The was a Buddhist temple located in what is the Yoshizaki neighbourhood of the city of

Awara, Fukui is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 27,107 in 10,140 households and the population density of 232 persons per km². The total area of the city was . It is one of the few Hiragana cities in Jap ...

, Japan. It is known for its connection to

Rennyo Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He w ...

, the founder of the Ikkō sect of

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...

. The ruins of the temple were designated a National Historic Site in 2012.

Overview

In 1457, Rennyo was appointed as the eighth chief abbot of

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 bu ...

, on the outskirts of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. Under Rennyo's leadership, Hongan-ji began to expand the teachings of Shinran's Pure Land Buddhism to areas beyond the capital. However, the rapid growth of Hongan-ji was met with hostility by the orthodox

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

sect based at

Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayan ...

Mount Hiei is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, Japan. The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tendai (Chin. Tiantai) sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei b ...

, and in 1465, Hongan-ji was destroyed by militant monks from Enryaku-ji and Rennyo was forced to flee Kyoto. In 1471, he re-established Hongaki-ji at the small village of Yoshizaki on the border of

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...

with

Kaga Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abb ...

. This rectory, known as the "Yoshizaki-gobō" was the location from which he sent out many epistles explaining the teachings of his version of the Pure Land faith, known as the ''

Ikkō-shū or "single-minded school" is usually viewed as a small, militant offshoot from Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism though the name has a complex history. Originally Ikkō-shū was an "obscure band of Pure Land proponents" founded by Ikkō Shunjō in the fif ...

'', in colloquial Japanese, and was the location at which he reformed the ritual practices of the sect. It was also from this location that he implemented his vision of reforming society by creating a semi-theocratic republic, in which the traditional feudal landlords would be replaced by communal landholding by lay followers of the sect led by the priesthood, thus laying the foundations for the

Ikkō-ikki were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly co ...

movement. The town of Yoshizaki had residences for both priests and lay followers and provided lodgings and other services, and rapidly attracted large numbers of pilgrims mainly from the northern provinces as far away as Dewa and

Ōshū Oshu or Ōshū may refer to: *Another name for Mutsu Province, a former Japanese province *Ōshū, Iwate, Japan, a city *Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese kuge, noble Japanese c ...

. However, Rennyo's success at Yoshizaki drew hostility from the traditional political authorities. The Yoshizaki-gobō burned down in 1474 and again in 1475. After this, Rennyo left Yoshizaki and returned to Kyoto. The Yoshizaki Hongan-ji continued to be used by his followers and the ''

Kaga ikki The Kaga ''ikki'', also known as The Peasants' Kingdom, was a theocratic feudal confederacy that emerged in Kaga Province (present-day southern Ishikawa Prefecture), Japan, during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Kaga ''ikki'' was a ...

'' movement until it was destroyed by the forces of the

Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 DF_7_of_80">"Asa_...

_in_1506. A_new_temple_was_built_on_the_site_in_1747,_belonging_to_the_Ōtani-ha.html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ...

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References

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