Jōdo-shū

Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"), is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū. There are various branches of Jōdo-shū, which the largest and most influential ones being Chinzei-ha and Seizan-ha.
Jōdo-shū Buddhism focuses exclusively on devotion to Amitābha Buddha (Amida Nyorai), and its practice is focused on the Nembutsu (recitation of Amitābha’s name). As in other forms of Pure Land Buddhism, adherents believe that the faithful recitation of the phrase "Namo Amida Butsu" (Homage to Amida Buddha) results in birth in the pure land of Sukhavati.
The Jōdo-shū as an independent sect is not to be confused with the term "Jōdo Tradition" (Jōdo-kei, 浄土系) which is used as a classification for "Japanese Pure land Buddhism" in general. This broader classification would include Jōdo-shū, the Jōdo Shinshu, the Ji-shu and the Yuzu Nembutsu shu.
The work of the founder Hōnen is informed primarily by the Chinese Pure Land tradition, especially the work of Shandao. He was also influenced by the Tendai school background in which he trained as a monk. The work of Genshin was also important for Hōnen, as he was a Japanese Tendai monk who focused on Pure Land practice.
Hōnen's Jōdo goso den lists five Pure Land patriarchs, all of which informed the thought of Hōnen to varying degrees. The following five patriarchs are still considered to be the main patriarchs of the Japanese Jōdo-shū school:
Hōnen (法然) was born in 1133, the son of Uruma no Tokikuni of a local ruling family in Mimasaka Province. After a rival official assassinated his father in 1141, Hōnen was initiated into his uncle's monastery at the age of 9. From then on, Hōnen lived his life as a monk and eventually studied at the famous monastery of Mount Hiei. He practiced traditional Tendai Buddhism for some time, but eventually became dissatisfied with it. Influenced by the writings of Shandao, Hōnen devoted himself solely to Amitābha as expressed through the practice of nembutsu.
In time, Hōnen gathered disciples from all walks of life, and developed a large following, notably women, who had been excluded from serious Buddhist practice up to this point. This included fishermen, prostitutes, samurai, and fortune tellers. Some of his followers more strictly followed Buddhist conduct, whereas others assumed they were saved by Amida Buddha and behaved recklessly, earning criticism from established monastic communities such as Enryakuji and Kofukuji. To counter these criticisms, Honen insisted his followers sign the Seven Article Pledge, shichikajō seikai (七箇条制戒) in 1204, pledging not to disparage other sects, and to uphold the Buddha-Dharma. One-hundred and sixty-three followers, including Honen's chief disciples, signed the pledge.
In 1207, Kofukuji monks made another petition to the Emperor to ban Hōnen's teaching. Meanwhile, two of Honen's disciples, Jūren and Anraku-bō, were caught proselytizing to some of the ladies in waiting of Emperor Go-toba, who had then decided to take tonsure and leave the service of the Emperor. In anger, the Emperor decreed that Hōnen and several followers be defrocked and sent into exile, while Jūren and Anraku-bō were executed. This is known as the Jogen Persecution (承元の法難, jōgen no hōnan) of 1207. Eventually, Hōnen was pardoned and returned to Kyoto in 1211, but died soon after in 1212, just two days after giving his final testament, the One-Sheet Document to disciple Genchi.
The remaining disciples in the capitol collected Hōnen's writings and erected a mausoleum. His disciples had already begun work on carving Hōnen's magnum opus, his Senchakushū, into woodblocks in 1207 for printing. The carving of the blocks was completed in 1211 and the first copied were then printed and distributed publicly. This was the first printing of the text of a Japanese Buddhist author and it was a big sensation at the time.
During the fifteen years following Hōnen’s passing, three key figures—Ryūkan, Kōsai, and Shōku—emerged as leaders of distinct factions within Hōnen’s Pure Land movement. They defended their tradition against opposition from established Buddhist schools, worked to establish the legitimacy of Pure Land teachings, and developed their own interpretations of Hōnen’s doctrine.
