Myōren ［妙蓮］: (1) (d. 1267) The Buddhist name of Nichiren’s mother, Umegiku-nyo. Myōren means Wonderful Lotus. His father Mikuni no Taifu’s Buddhist name was Myōnichi, or Wonderful Sun. See also Umegiku-nyo.
  (2) (d. 1323) A follower of Nichiren and the wife of Nanjō Tokimitsu, the steward of Ueno Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province, Japan. Myōren (Wonderful Lotus) is the Buddhist name given her by Nichiren; her real name was Otozuru. During the Atsuhara Persecution, she helped her husband protect and support Nichiren’s followers despite government pressures imposed on them, such as unreasonably heavy taxes. They had nine sons and four daughters. The couple consistently made offerings to Nichiren. After Nichiren’s death, they remained loyal to his designated successor, Nikkō, offering a part of their fief, an area called Ōishigahara, for the building of a temple that was the origin of Taiseki-ji. Myōren spent her later years in comfort and died peacefully on the thirteenth day of the eighth month, 1323. In the third month of the following year, Tokimitsu built Myōren-ji temple in Myōren’s honor. Their children persisted in faith as they carried on their parents’ efforts to spread Nichiren’s teachings. See also Nanjō Tokimitsu.