Conceptual Summary
The composition visualizes the prophecy of the Lotus Sūtra by centering Śākyamuni Buddha on a lion-like jeweled throne, actively preaching to a vast assembly of practitioners, monks, and laypeople who are reading the sacred text. Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen) is prominently featured riding a six-tusked white elephant to the Buddha’s right, representing the practitioner's idealized vow. The narrative elements are integrated directly: the 'great multitude of gods and men' forms the audience, while the defeated forces of Māra are depicted as chaotic, broken figures fleeing into the darkness in the bottom-right corner. The overall atmosphere is one of serene transformation and the universal attainment of enlightenment.
Iconography & Character Identification
Item 1: Deities/Figures Featured: Śākyamuni Buddha; Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen/Samantabhadra) on a six-tusked white elephant; a retinue of Bodhisattvas; an assembly of monks, nuns, and lay practitioners holding sutra scrolls; and the defeated army of Māra.
Item 2: Text Translations: The Kanji signature '双子座' translates to "Gemini." The red square seal containing Katakana 'ジェミニ' also translates to "Gemini."
Universal-Sage! If you see anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in the later five hundred years after my extinction, you should think, ‘Before long he will go to the place of enlightenment, defeat Māra and his followers, attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, turn the wheel of the Dharma, beat the drum of the Dharma, blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, send the rain of the Dharma, and sit on the lion-like seat of the Dharma in the midst of the great multitude of gods and men.’
The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva (Fugen, Samantabhadra) in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. Nichiren explained that the later five hundred years mentioned in this passage is the time in which we are living today. The Buddha is therefore talking about all of us who practice the Wonderful Dharma. When we can grow our capacity to respect each other as we respect the Buddha, it inspires the respect at the core of all beings, and transforms this world.
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