Ryūkan (1148–1227) emphasized faith in Amida’s vow as the path to salvation and actively defended Hōnen against criticism from Tendai and other sects. Kōsai (1163–1247) promoted the idea that a single recitation of the nembutsu (ichinen-gi) was sufficient for birth in the Pure Land, drawing on the doctrine of innate enlightenment (hongaku). His radical stance gained followers but also provoked strong opposition, even among Hōnen’s disciples. Shōku (1177–1247) argued that all Buddhist practices serve only as preparatory steps toward the ultimate path of nembutsu recitation (seizan-gi), integrating Tendai thought into Pure Land practice. Unlike Ryūkan and Kōsai, Shōku avoided exile during the persecution and led the nembutsu community in Kyoto, where five prominent lineages later emerged.
When Hōnen's work began to circulate in 1227, this further enraged the Tendai monastic community on Enryakuji, who wrote attacks against it. Ryūkan’s defense against Tendai critique of the Senchakushū, resulted in the exile of Ryūkan and Kōsai, and force of sōhei warrior monks were sent to raid the tomb of Hōnen. This is known as the Karoku Persecution (karoku no hōgan 嘉禄の法難) of 1227. Hōnen's body and copies of the Senchakushū were relocated thanks to advance warning, but other writings of Honen's were destroyed, and more disciples were exiled.
In 1239, Hōnen's followers re-carved the Senchakushū into new woodblocks so they could reprint the text again.
As a result of the persecution of 1207 by order of Emperor Go-toba, and then the 1227 Karoku Persecution, many of the disciples of Hōnen were exiled to remote provinces (though not all were exiled). Each established a local community in their respective provinces and with nuances in the teachings (gi, 義). During this time, doctrinal debates flourished among Hōnen’s disciples, and his teachings spread across Japan. Shinran and Ryūkan’s followers established nembutsu communities in the Kantō region, while Benchō strengthened the movement in Kyūshū, and Kōsai spread Pure Land teachings in Shikoku. Each disciple maintained a distinct interpretation of Hōnen’s doctrine.
As doctrinal disagreements between Hōnen's disciples Ryūkan, Chōsai, Kōsai and Shōkú escalated, a major debate occurred between two opposing positions: once-calling (Jp: ichinengi) and many-calling (tanengi). Once-calling (defended by Kōsai and also accepted by Shinran) held that you only needed to recite nenbutsu once to be liberated, while many-calling held that you needed to recite nenbutsu as much as possible. Hōnen himself promoted sustained practice as taught by many-calling, though he also said that one could be saved by even a few recitations (but this was not an excuse to abandon practice). The mainstream Jōdoshū tradition follows this view and promotes extensive recitation while also accepting that a single recitation can lead to the pure land.
Kōsai's "single recitation" (ichinengi) doctrine held that one can attain birth in the pure land through one nembutsu in which “the mind of faith (shinjin) … is in complete accord with the wisdom of the Buddha.” He, along with Gyōkū, emphasized faith, not practice, though his view did not mean that he rejected practice after the establishment of true faith. He also emphasized how the most important nembutsu was the non-verbal, mental nembutsu, seeing the vocalization of the nembutsu as secondary to the mind's “psychological experience of nembutsu-samādhi”. His teaching may have influenced Shinran (1173–1262), later recognized as the founder of Jōdo Shinshū (True Pure Land), who also emphasized absolute reliance on Amida’s other-power (tariki), rejecting personal effort as a means to salvation. For Shinran, reciting the nembutsu was not a practice to achieve birth in the pure land, but an expression of gratitude for already being saved by Amida. Shinran also copied and preserved the earliest known compilation of Hōnen’s words, which he titled Saihō Shinanshō (A Teaching to the Western Land, T. 2674). Over time, Shinran's lineage gradually differed enough from others to be considered a separate tradition altogether, though Shinran did not see himself as founding a separate school in his time.
On the opposite side of the debate was Ryūkan, one of Honen's more elderly disciples, who emphasized the efficacy of the nembutsu as a constant practice and encouraged its frequent recitation, leading to his teachings being called the "many callings school" or tanen-gi (多念義). For Ryūkan, constant recitation throughout one's life is what allowed one to attain birth in the pure land through the final moment at death by Amida's power. He was eventually exiled to eastern Japan during the 1227 persecution, where he died en route.
Shōkōbō Benchō (1162–1238), the main figure of the Chinzei lineage, was another supporter of the tanengi doctrine who criticized the supporters of ichinengi and their supposed immorality. He also advocated a balanced practice that included nembutsu and auxiliary practices. Benchō categorized Buddhist practices as either a general form of nembutsu (sō no nembutsu) or the specific practice of reciting Amida’s name (betsu no nembutsu), arguing that the latter ultimately encompasses all other Buddhist practices. Drawing from the Daichidoron, he wrote extensively to systematize Hōnen’s teachings, notably in Matsudai Nembutsu Jushuin and Tetsu Senchakushū.
