ruled by hereditary leaders ("daimyō"), and moving from a caste social system to a meritocracy based on educational achievement. Although commonly perceived as a singular event called the Meiji Restoration, the transition was full of twists and turns that began in the later Tokugawa years and continued decades after the 1867–1868 demise of the shogunate and launch of imperial rule.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: By this time Japanese Buddhism was often characterized by syncretism in which local nativistic worship was incorporated into Buddhist practice. For example, Tendai, Shingon, Jodō, and Nichiren temples often had chapels within them dedicated to Inari Shinto worship. Within Nichiren Buddhism there was a phenomenon of "Hokke Shintō" (Lotus Shinto), closely influenced by Yoshida Shintō.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Anti-Buddhist sentiment had been building throughout the latter part of the Tokugawa period (1603–1868). Scholars such as Tominaga Nakamoto and Hirata Atsutane attacked the theoretical roots of Buddhism. Critics included promoters of Confucianism, nativism, Shinto-inspired Restorationists, and modernizers. Buddhism was critiqued as a needless drain on public resources and also as an insidious foreign influence that had obscured the indigenous Japanese spirit.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Under attack by two policies of the day, "shinbutsu bunri" (Separation of Shinto Deities and Buddhas) and "haibutsu kishaku" (Eradication of Buddhism), Japanese Buddhism during the Tokugawa-to-Meiji transition proved to be a crisis of survival. The new government promoted policies that reduced the material resources available to Buddhist temples and downgraded their role in the religious, political, and social life of the nation.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The policies of "shibutsu bunri" were implemented at the local level throughout Japan but were particularly intense in three domains that were the most active in the Restoration: Satsuma, Choshii, and Tosa. In Satsuma, for example, by 1872 all of its 1000+ Buddhist temples had been abolished, their monks laicized, and their landholdings confiscated. Throughout the country thousands of Buddhist temples and, at a minimum, tens of thousands of Buddhist sutras, paintings, statues, temple bells and other ritual objects were destroyed, stolen, lost, or sold during the early years of the restoration.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Starting in the second decade of the restoration, pushback against these policies came from Western powers interested in providing a safe harbor for Christianity and Buddhist leaders who proposed an alliance of Shinto and Buddhism to resist Christianity. As part of this accommodation, Buddhist priests were forced to promote key teachings of Shinto and provide support for national policies.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism, like the other Buddhist schools, struggled between accommodation and confrontation. The Nichiren scholar Udana-in Nichiki (1800–1859) argued for a policy of co-existence with other schools of Buddhism, Confucianism, Nativism, and European religions. His disciple Arai Nissatsu (1830–1888) forged an alliance of several Nichiren branches and became the first superintendent of the present Nichiren Shū which was incorporated in 1876. Nissatsu was active in Buddhist intersect cooperation to resist the government's hostile policies, adopted the government's "Great Teaching" policy that was Shinto-derived, and promoted intersectarian understanding. In the process, however, he reinterpreted some of Nichiren's important teachings. Among those arguing against accommodation were Nichiren scholar and lay believer Ogawa Taidō (1814–1878) and the cleric Honda Nisshō (1867–1931) of the Kempon Hokke denomination.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: After the above events and centuries of splintering based on dogma and institutional histories, the following major Nichiren temple schools, according to Matsunaga, were officially recognized in the Meiji era:


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism went through many reforms in the Meiji Period during a time of persecution, Haibutsu kishaku (廃仏毀釈), when the government attempted to eradicate mainstream Japanese Buddhism. As a part of the Meiji Restoration, the interdependent Danka system between the state and Buddhist temples was dismantled which left the latter without its funding. Buddhist institutions had to align themselves to the new nationalistic agenda or perish. Many of these reform efforts were led by lay people.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The trend toward lay centrality was prominent in Nichiren Buddhism as well, predating the Meiji period. Some Nichiren reformers in the Meiji period attempted to inject a nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings; others called for globalist perspectives. According to Japanese researcher "Yoshiro Tamura", the term "Nichirenism" applies broadly to the following three categories:


