Nichiji (日持; February 10, 1250 – after 1304), also known as Kaikō, was a Buddhist disciple of Nichiren who traveled to Hokkaido, Siberia, and China.
Nichiji was born in Suruga Province, the second child of a large and powerful family.
[2] His plan was to walk to Hakodate, Hokkaidō and from there proceed to Xanadu in order to convert the Mongols.
[6] Thanks to his inscriptions on the relics, it is now known that he landed in China in 1298, met some Western Xia Buddhists on the road and decided on their advice to settle in Xuanhua District instead of Xanadu.
In Xuanhua, he founded Lìhuà Temple (立化寺塔; Japanese: Rikka-ji).,[3] and a few Chinese residents converted to Nichiren Buddhism under his tutelage, including an old man named Nishote whom he mentions as his chief disciple.