Ofumi - Letter

These are Buddhist texts in the form of letters issued by the 8th abbot, Rennyo (1415-99), who is said to be the founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect and the restoration of Honganji Temple, for the purpose of educating his followers. They are also called "Gobunsho" or "Hosho" (usually called "Gobun" in the Otani sect and "Gobun" in the Honganji sect). Rennyo's grandson Ennyo (1491-1521) selected 80 letters, and the 10th abbot, Shonyo, printed them for the first time. "Gobun" is usually called "Five Books of Gobun" because of the way it was prepared, but later, the ones that were not included in the "Five Books" were collected and called "Book-extra Gobun". Since Rennyo, "Gobun" has become the basic material for educating his followers, and there are a great number of research books and lectures on "Gobun". In addition to showing Rennyo's ideas as Buddhist teachings, "Gobun" is also a valuable historical document related to the politics of the early period of the Ikko Ikki uprising.

[Kitanishi Hiroshi]

"The Writings of Rennyo Shonin, edited by Inaba Masamaru (1936, Hozokan)" "Japanese Thought Series 17: Rennyo and the Ikko Ikki, edited by Kasahara Kazuo and Inoue Eiji (1972, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

浄土真宗、本願寺中興の祖といわれる第8世蓮如(れんにょ)（1415―99）が、門徒教化のため発給した消息(しょうそく)（手紙）形式の法語。『御文章(ごぶんしょう)』『宝章(ほうしょう)』ともいう（普通、大谷派では『御文』、本願寺派では『御文章』という）。蓮如の孫円如(えんにょ)（1491―1521）が80通を選び、本願寺10世証如(しょうにょ)が初めてこれを版に付した。『御文』は普通、調製の形式から『五帖(ごじょう)御文』とよばれるが、のちに「五帖」に漏れたものを集め、それを『帖外御文』とよんでいる。蓮如以降に『御文』は、門徒教化の基本的な素材となってきたため、『御文』に関する研究書、講録はきわめて多い。なお、『御文』は法語として蓮如の思想を示すとともに、一向一揆(いっこういっき)初期の政治関係史料としても貴重である。

［北西　弘］

『稲葉昌丸編『蓮如上人遺文』（1936・法蔵館）』▽『笠原一男・井上鋭夫校注『日本思想大系17　蓮如・一向一揆』（1972・岩波書店）』

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