Short answers, pulled from the story.
Nichiren chanted Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the first time in 1253 beneath a ginkgo tree at Seichō-ji temple. This event occurred when he was thirty-one years old and marked the beginning of his religious movement.
The practice of Nichiren Buddhism rests on faith in the Gohonzon, chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, and study of scriptural writings known as Gosho. These elements form the foundation of daily religious life for millions of practitioners worldwide today.
Nichiren began inscribing Gohonzon mandalas during his exile to Sado Island between 1261 and 1273. He created hundreds of these works while enduring harsh conditions on the island before his death in 1282.
The Atsuhara Affair occurred between 1275 and 1278 when twenty lay peasant-farmer followers were arrested and tortured. Three were executed yet none recanted their faith, proving to Nichiren that suffering was integral to true practice rather than karmic retribution.
Genuine expansion of Nichiren Buddhism overseas started in 1960 when Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda initiated worldwide propagation efforts. This growth transformed what was once a predominantly Japanese movement into a global phenomenon with over three thousand five hundred families by 1962.