The Shin Buddhist path was
founded by Shinran Shonin (1173-1263) during the Kamakura period,
and in several centuries grew into one of the largest and most
influential schools of Buddhism in Japan, a position it maintains
today. The Hongwanji temple is the headquarters of the Hongwanji
denomination of Shin Buddhism (Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha), and
is known as Nishi (lit. "West") Hongwanji.
Origins
Rennyo Shonin
Ishiyama Hongwanji
Return to Kyoto
Beyond National Boundaries
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Origins
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 The
Hongwanji developed from a modest temple built at the site of
Shinran Shonin's mausoleum. After his death, his cremated remains
were interred at Otani in the eastern hills of Kyoto and marked
by a simple stone obelisk.
Many followers came to pay their respects, particularly
from the distant Kanto region (now the Tokyo area), and in 1272,
with their support, Shinran's daughter, Kakushinni, had his
ashes moved to the grounds of her residence at Yoshimizu, slightly
to the north. There, a hexagonal chapel was built and an image
of Shinran enshrined.
Several years later, with the death of her husband, title
to the residence passed to Kakushinni, allowing her to determine
the future of the chapel, and in 1277, she dedicated her property
to the Shin movement as a permanent mausoleum, to be tended
by a person of Shinran's lineage. The chapel and land became
known as the Otani Mausoleum (byodo) and was supported by followers
in the Kanto area.
The first intendant of the mausoleum was Kakushinni's
son, Kakue, and in 1310 he was succeeded by his son, Kakunyo.
Kakunyo elevated the status of the mausoleum by gaining recognition
for it as a temple, and further sought to make it the center
of the Shin movement. It was he who adopted the name Hongwanji
(lit. "Temple of the Primal Vow").
In 1336, the Otani Mausoleum was burned during warfare
between Ashikaga Takauji and Emperor Godaigo. Kakunyo rebuilt
it, not as a hexagonal chapel, but as a regular temple. In succeeding
generations, the Hongwanji developed the present format of two
halls, the Founder's Hall and the Hall of Amida Buddha. Factions
formed among Shin followers, however, and most of the ten Shin
denominations arose during this period, around central temples
in various parts of the country. It was not until the time of
Rennyo that the Hongwanji became the center of the Shin tradition,
independent from the Tendai organization.
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Rennyo Shonin
(1415-1499)
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 Under
Rennyo, the eighth generation leader, the Hongwanji grew remarkably.
After assuming the role as head of the Hongwanji (now termed
monshu), he spread the teaching in nearby provinces with astonishing
success, communicating the teaching in forceful, colloquial
language, particularly through the use of letters (Gobunsho).
The growth of Hongwanji influence in Omi (Shiga prefecture),
however, aroused the ire of the Tendai temple on Mt. Hiei, which
had traditionally regarded the area as within its jurisdiction.
In 1465, warrior-monks from Mt. Hiei raided the Hongwanji and
destroyed a number of buildings, and Rennyo was forced to flee.
In 1471, after Omi had been occupied by an unfriendly
daimyo, Rennyo settled at Yoshizaki in Echizen (Fukui prefecture).
There, his reputation as a great religious leader spread, and
he began to attract thousands of followers. The Hongwanji-affiliated
temples in Echizen and the neighboring areas grew into a political
power, and in an era of constant struggle among daimyos, forces
emerged that sought to utilize Hongwanji's strength militarily,
or to extend its influence through political alliances.
Rennyo, finding his movement becoming entangled in violent
struggle and unable to restrain his followers, chose to withdraw.
In 1474, he returned to the Osaka area, and in 1478, he selected
Yamashina near Kyoto as the site for the construction of a magnificent
temple complex, completed five years later.
At the age of seventy-four, Rennyo retired as monshu,
but continued his work in spreading the teaching. At
eighty-two,
he established a temple at Ishiyama on Osaka Bay, which he recognized
as an ideal site for propagation because of its heavy river
traffic. The village that was to grow into the city of Osaka
quickly sprang up around the temple.
By the time of his death in 1499, at the age of eighty-five,
the small Kyoto temple of his youth had grown into a powerful
religious institution.
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Ishiyama Hongwanji
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The century following
Rennyo's death was one of turbulence and momentous change for
both the country and the Hongwanji. The period from 1482 to
1558 is known as the age of "the country at war" and was characterized
by incessant warfare and shifting alliances among the feudal
lords throughout Japan. At the beginning of this period, Shin
followers in Echizen and neighboring Kaga arose to virtually
dominate those provinces, and for a century the Hongwanji remained
an obstacle to the ambitions of warlords bent on dominating
the entire country.