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Both Nichiren and his followers have been associated with fervent Japanese nationalism specifically identified as Nichirenism between the Meiji period and the conclusion of World War II. The nationalistic interpretation of Nichiren's teachings were inspired by lay Buddhist movements like Kokuchūkai and resulted in violent historical events such as the May 15 Incident and the League of Blood Incident. Among the key proponents of this interpretation are Chigaku Tanaka who founded the Kokuchūkai (English: Nation's Pillar Society). Tanaka was charismatic and through his writings and lecturers attracted many followers such as Kanji Ishiwara. Nisshō Honda advocated the unification of Japanese Buddhists to support the imperial state. Other ultra-nationalist activists who based their ideas on Nichiren were Ikki Kita and Nisshō Inoue.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichirenism also includes several intellectuals and activists who reacted against the prewar ultranationalistic interpretations and argued for an egalitarian and socialist vision of society based on Nichiren's teachings and the Lotus Sutra. These figures ran against the growing tide of Japanese militarism and were subjected to political harassment and persecution. A leading figure in this group was Girō Seno who formed the New Buddhist Youth League ("Shinkō Bukkyō Seinen Dōmei").


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Originally influenced by the ideals of Tanaka and Honda, Giro Seno came to reject ultra-nationalism and argued for humanism, socialism, pacifism, and democracy as a new interpretation of Nichiren's beliefs. He was imprisoned for two years under the National Security Act. The same fate was also endured by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, who refused the religious dictum of Shinto display accepted by Nichiren Shoshu for the "Soka Kyoiku Gakkai", his lay organization composed of primarily secretaries and teachers until it grew to become Soka Gakkai after World War II.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Several Nichiren-inspired religious movements arose and appealed primarily to this segment of society with a message of alleviating suffering salvation for many poor urban workers. Honmon Butsuryū-shū, an early example of lay-based religious movements of the modern period inspired by Nichiren, was founded several years before the Meiji Restoration. Reiyukai, Rissho Koseikai stemming from Nichiren Shu while Kenshokai and Soka Gakkai once affiliated with Nichiren Shoshu and the Japanese principle "Shin"(信 ), "Gyo" (行), "Gaku" (学)" as "Faith, Practices, Study", are more recent examples of lay-inspired movements drawing from Nichiren's teachings and life.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism has had a major impact on Japan's literary and cultural life. Japanese literary figure Takayama Chogyū and children's author Kenji Miyazawa praised Nichiren's teachings. A prominent researcher, Masaharu Anesaki, was encouraged to study Nichiren which led to the work "Nichiren: The Buddhist Prophet" which introduced Nichiren to the West. Non-Buddhist Japanese individuals such as Uchimura Kanzō listed Nichiren as one of five historical figures who best represented Japan, while Tadao Yanaihara described Nichiren as one of the four historical figures he most admired.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: While various sects and organizations have had a presence in nations outside Japan for over a century, the ongoing expansion of Nichiren Buddhism overseas started in 1960 when Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda initiated his group's worldwide propagation efforts growing from a few hundred transplanted Japanese to over 3500 families just by 1962.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Buddhism is now practiced in many countries outside of Japan. In the United States, religious studies scholar Charles S. Prebish coined the typology of "two Buddhisms" to delineate the divide between forms of Buddhism that appealed either primarily to people of the Asian diaspora or to Euro-American converts. Nattier, on the other hand, proposes a three-way typology. "Import" or "elite" Buddhism refers to a class of people who have the time and means to seek Buddhist teachers to appropriate certain Buddhist techniques such as meditation. "Export or evangelical" Buddhism refers to groups that actively proselytize for new members in their local organizations. "Baggage" or "ethnic" Buddhism refers to diaspora Buddhists, usually of a single ethnic group, who have relocated more for social and economic advancement than for evangelical purposes. Another taxonomy divides Western Buddhist groups into three different categories: evangelical, church-like, and meditational.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Shu has been classified into the church-like category. One of several Japanese Buddhist schools that followed in the wake of Japanese military conquest and colonization, Nichiren Shu opened a temple in Pusan, Korea in 1881. Its fortunes rose and diminished with the political tides but eventually failed. It also established missions in Sakhalin, Manchuria, and Taiwan. A Nichiren Shu mission was established in Hawaii in 1900. By 1920 it established temples at Pahala, Honolulu, Wailuku and Maui. In 1955, it officially started a mission in Brazil. In 1991, it established the Nichiren Buddhist International Center in 1991 and in 2002 built a center in Hayward, California, to help overseas missions. However, Nichiren Shu does not widely propagate in the West.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Some have characterized the Soka Gakkai as evangelical but others claim that it broke out of the "Two Buddhisms" paradigm. It is quite multi-ethnic and it has taken hold among native populations in locations including Korea, Malaysia, Brazil, Europe, parts of Africa, India, and North America. The growth of the Soka Gakkai was sparked by repeated missionary trips beginning in the early 1960s by Daisaku Ikeda, its third president. In 1975 the Soka Gakkai International was launched in Guam. In the United States it has attracted a diverse membership including a significant demographic of African Americans. Since the 1970s, it has created institutions, publications and exhibitions to support its overall theme of "peace, culture, and education." There is academic research on various national organizations affiliated with this movement: the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Scotland, Southeast Asia, Germany, and Thailand.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The Rissho Kosei Kai focuses on using its teachings to promote a culture of religiosity through inter-religious dialogue. In 1967, it launched the "Faith to All Men Movement" to awaken a globalized religiosity. It has over 2 million members and 300 Dharma centers in 20 countries throughout the world including Frankfurt and Moorslede. It is active in interfaith organizations, including the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) and Religions for Peace (WCRP). It has consultative states with the United Nations and since 1983 issues an annual Peace Prize to individuals or organizations worldwide that work for peace and development and promote interreligious cooperation.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The Reiyukai conducts more typical missionary activities in the West. It has a membership of between five hundred and one thousand members in Europe, concentrated in Italy, Spain, England and France. The approximately 1,500 members of the Nihonzan Myohoji have built peace pagodas, conducted parades beating the drum while chanting the daimoku, and encouraged themselves and others to create world peace.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: Nichiren Shoshu has six temples in the United States led by Japanese priests and supported by lay Asians and non-Asians. There is one temple in Brazil and the residing priest serves as a "circuit rider" to attend to other locations.


