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Shinran

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1173–1263 Also known as Disciple of Genkū、Founder of Jōdo Shinshū

Shinran (1173–1263), founder of Japan's Jōdo Shinshū; studied on Mount Hiei, later under Hōnen, deeply trusting the nembutsu practice of Amitābha's v…

Timeline

  1. 1173–1201Enryaku-ji, Mount Hiei · Shiga PrefectureBorn near Kyoto, lost his father at nine, ordained and ascended Mount Hiei in 1198 to study Tendai doctrine and precepts. Feeling the difficulty of self-power practice, he descended in 1201 to visit Hōnen at Yoshimizu in Kyoto and took up the nembutsu.
  2. 1201–1224Kyoto · Kyoto PrefectureAfter 1201 studied with Hōnen at Yoshimizu in Kyoto, focusing on exclusive recitation of Amitābha's name, advocating entrusting to the original vow and birth through name-recitation. In 1224, in the Kennin-ji persecution, Shinran and Hōnen and others were punished by the court; Shinran was exiled to Echigo, later reassigned to Hitachi.
  3. 1224–1263Hitachi Province · Ibaraki PrefectureAfter his 1224 exile, spread the nembutsu in Hitachi, Kozuke, Musashi and other Kantō regions; in the 1230s the community expanded rapidly among samurai and commoners. Between 1231 and 1240 his network covered Kantō; Shinran wrote works such as Kenshō Shinshū Denki and Kyōgyōshinshō, establishing the system of other-power original vow thought and laying the foundation for Jōdo Shinshū's later independence.

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