Nichiren Shu considers Chapter 16, The Eternal Life of the Tathagata, to be one of the four most important chapters of the Lotus Sutra. In this chapter the Buddha reveals that he is much more than simply a prince who left the palace forty years before and attained enlightenment beneath a Bodhi Tree. The Buddha is eternal, his enlightment transcending the boundaries of time and space.

The section of Chapter 16 that is mostly frequently recited is known as the "Jigage." "Ji" and "Ga" are the first two syllables of this section, and "Ge" means a gatha or verse.