Rennyo

A monk from the Muromachi period. He was the 8th head of the Shinshu Hongan-ji Temple and is known as the founder of its restoration. His childhood names were Kotei and Hotei, and his given name was Kenju. He was called Shinshoin, and in 1882 (Meiji 15) he was given the posthumous title of Eto Daishi. He was born as the eldest son of the 7th abbot of Hongan-ji, Zonnyo (1396-1457), but his birth mother is unknown. He was separated from his mother at the age of 6 and grew up in poverty at the declining Hongan-ji Temple, and at the age of 15, he volunteered to revive the sect. He was ordained at Shoren-in Temple at the age of 17, where he studied hard and assisted his father in copying sacred texts, and in 1449 (Houtoku 1), at the age of 35, he traveled with his father from Hokuriku to Kanto and Tohoku. When his father, Zonnyo, died in 1457 (Choroku 1), he succeeded him as the 8th head priest of Hongan-ji Temple after a dispute with his half-brother. Soon after, he began actively preaching mainly in Omi (Shiga Prefecture), which drew the ire of Mount Hiei, and in 1465 (Kansho 6), Hongan-ji Temple was destroyed. In 1471 (Bunmei 3), he opened a training hall (Yoshizaki Gobo) in Yoshizaki, Echizen (Fukui Prefecture) and lived there. Within a year or two, followers had flocked to the temple and a town was formed within the temple. This was largely due to his original educational activities, such as the publication of missionary documents called "Ofumi" ("Gobunsho"), which explained the doctrine in simple language in the form of messages, and the publication of "Shoshinge Wasan."

As Yoshizaki-bosha gained influence, he became embroiled in the conflicts of Kaga (Ishikawa Prefecture) and Echizen, and in 1475 he left Yoshizaki and returned to Kinai, during which time he witnessed the outbreak of the Ikko-Ikki uprising. In 1483 he built Hongan-ji Temple in Yamashina, Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture) and restored the Hongan-ji sect, which had many sub-sects in Hokuriku, Tokai and Kinai. In 1489 (Entoku 1), he retired and handed over the position of chief priest of Hongan-ji Temple to his fifth son, Jitsunyo (1458-1525), after which he built a monastery in Ishiyama, Settsu (Osaka Prefecture), where he lived. This is the site of what would later become Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. He controlled the Hongan-ji sect by distributing his many children (13 boys and 14 girls) to various regions as bastions of the Hongan-ji sect, and by absorbing influential local temples by issuing statues of Buddha, etc. In terms of doctrine, he clarified Shinran's doctrine by preaching "Faith, Right Cause, Chanting the Name of Amida Buddha, Repaying Gratitude," which states that believing in the original vow of Amida Buddha is the correct cause for rebirth in the Pure Land, and chanting the name of Amida Buddha is a nembutsu of gratitude for Amida's salvation. He also established the Shinshu ethics by emphasizing "Faith in the Right Cause, Chanting the Name of Amida Buddha, Repaying Gratitude," which states that one should have a deep faith in the power of others in one's heart, and that in dealing with the world one should obey the king's law and follow the national constitution, "The king's law is the source, faith in the inner heart."

[Hitoshi Okusa October 19, 2017]

"Kasahara Kazuo and Inoue Eio (eds.), "Japanese Thought Series 17: Rennyo and the Ikko Ikki" (1972, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Kasahara Kazuo, "Rennyo" (1963/New Edition, 1986, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Kikumura Norihiko, "Rennyo: The Person and His Actions" (1975, Yuzankaku Publishing)" ▽ "Mori Ryukichi, "Rennyo" (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町時代の僧。真宗本願寺第8世宗主で、中興の祖と称される。幼名幸亭、布袋、諱(いみな)は兼寿(けんじゅ)。信証院と称し、1882年（明治15）に慧燈(えとう)大師の諡号(しごう)を受ける。本願寺第7世存如(ぞんにょ)（1396―1457）の長子として生まれたが、生母は不詳。6歳のとき母に別れ、衰微した本願寺で困窮のうちに成長し、15歳にして一宗再興の志願をたてたという。17歳で青蓮院(しょうれんいん)で得度して修学に励み、また父を助けて聖教書写などを行い、1449年（宝徳1）35歳のとき、父とともに北陸から関東・東北を巡化(じゅんげ)。父存如が1457年（長禄1）に没すると、異母弟との争いののち本願寺第8世を継職した。その直後から近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）を中心に活発に布教を開始したため叡山(えいざん)の反感を受け、1465年（寛正6）には本願寺を破却された。1471年（文明3）越前(えちぜん)（福井県）の吉崎(よしざき)に道場（吉崎御坊）を開いて住するや、1～2年のうちに門徒が群集し、寺内町が形成された。それには、消息(しょうそく)形式で教義を平易に説いた『御文(おふみ)』（『御文章(ごぶんしょう)』）とよばれる伝道文書や、『正信偈和讃(しょうしんげわさん)』の開板などの、独創的教化活動が大きな力となっていた。

　こうして吉崎坊舎が大きな勢力となると、加賀（石川県）・越前の争乱に巻き込まれ、1475年には吉崎を退去し畿内(きない)に戻ったが、この間に一向一揆(いっき)の勃発(ぼっぱつ)をみた。1483年には山城(やましろ)（京都府）の山科(やましな)に本願寺を造営し、北陸・東海・畿内に多くの門末を擁する本願寺教団の再興を成し遂げた。1489年（延徳1）退隠し、五男の実如(じつにょ)（1458―1525）に本願寺住持職を譲ったのち、摂津(せっつ)（大阪府）石山に坊舎を造営して住した。後の石山本願寺の地である。13男14女という多数の子女を各地に配して本願寺の藩屏(はんぺい)とし、また本尊などの下付によって地方有力寺院を傘下に吸収するなどの方法によって本願寺教団を統制した。また教義的には、阿弥陀(あみだ)仏の本願を信ずることが浄土に往生(おうじょう)する正しい因であり、名号(みょうごう)を称(とな)えるのは弥陀の救済に対する報恩の念仏であるとする「信心正因称名(しんじんしょういんしょうみょう)報恩」を説いて親鸞(しんらん)の教義を明確化し、あわせて内心には深く他力の信心を蓄え、世間に処するには王法(おうぼう)を守って国憲に従うべきとする「王法為本(おうぼういほん)信心内心」を強調し、真宗的倫理観を確立した。

［大桑　斉　2017年10月19日］

『笠原一男・井上鋭夫編『日本思想大系17　蓮如　一向一揆』（1972・岩波書店）』▽『笠原一男著『蓮如』（1963／新装版・1986・吉川弘文館）』▽『菊村紀彦著『蓮如――その人と行動』（1975・雄山閣出版）』▽『森龍吉著『蓮如』（講談社現代新書）』

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