In 1532, the Yamashina Hongwanji was attacked and burned
to the ground by the Omi daimyo, Rokkaku, and followers of the
Nichiren school. It was relocated at Ishiyama which, located
on a slight prominence and surrounded by waterways, occupied
a strategic position of great strength. It is the site of present
Osaka Castle. Hongwanji influence in the area grew.
From the mid-sixteenth century, the warlord Oda Nobunaga
emerged as one of the most powerful military leaders, and his
drive to control the country brought him into conflict with
the Hongwanji. In 1580, after eleven years of military action
against the Ishiyama Hongwanji and failure to achieve its downfall,
Nobunaga requested the intercession of Emperor Ogimachi, who
mediated the evacuation of Ishiyama. The eleventh monshu, Kennyo,
moved the Hongwanji to Saginomori in Wakayama prefecture, and
then to Kaizuka and Temma in present-day Osaka.
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Return to Kyoto
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Nobunaga was assassinated
in 1582, and it fell to one of his generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
to effect final unification of the country. Hideyoshi was supportive
of the Hongwanji, and in 1591 donated the tract of land where
it stands today. With the relocation of the temple halls from
Temma the following year, the Hongwanji returned to Kyoto.
In 1592 Kennyo died and was succeeded by his eldest son,
Kyonyo. In his will, however, Kennyo named his third son, Junnyo,
to be his successor, and with Hideyoshi's recognition of this
will, responsibility passed to Junnyo in 1593. Kyonyo retired,
but a decade later, in 1602, he received a parcel of land slightly
to the east of the Hongwanji from the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The Hongwanji following was split, and an additional new temple
was erected. Popularly known as Higashi (lit. "East") Hongwanji,
it became headquarters of the new Otani denomination.
A number of structures, including the Flying Cloud Pavilion,
ceremonial gate and Chamber of Waves, appear to have been moved
to the original Hongwanji about this time. The main halls, however,
were destroyed in a great earthquake in 1596, and though reconstruction
was quickly undertaken, in 1617 a fire swept the compound and
the nearly completed buildings burned. Under the direction of
Junnyo and his successor, Ryonyo, many of the structures of
the present compound were built; some have been recognized as
National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, attesting
to the Hongwanji's continuing creativity and vitality. In 1994,
the entire Hongwanji precinct received designation as a UNESCO
World Cultural Heritage Site.
Junnyo built the Hall of Amida, and the main audience
chamber and Shiro shoin complex. The reconstruction of a permanent
Founder's Hall was left to Ryonyo who, in addition, built the
Kuro shoin chambers and the Meichodo at the Otani mausoleum.
During this period, the Hongwanji temple organization
was firmly established in conformity with Tokugawa government
policies requiring hierarchical internal structures and fixed
temple membership. Further, official encouragement to formulate
doctrinal teachings led, in 1639, to the creation of a facility
for scholarly study, which was to develop into Ryukoku University,
one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Japan.
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Beyond National
Boundaries
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With the Meiji
Restoration in 1868, Japan entered a period of rapid modernization,
but it was also a time of crisis. The new government adopted
a strong anti-Buddhist attitude, and a movement to eradicate
Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the
country. It was precisely at this time that the twenty-first
monshu, Myonyo, took office.
Myonyo was energetic in protecting religious freedom and
successfully struggled against state control of temple activities.
To advance the Shin tradition, as early as 1872 he began sending
advisors and students abroad to investigate religious thought
and practices throughout the world. In 1888, in response to
interest among Buddhists in Europe and America, the Hongwanji
published a journal in English, and also highly-regarded reports
in Japanese on religious conditions abroad.
At home, he broke down the rigid hierarchy of branch temples
and directly involved local temples throughout the country in
governing the Hongwanji. He also built schools, orphanages and
other social welfare facilities, and created a program of prison
and military chaplaincy. In 1897, the Hongwanji began sending
official ministers to establish temples for Japanese immigrants
in Hawaii and the mainland United States.
In 1903, Myonyo was succeeded by Kyonyo (Ohtani Kozui),
who continued to broaden the vision and scope of Hongwanji activities.
He is known in particular for the Otani expeditions to Buddhist
sites in central Asia, which recovered many texts and artifacts
from the deserts across which Buddhism had been transmitted
to Japan over the Silk Road.
Shin missions in Europe started after the twenty-third
monshu, Ohtani Kosho, made a tour in 1954. Today, the Hongwanji
is the head temple for over ten thousand temples throughout
Japan and some two hundred temples around the world.
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