Shōku (1177 –1247) remained in Kyoto as the primary leader of Hōnen’s followers, guiding various groups despite brief periods of suppression in 1235 and 1240, which were less severe than the earlier persecutions. Shōku's doctrine was called "unvarnished nembutsu", which taught that the simple recitation of nembutsu without any influences was effective for birth, but he also made room for the auxiliary Pure Land practices and miscellaneous practices which could "color" the nembutsu (even if they were not necessary). He saw other practices as able to be included within the nembutsu (which could never be harmed or ruined by them), a doctrine called “harmonizing of other practices within the nembutsu”. He also taught that self-power and other-power were not mutually exclusive. His lineage became known as Seizan-ha.
Only two Jōdo-shū lineages (apart from Shinshu) survive today: the Chinzei-ha branch of Benchō and the Seizan-ha branch of Shōku (with 3 sub-branches). Other offshoots such as Jōdo Shinshū and the Ji-shū sects are considered different enough to be separate schools from Jodo-shū. The largest branch of Jōdo-shū today is the Chinzei-ha (鎮西派, "The Chinzei Branch"), named after the district of Chinzei in Kita-Kyushu, the hometown of Benchō. The Seizan-ha (西山派, "The West Mountain Branch") and Kuhon-ji branches grew around the capitol of Kyoto, as Shōkū and Chōsai were among the few major disciples who were not exiled.
Other disciples of note:
A generation later, Bencho's disciple, Ryōchū (1199–1287), became his disciple for a year, and then spread Benchō's and Hōnen's teachings throughout Japan before reaching the new capital at Kamakura. Ryōchū helped to legitimize the "Chinzei branch" of Jōdo Shū as the mainstream one, and is credited as the 3rd Patriarch accordingly. He also referred to Benchō, his teacher, as the 2nd Patriarch after Hōnen. Ryōchū's teaching was in direct opposition to those of another teacher popular at the time, Chōsai.
Chōsai (1199–1287), drawing on the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, maintained that all Buddhist practices, not just the nembutsu, could lead to birth in the Pure Land. This perspective, known as the "doctrine of various practices corresponding to the original vow" (shōgyō hongan-gi), held that Amida Buddha had designated multiple Buddhist practices, alongside the nembutsu, as valid paths to the Pure Land. However, this interpretation faced strong opposition from other lineages of Hōnen’s disciples, who saw it as straying from their teacher’s core teachings. Despite this criticism, Chōsai’s approach gained acceptance among established Buddhist schools such as Tendai and Shingon, leading to a significant increase in his followers.
Ryōchū directly challenged Chōsai’s view, arguing that only the nembutsu aligned with Amida’s original vow, and that other Buddhist practices were not inherently conducive to rebirth in the Pure Land. However, he also opposed Shōku’s strict stance that all other Buddhist practices were completely ineffective for achieving rebirth. While rejecting the idea that non-nembutsu practices corresponded to Amida’s vow, Ryōchū nonetheless acknowledged that they could still play a role in reaching the Pure Land. Ryōchū dedicated himself to solidifying the Chinzei doctrine, defending Benchō’s interpretation while refuting the positions of Chōsai and Shōku. While in Kyoto, Ryōchū gave a series of influential lectures in which he argued that the nembutsu teaching supplanted and surpassed the "perfect precepts" of Tendai. He also argued that the nembutsu was a kind of voluntary confession, seeing each recitation of Amida’s name as spontaneously evoking a sense of repentance, leading naturally to the purification of past karmic transgressions.
Ryōchū also met with Renjaku-bo, whose own teacher Genchi, had been another disciple of Hōnen. Renjaku-bo felt that Genchi and Benchō had been in complete agreement, so he willingly united his lineage with Ryōchū's, helping to further increase its standing. Jōdo Shū through the Chinzei lineage continued to develop until the 8th Patriarch, Shōgei (聖冏, 1341-1420) who formalized the training of priests (previously Jodo priests had to train under Tendai or Shingon lineages), thus formally establishing it as an independent sect. Before this, the Jōdo-shū were not formally independent, instead being more of a faction (ha) within the Tendai school.