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: The following lists are based on English-language Wikipedia articles and the Japanese Wikipedia article on .


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia).


title: Nichiren Buddhism

text: In alphabetical order (Japanese characters preceded by "ja:" link to articles in the Japanese Wikipedia):


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Evan "Ev" Clark Williams (born March 31, 1972) is an American billionaire technology entrepreneur and executive. He is a co-founder of Twitter, and served as CEO of Twitter, Inc. from 2008 to 2010 and as a member of its board from 2007 to 2019. He founded Blogger and Medium, two of the largest blogging internet platforms. In 2014, he co-founded the venture capital firm Obvious Ventures. , his net worth is estimated at US$2.1 billion.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Williams was born in Clarks, Nebraska, as the third child of Laurie Howe and Monte Williams. He grew up on a farm in Clarks, where he assisted with crop irrigation during the summers. He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for a year and a half, where he joined FarmHouse fraternity, then left the school to pursue his career.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: After leaving college, Williams worked at various technology jobs and start-up firms in Key West, Florida, and in Dallas and Austin, Texas, before returning to his family farm in Nebraska. In 1996 Williams moved to Sebastopol, California in Sonoma County to work for the technology publishing company O'Reilly Media. He started at O'Reilly in a marketing position, later becoming an independent contractor writing computer code, which led to freelance opportunities with companies including Intel and Hewlett-Packard. While he was working at O'Reilly, he also started a website called EvHead.com, where he first began blogging about his personal thoughts.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan co-founded Pyra Labs to make project management software. A note-taking feature spun off as Blogger, one of the first web applications for creating and managing weblogs. Williams coined the term "blogger" and was instrumental in the popularization of the term "blog". Pyra survived the departure of Hourihan and other employees, and was later acquired by Google on February 13, 2003.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: In 2003, Williams was named to the MIT Technology Review TR100 as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. In 2004, he was named one of "PC Magazine"'s "People of the Year", along with Hourihan and Paul Bausch, for their work on Blogger.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Williams officially left Google on October 8, 2004, to co-found Odeo, a podcast company. In late 2006, Williams co-founded Obvious Corporation with Biz Stone and other former Odeo employees, to acquire all previous properties from Odeo's former backers. In April 2007, Odeo was acquired by Sonic Mountain.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Among Obvious Corporation's projects was Twitter, a popular, free social networking and micro-blogging service. Twitter was spun out as a new company in April 2007, with Williams as co-founder, board member, and investor. In October 2008, Williams became CEO of Twitter, succeeding Jack Dorsey, who became chairman of the board.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: By February 2009, Compete.com ranked Twitter the third most-used social network, based on their count of 6 million unique monthly visitors and 55 million monthly visits. As of February 2013, Twitter had 200 million registered users. It gets 300,000 new users a day and, as of August 2015, was ranked twelfth in the world. It receives more than 300 million unique visitors and more than five billion people in traffic a month. 75% of its traffic comes from outside of Twitter.com.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: In October 2010, Williams stepped down from the CEO position, explaining that he would be "completely focused on product strategy," and appointed Dick Costolo as his replacement.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Following the announcement of Twitter's initial public offering (IPO) in 2013, the company was valued at between US$14 billion and US$20 billion.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: On April 6, 2017, an article announced Williams would sell 30 percent of his stock in Twitter, for "personal reasons."


