RENNYO (1415–1499), a Japanese Buddhist monk, was the eighth head priest of the Honganji temple of Jōdo Shinshū ("True Pure Land sect"). He was the eldest son of Zonnyo, the sect's seventh head priest. Since Honganji, which was then located in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, was then affiliated with the Shoren-in belonging to the Tendai sect, it was dominated by Tendai rituals and teachings. At that time, Honganji was nearly deserted, visited by few people.

When Rennyo was six years old, his mother left the temple. At that time, she instructed him to revive the teaching of Shinran (1173–1263), the founder of Jōdo Shinshū. Following his mother's wish, Rennyo, at the age of sixteen, resolved to work for its revival. At seventeen, Rennyo took the tonsure at Shoren-in, and then went to Daijo-in, a subtemple of Kofukuji in Nara, where he studied Buddhist teachings. Rennyo subsequently returned...