Nichiren Shonin Gohonzon Shu O'Mandalas by St. Nichiren [1222-1282]

Secret Transmissions in the Hokkeshu
by Dr. Jacquie Stone

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A number of conventions surround the style of brushstrokes and the writing of particular characters on the mandala, and the Hokke kuden texts contain transmissions explaining these conventions. For example, calligraphic style is assimilated via the hermeneutical technique of association by resemblence to the exclusive doctrine of the Hokkeshu and its ethos of assertive proselytizing: "As to the way of writing the characters: According to secular transmissions, there are various styles, such as the suspended needle, fish scales, tiger claws, and sword shapes.... In the Dharma of this sect, shakubuku is regarded as our pride, so the brush method of sword shapes and tiger claws should naturally be used."

Similarly, the extremely long, bold, diagonal strokes employed in writing the central inscription of the daimoku, often extending into the surrounding characters, are described as representing "the mind profoundly compassionate, assiduous in propagation, that seeks to spread the Wonderful Dharma throughout Jambudvipa [i.e., the world]. They mean that, like the flow of water that never ceases, Nichiren's compassion is vast and great."

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Source: Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism by Jacqueline Ilyse Stone. (Studies in East Asian Buddhism 12) University of Hawai'i Press: Honolulu. 1999. pp. 332-333.