Rennyo

Timeline

1. 1415–1440Hongwanji (Higashiyama, Kyoto) · KyotoRennyo was born at the Hongwanji in Higashiyama in the twenty-second year of Oei, eldest son of the seventh head Sonsho. His mother was of low status; he lost her around age six, and studied Jodo Shinshu doctrine and sutra copying within the temple. At the time the Hongwanji was far weaker than rival schools such as Bukkoji and Senshuji, and the young Rennyo grew up in this decline. This stage falls entirely within the 1401–1450 window.
2. 1440–1457Hongwanji (Kyoto) · KyotoAs an adult he assisted his father with temple affairs, copied sacred texts, explained Shinran's teachings to followers in the Kinai region, and had a tense relationship with his stepmother. In the 1440s his activities went beyond mere service, laying the groundwork for later organizing followers through kana documents. When Sonsho died in 1457, his uncle Jonyo supported him in excluding his half-brother, and he succeeded as the eighth head.
3. 1457–1471Kyoto and Omi · KinkiAfter succeeding, he attracted artisan-class followers in Omi using the cross-shaped nembutsu name and the nembutsu honzon, arousing the alarm of Enryakuji. In 1465 warrior monks of Mount Hiei burned down the Hongwanji, an event known as the Kansei persecution. Rennyo fled with an image of Shinran, lodging for several years with various followers, and on the eve of the Onin War continued expanding his mission lines into Mikawa, Settsu, and the Kantō region.
4. 1471–1475Yoshizaki · EchichuIn 1471 he traveled far to Yoshizaki in Echichu to establish a temple, explaining assurance of salvation to Hokuriku followers through omotofude letters, and village lecture groups expanded rapidly. He issued omokige rules requiring respect for gods, Buddhas, and other sects, and obedience to shugo and jitō. Kaga followers became embroiled in the Toshi family's internal strife and formed an Ikkō-ikki; Rennyo tried to restrain their militarization, but ultimately left Yoshizaki in 1475 due to the dangerous situation.
5. 1475–1499Yamashina Hongwanji · KyotoAfter returning to the Kinai region he built a grand Hongwanji at Yamashina (completed c. 1483), established daily services centered on the Shoshinge and wasan, and used the six-character nembutsu name as the honzon. In 1489 he ceded his position to his fifth son Jitsunyo. In 1496 he built a thatched hut at Ishiyama at the mouth of the Yodo River, where followers gathered, and the place name Osaka also came to appear in documents because of this. He passed away at Yamashina in 1499, by which time the Hongwanji had become a nationwide religious organization.