Lotus school ［法華宗］ (Chin Fa-hua-tsung;  Hokke-shū): (1) Another name for the Chinese T’ien-t’ai school and for its Japanese counterpart, the Tendai school. The name Lotus school derives from the fact that these schools made the Lotus Sutra central to their doctrine. Dengyō (767–822), the founder of the Japanese Tendai school, stated in his work The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra: “The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai trusted and obeyed Shakyamuni and worked to uphold the Lotus school, spreading its teachings throughout China. We of Mount Hiei inherited the doctrine from T’ien-t’ai and work to uphold the Lotus school and to disseminate its teachings throughout Japan.”
  (2) Nichiren (1222–1282), who asserted the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra among all the teachings of Shakyamuni, also referred to himself and the followers of his teachings as the Lotus school.