Nisshū ［日秀］ (d. 1329): A disciple of Nichiren. Before his conversion to Nichiren’s teachings, he was called Shimotsuke-bō. He was a priest at Ryūsen-ji, a temple of the Tendai school in Atsuhara of Suruga Province, Japan. Nikkō, later to become Nichiren’s successor, converted him and his fellow priests Nichiben and Nichizen to Nichiren’s teachings. Though the deputy chief priest Gyōchi ordered them to leave the temple, Nisshū and Nichiben secretly remained at Ryūsen-ji and converted many people in neighboring villages, an effort that eventually led to the Atsuhara Persecution. Nichiren drafted with Toki Jōnin a document of vindication on behalf of the two priests, who copied and signed it and submitted it to the shogunate. To protect them from governmental pressures following the Atsuhara Persecution, Nichiren sent Nisshū and Nichiben to Shimōsa Province. There they stayed at Guhō-ji temple, where the chief priest was Nitchō, Toki Jōnin’s adopted son. After Nichiren’s death, when Nikkō left Minobu in 1289, Nisshū accompanied him and engaged in propagation. He was named one of Nikkō’s six elder disciples. See also Atsuhara Persecution.