(1537 – 1626), famously known as , was a Japanese Shin Buddhist priest within

Hongan-ji , also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bui ...

. He led on the defence of

Siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji The , taking place from 1570 to 1580 in Sengoku period Japan, was a ten-year campaign by lord Oda Nobunaga against a network of fortifications, temples, and communities belonging to the Ikkō-ikki, a powerful faction of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist mo ...

between 1570 and 1580. During that time the temple was in conflict from

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

. Rairen played a role in the peace treaty with Nobunaga and later moved to the region of

Tenmangū is a Shinto shrine which enshrines Sugawara no Michizane as Tenjin (kami), Tenjin. There are about 14,000 such shrines in Japan; famous examples include: * Dazaifu Tenmangū (Dazaifu, Fukuoka) -- One of the Sōhonsha (head shrines) of Tenman-gū ...

to serve

Honganji Kennyo , also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bui ...

and

Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

References

* 1537 births 1626 deaths Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist priests Azuchi–Momoyama period Buddhist clergy Edo period Buddhist clergy {{Japan-bio-stub