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: On September 25, 2012, Williams created the publishing platform, Medium. Initially, it was available only to early adopters, but was opened to the public in 2013.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: On April 5, 2013, Williams and Stone announced that they would be unwinding Obvious Corporation as they focused on individual startups.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: On July 12, 2022, it was announced Williams would step down as Medium's CEO and become the chairman of the board.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: In 2014, Williams co-founded the venture capital firm Obvious Ventures with James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth. The firm is focused on companies they believe can make a positive change in the world. Since its inception the fund has raised about $585 million—$123 million in its first round, $191 million in its second and $271 million in its latest round.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Williams lives in the San Francisco area with his wife, Sara, with whom he has two children. He is a vegetarian, and has invested – through the Obvious Corporation – in plant-based meat alternative, Beyond Meat.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Williams has been quoted as having a philosophy that it is important to conserve time, do fewer things, and to avoid distractions.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: Williams presented at the 2013 XOXO Festival in Portland, Oregon, and explained his understanding of Internet commerce. During his XOXO session, Williams also likened the Internet to "a lot of other major technological revolutions that have taken place in the history of the world," such as agriculture, and asserted that the Internet is not a utopia.


title: Evan Williams (Internet entrepreneur)

text: After President Trump credited his election to the use of Twitter, Evan Williams stated that if true, he was sorry, and he was concerned that the Internet platform rewarded extremes. Williams told the Associated Press that he was wrong to think that an open platform where people could speak freely would make the world a better place. His musings about future business objectives include considerations about the effect of the Internet upon society.


title: Ford Edge

text: The Ford Edge is a range of crossover SUVs manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Introduced for the 2007 model year, the Edge is the first mid-size CUV marketed by Ford in North America; the model line is currently in its second generation. Deriving its name from a trim package of the Ford Ranger, the Ford Edge is positioned between the Ford Escape and the Ford Explorer within the Ford product line.


title: Ford Edge

text: Sharing its underpinnings with the Ford Fusion sedan, Ford has also produced the model line as the Lincoln MKX (since 2019, the Lincoln Nautilus); the first generation was also produced as the Mazda CX-9. The second generation is also marketed by Ford of Europe, positioned between the Kuga (Escape) and the Explorer PHEV.


title: Ford Edge

text: All production of the Ford Edge is sourced from Ford of Canada at Oakville Assembly (Oakville, Ontario) alongside the Nautilus.


title: Ford Edge

text: The first-generation Edge debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, with production starting in January 2006 as a 2007 model year.


title: Ford Edge

text: The SE includes cloth seats, single-zone manual air conditioning, AM/FM stereo with single-disc CD/MP3 player, and 17-inch painted aluminum wheels.


title: Ford Edge

text: The SEL includes unique cloth seats, six-way power driver's seat, premium AM/FM stereo with six-disc in-dash CD/MP3 player, leather-wrapped steering wheel with secondary audio controls, and 18-inch painted aluminum wheels.


title: Ford Edge

text: The SEL Plus, later known as the Limited includes leather-trimmed seats, and optionally, six-way power front passenger fold-flat seat, EasyFold second-row seat back release, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, SYNC in-car connectivity system, and 18-inch premium chrome-clad aluminum wheels. The Limited trim level replaced the SEL Plus in 2008.