Ikko
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The Ikko-shu (一向宗, ikkōshū) is often mistakenly viewed as a small, militant, offshoot from Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. However the facts are actually rather more complex.
Originally the Ikko-shu was a small antinomian sect founded by Ikko Shunjo (a disciple of Ryochu of the Chinzei branch of Jodo-shu Buddhism) and similar to Ippen's Ji-shu. However when the religious and military-political establishment began to crack down on the Amida-pietist movement little distinction was made between the various factions. Also further contributing to the confusion was the fact that Ikko-shu followers seem to have defected to the more powerful Jodo Shin-shu for reasons of self-preservation.
"Ultimately the influx of Ikko-shu members into the Shin-shu was so great that the name Ikko-shu itself became synonymous with Shin-shu." (Dobbins 2002)
Rennyo, the charismatic leader of the Hongan-ji branch of Jodo Shinshu responded to this situation by clarifying the positive religious meaning of 'Ikko' (single-minded) whilst simultaneously distancing himself from the antinomian behaviour of the original Ikko sect. In his pastoral letters, known as Ofumi or Gobunsho, he therefore writes:
"In question, I ask: It is not clear to me under what circumstances our sect has come to be called the "Ikko-Shu" (One-Mind Sect) by the general public.In answer, I reply: It has been established with certainty that our Founder did not particularly name our school the "Ikko-Shu." On the whole, the reason the people call us this is that we place our complete reliance, exclusively, on Amida Buddha. However, since it is explained in the Sutra as ". . . with One Mind, place reliance on the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life . . . ," to be called the "One-Mind Sect" is of no importance when there is the meaning that we should place reliance with one mind on the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life.
However, the Founder has specifically named this sect "Jodo Shinshu." Therefore, you must understand that we of our sect did not originate in any manner or form the name of "One-Mind Sect." The other Pure Land Sects presumably permit the practices of the various austerities, but our Shonin eliminated these practices. This is why rebirth in the True Land of Recompense is realized by us. For this reason, the word "Shin" (True) was inserted by our Founder."
The Ikko-ikki Revolts
The Amida pietist movement, and in particular the Jodo Shin-shu, also provided a liberation theology (or ideology) for a wave of uprisings against the feudal system in late-fifteenth and sixteenth century Japan which are known as the Ikko-ikki revolts. The causes of this phenomena are disputed, as historian Neil McMullin (University of Toronto) explains:
"Where historians have disagreed ... is in the motivations of the ikko insurgents. Put simply, the issue is this: were they motivated by religious zeal and mobilized by sect leaders at Ishiyama, or were they more exercised by material concerns involving matters of local and regional autonomy? (There are) various aspects of this problem: first, developments within late medieval village communities of a kind encouraging conflict with civil authority; second, the religious and social origins of Shin Buddhist militancy; third, the interplay of these two elements in the unfolding of particular uprisings. The discussant may raise a different, but related problem: how appropriate to late medieval Japan is an arbitrary division between the sacred and secular realms?" [link]
Another historian Galen Amstutz (Ryukouku University) argues:
"The ikko ikki were opportunistic manifestations of certain potentials in the longer history of Shin Buddhist socio religious ideology. The ideology originated with the teachings of Shinran (1173-1262), who recast Buddhist thought in a way that eliminated monasticism and laity, instead putting spiritual egalitarianism (dobo) at the theoretical center ... " [link]
History
Before the Ikko-ikki revolts, Rennyo, the founder of the sect, was chief abbot of the Hongan-ji in Kyoto. He used this position to voice his unorthodox views, and to act upon them. He was forced to flee Kyoto when, in 1465, the Hongan-ji was attacked by monks from Enryakuji, who opposed his views and behavior. He settled and began preaching in a place called Yoshizaki, where he attracted a large number of converts, mostly peasants.The sect grew quickly, and soon had power (through numbers) enough to challenge the authorities who tried to control them. They rose up and overthrew the feudal lord of Kaga Province, and even defeated the force sent against them by the bakufu. This was the beginning of the Ikko-ikki.
Ishiyama Hongan-ji and Nagashima, the sect's fortress-temples, were built at the end of the 15th century, and stood until their destruction at the hands of Oda Nobunaga's armies. The fortress at Nagashima was razed to the ground in 1574, taking about 20,000 people with it. The Ishiyama Hongan-ji withstood the longest siege in Japanese history, before surrendering in 1580. Upon its ruins, Toyotomi Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle, which still stands today.
Following the destruction of Nagashima, Nobunaga ordered his men to search all of Echizen Province and kill every last man and woman of the so-called Ikko sect.
References
- Dobbins, James C. (2002). 'Jodo Shinshu: Shin Buddhism in Medieval Japan' Hawaii University Press
- Sansom, George (1961). 'A History of Japan 1334-1615.' Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
- Turnbull, Stephen (2003). 'Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
- Abstracts of the 1995 AAS Annual Meeting Washington, DC Sacred and Secular in the Ikko Ikki [link]
See also
- Ikki
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