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RennyoRennyo (蓮如)(1415-1499) was one of the leaders of the Jodo Shinshu sect, and later the Ikko sect of Buddhism, as well as the founder of the Ikko-ikki, mobs of warrior monks, peasants, and farmers, who launched organized attacks on samurai rule. He was also known as Shinso-in, and, as many Buddhist leaders did, was given a posthumous name, Kenju Daishi. In 1457, Rennyo succeeded his father as Abbot of Kyoto's Honganji, and began active missionary work in Omi Province. However, his unusual and aggressive propaganda offended some of the other temples, and Rennyo was forced to flee to Omi when the Honganji was attacked by Enryakuji monks in 1465. Rennyo's beliefs, those of the Ikko sect and of the Ikko-ikki, centered on peasants and farmers; he opposed much of the ideas of the more organized and established sects, as well as the secular rule by the noble class. Fleeing, he traveled to Yoshizaki, where, in 1471, he built a temple which became quite popular among the peasants of the area, attracting many converts. Five years later, he returned to the Kyoto area, establishing new Honganji branch temples. During this time, Rennyo established a new prayer service, incorporating new elements that eventually would become the core of Honganji Shinshu Buddhism. He also rewrote many Buddhist texts into kana, the simple, phonetic Japanese characters, making the texts more accessible for the common man. Meanwhile, the Ikko sect, being based so much on the power of the common people, governed itself, and grew of its own accord, growing in influence in Kaga and Echizen Provinces, and growing increasingly resentful of the control of the secular authorities. In 1488, they drove out the Constable of Kaga, a man by the name of Togashi, and effectively took control of the entire province. The Ikko-ikki then went on to defeat the Asakura clan warriors from Echizen, who had been sent by the Shogunate to stop them. References
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