Meanwhile, Kenni (1238–1304), a disciple of Ryūshin, was instrumental in systematizing doctrine of Shōku’s Seizan school, especially the Fukakusa doctrine. Regarding Ryōchū as a rival, his work criticizes his views without naming him. Kenni composed the Kaijōki, a thirty six fascicle commentary to the Contemplation sutra. Along with Ryōchū’s (1199–1287) Dentsūki, it is one of the most significant commentaries to this sutra written in the Kamakura period. Kenni's thought integrates Pure Land thought with the philosophy of the Chinese Tiantai school and his commentary quotes numerous Song dynasty Tiantai scholars extensively. Kenni also argued that Pure Land Buddhism was the “True School of the One Vehicle” (Ichijō Shinshū 一乗真宗), identifying the one vehicle teaching with the power of the Buddha. Kenni argued that the teaching of other-power was taught in all major sutras and that all Buddhist practices ultimately relied upon it. Kenni thus stresses that "Other-Power" is not confined to Pure Land teachings but is a foundational element across all of Buddhism.
It was also during this period that Ippen (1239–1289), initially a Seizan school monk, was active and established his Ji sect.
In 1590, during the Azuchi–Momoyama period, Jōdo-shū was officially patronized by Tokugawa Ieyasu, leading to an era of great prosperity for the sect that lasted throughout the Edo period and beyond. Due to this prosperity, Jōdo-shū would become the largest Buddhist sect, both in terms of population and influence, throughout the entire Edo period. In a coordinated effort with the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Jōdo sect was heavily influential in the conversion and suppression of Christians in the Edo period through monks such as Banzui'i.
Zōjō-ji in Edo, previously a Shingon temple, was converted to a Jōdo-shū temple, and this became the family temple of the Tokugawa clan, receiving considerable patronage. Several shoguns of the Tokugawa family are still interred in mausoleums at Zōjō-ji, though Ieyasu himself is interred at the Nikkō Tōshō-gū shrine.
The Meiji Restoration of 1868 marked a tumultuous period for Japanese Buddhism. The separation of Shinto and Buddhism unintentionally triggered the haibutsu kishaku (literally "abolish Buddhism and destroy Shākyamuni" campaign), a nationwide movement targeting Buddhist institutions, in which temples were demolished, their properties revoked, and their monks forcibly defrocked.
Jōdo-shū, having formerly received considerable patronage from the Tokugawa Shogunate, now embarked on a period of internal reform in which several monks emerged as important reformers, such as Yamazaki Ben'nei, Tetsujō Ukai, and Fukuda Gyōkai.
Among these reformers was Tetsujō Ukai (養鸕徹定), a Buddhist historian and the head priest of Chion-in from 1885 to 1887. He became a staunch defender of Buddhism during this period, opposing both the attempts to eradicate Buddhism in Japan and the rise of Western criticism aimed at the religion. He also emphasized the importance of Buddhism in Japanese history and culture, underscoring its contributions to the nation's history.
Another important figure within the reform movement was Fukuda Gyōkai (福田行誡), a Buddhist scholar, poet, and the head priest of Chion-in from 1887 to 1888. He promoted both the preservation of Buddhist traditions and the modernization of social welfare systems based on Buddhist philosophy. He also promoted the creation of the League of United Buddhist Sects (諸宗同徳会盟), which united several Buddhist sects to follow the goals of modernization and preventing Christian influences on Japan.
Before and during World War II, Jōdo-shū, along with other Buddhist sects, faced pressure to endorse the actions of Imperial Japan and its policy of State Shintō. Despite the protests of certain members of the sect, the Jōdo-shū organization nevertheless complied with the policy of State Shintō. This included building several temples within Japan’s overseas colonies (all of which would later be destroyed in the years following the war) and providing memorial services to deceased soldiers as well as relief for their families. The school subsequently apologized for its wartime actions alongside the other Buddhist sects of Japan.
After the Second World War, during the 1940s and early 1950s, several temples broke off from the main Chinzei Branch of Jōdo-shū, forming their own independent sects. However, this period of fragmentation proved to be relatively short-lived. In January 1961, on the 750th anniversary of Hōnen’s death, the majority of the breakaway sects of Jōdo-shū merged back into the primary Chinzei branch, which remains the largest branch of Jōdo-shū in the modern day.
