Nichiren taught that all the gods had promised to protect those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. He frequently invoked the Vedic deities and the Shinto kami as his protectors, as in the following passage from Persecutions of the Sage: “Even those who have a great demonic spirit [on their side] cannot harm Nichiren because he is protected by Brahma, Indra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, Tensho Daijin, and Hachiman.”