IPPEN (1239–1289), also known as Chishin; a Japanese holy man, founder of the Jishū, an order of Pure Land Buddhist itinerants. Ippen was born in the province of Iyo (modern Ehime Prefecture) to a long-powerful military clan, the Konō, which had recently suffered a serious defeat in the Jōkyū War of 1221. Ippen's grandfather died in exile, and Ippen, three of his brothers, and his father all became monks. At the age of twelve, Ippen was sent to Kyushu to study the doctrines of the Seizan branch of the Jōdo (Pure Land) sect. Upon the death of his father in 1263, he returned to household life in Iyo. Perhaps because of intraclan strife, he left home again eight years later, and spent the rest of his life on the road as a holy man (hijiri).

Ippen initially went on pilgrimages to the great Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines and...