Born in 1133 in Mimasaka Province (present-day Okayama), son of a military official. At age 9 he witnessed his father's violent death; his father's dying words urged him not to hate the enemy but to seek the Buddhist path. He entered Mt. Hiei and mastered Tendai, precepts, Zen, and esoteric Buddhism, earning the epithet "the wisest man on Hiei." Yet he wrestled with the question of how all people, regardless of learning or capacity, could be saved. At 43, reading Shandao's commentary on the Contemplation Sutra, he found the answer: the exclusive recitation of "Namu Amida Butsu" was enough for anyone to reach the Pure Land. In 1175 he established Jodo Shu, preaching regardless of class to nobles, warriors, and commoners alike. Disciples included Shinran, Shoku, and Bencho. Persecuted by the old Buddhist establishment, he was exiled to Sanuki in the Jogen Persecution of 1207, with four disciples executed. Pardoned the following year, he returned to Kyoto and died peacefully in January 1212 at age 80.