The Secularization Of Japanese Buddhism In Honganji

In my research on the topic of the secularization of Japanese Buddhism and the role of Japanese warrior monks in the sengoku peroid, I have learned that, during the sengoku period, which is the warring period from 1467 to 1603, there were many Ikko-ikki communities around Japan and played an important role in the political interactions with the warlords. These Ikko-ikki communities are leagues formed by priests, peasants and even some low rank samurais with the same belief of Jodo Shinshu sect Buddhism, led by their religious leader Rennyo Shonin. These Ikko-ikki armies took control of the Kaga province and became the first religious power to rule over a province in the history of Japan (Turnbull 15). These power even later on became “Oda

These observations lead me to ask the question that, in what extent did Rennyo, the eighth abbot of the Honganji, support the secularization of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism sect. This question has several plausible answers. For example, Sugiyama claims that it was because of Rennyo’s efforts “that the Honganji was to become the dominant branch of Jodo Shinshu as well as the force to be reckoned with by the warlords” (Sugiyama 60). However, there are also others argue that Rennyo tried to restrain his followers from involving into political affairs base on the evidence that he “reprimands to the temples that had mobilized members for battle” (Sugiyama 62). However, his efforts on restraining his following temples from warfare should be considered with the demand of expelling Shinshu participants of Kaga from Ashikaga Yoshihisa, the 9th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, and understood as a political action to avoid too many enemies. My thesis towards this question is, Rennyo is rather a political figure who politicalized Honganji and his followers to gain

After the fleeing from Omi, Rennyo carried a reversed image of Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu who believe the worst people can be saved by Buddha through nenbutsu, to continue his preaching. According to Turnbull, “To be a believer was to be warrior, so although the vast majority of their armies were not monks in any conventional sense, their meticulously observed ritual behavior, their enthusiastic military training and their devotion to the cause made them Japan’s new holy warriors” (15). However, the counter argument from Sugiyama claims “Rennyo’s attitude toward the military ventures of his followers was always circumspect. He did his best to restrain their excesses and did not encourage them in their exploits”