learn/[id]

ERA

1 min read

文

ERA

Letters That Reached the Illiterate: Rennyo's Ofumi — A Religious Revolution

In 15th-century Japan, most farmers couldn't read. Rennyo solved this by writing 221 letters in plain Japanese vernacular, read aloud in meeting halls to spread Pure Land Buddhism across Japan. A religious revolution before the printing press.

A deep read

Rennyo wrote 221 pastoral letters (ofumi) in plain vernacular Japanese, which were read aloud at meeting halls so even the illiterate could receive his teaching: ‘Anyone who chants Namu Amida Butsu will be saved.’ His most famous letter, the Ofumi on White Bones, is still read at Shin Buddhist funerals today.

Nishi-Honganji Mieido in Kyoto — head temple of the Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha, whose explosive growth was built on Rennyo's foundations

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Higashi-Honganji in Kyoto — Rennyo's legacy lives on in the two great Jodo Shinshu temples of modern Japan

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Higashi-Honganji main hall — the 'Namu Amida Butsu' Rennyo spread through his ofumi is still chanted in Jodo Shinshu services today

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

── END ──

This article was

♡ Helpful

⤴

Key Figures

Rennyo