26 August 1280 (Age: 59)
A daughter opens the door to new family relations; a son inherits the family line. Even if one were to become the ruler of Japan but had no child of his own, to whom could he pass on his legacy? If one possessed treasure enough to fill an entire major world system but had no children, to whom could his treasure be left? Thus it is said in the more than three thousand volumes of non-Buddhist teachings that a person who has a child is wealthy. In the more than five thousand volumes of Buddhist teachings, it is written that a person who is childless is poor. Now you have two children, one girl and one boy. They are the sun and the moon in the sky, and the east and the west on earth. They are the two wings of a bird and the two wheels of a cart. For this reason, I give your newborn son the name, Hiwaka-gozen1. I will write more on another occasion.
The twenty-sixth day of the eighth month
Nichiren
Reply to Lord Ueno
Notes
1. Hiwaka-gozen means Young Sun.