Although Jōdo-shū is mainly found in Japan, a sizable Jōdo-shū community exists in Hawaii as well as a few temples in the continental United States and Brazil. The first Jōdo-shū temple built in Hawai'i was the Hāmākua Bukkyo Kaido, constructed in 1896 under the supervision of Reverend Gakuo Okabe. The head temple of the Jōdo sect in Hawaii is the Jodo Mission of Hawaii in Honolulu, founded in 1907 and moved to its current location in 1932. The Jodo Shu North America Buddhist Missions was the first Jōdo-shū temple to be built in mainland America in 1936 in Los Angeles, California.
Pure Land Buddhist teachings had been prevalent in Japan for centuries, particularly in the Tendai sect through Ennin, Genshin, and others, but what distinguished Honen's teaching was the notion senju nembutsu (専修念仏, "exclusive nembutsu"), whereby the only true means of achieving rebirth in the Pure Land was through reciting the nembutsu. In particular, Honen argued that it was through Amida Buddha's merit and compassion that one achieved rebirth, and since the nembutsu was explicitly called out in the Immeasurable Life Sutra in the 18th Vow (also known as the Primal Vow), it was the only practice that would work, especially in the latter age of Mappō, when people could no longer effectively put the teachings of the Buddha into practice anymore. Other practices would neither add nor detract from Amida Buddha's power.
Toward the end of the Immeasurable Life Sutra is the following passage:
Since the Jōdo-shū school was founded near the end of the Heian period, when Buddhism in Japan had become deeply involved in political schemes, and some in Japan saw monks flaunting wealth and power, it was felt that society had already reached the era of latter days of the Dharma, and that, based on the passage above, all other practices had ceased to have any efficacy.
Further, Hōnen sought to provide people a simple Buddhist practice that anybody could use toward enlightenment, no matter how degenerate the times because he was concerned that many people were excluded from existing sects:
Since, according to Honen's line of reasoning, salvation was mostly due to Amida Buddha's power, there was no reason why anyone who sincerely recited the nembutsu couldn't be reborn in the Pure Land.
Recitation of the nembutsu, lit. namu amida butsu (南無阿弥陀仏, "Praise to the Buddha Amitabha"), is the most fundamental practice of Jōdo-shū, which derives from the Primal Vow of Amitābha. In home practice, or in temple liturgy, the nembutsu may be recited in any number of styles including:
However, in addition to this, practitioners are encouraged to engage in "auxiliary" practices, such as observing the five precepts, meditation, the chanting of sutras, and other good conduct. There is no strict rule on this however, as Jōdo-shū stresses that the compassion of Amitābha is extended to all beings who recite the nembutsu, so how one observes auxiliary practices is left to the individual to decide. Furthermore, Jōdo-shū practitioners are allowed to worship kami and visit Shinto shrines as long as they do not worship the kami as a means to enter the pure land.
Jōdo-shū also hosts a circuit pilgrimage of 25 Sacred Sites that Hōnen visited throughout his life, as well as temples that are important to the sect.
Of the entire Buddhist canon, Sutra of Immeasurable Life is the central Buddhist scripture for Jōdo-shū Buddhism, and the foundation of the belief in the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha. In addition to this, the Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra and the Amitabha Sutra are important to the Jōdo-shū school. Collectively, these are known as the Sanbukyō (三部経, "Three Pure Land Sutras").
Further, the writings of Hōnen, are another source for Jōdo-shū thought. The most central of his works include the Senchaku-hongan-nembutsu-shū (often abbreviated to Senchakushū) and the Ichimai-Kishōmon (一枚起請文, "One-Sheet Document"). Most of what is known about Honen and his thought is attributed through sayings collected in the following century, the Senchakushū, and letters to his students and disciples. The One-Sheet Document is also read aloud in daily services as part of Jōdo-shū liturgy.
Jōdo-shū, like other Buddhist schools, maintains a professional, monastic priesthood, based on the parent Tendai-sect monastic organization, with two "head temples", one at Chion-in in Kyoto, and one at Zojoji in Tokyo. The head of the Jōdo-shū school is called the monshu in Japanese, and lives at the head temple of Chion-in. For the Seizan branch, there are three sub-branches, each with their own head temple.