Echigo Province (modern Niigata) on the Sea of Japan was the exile site of Shinran (1207-1212) during the Kennei Persecution that scattered Honen’s disciples. Stripped of monastic status and given the lay name Fujii Yoshizane, Shinran spent five transformative years there, marrying Eshinni and breaking the centuries-old vow of monastic celibacy. This “meat-eating, wife-taking” lifestyle became the foundation of Jodo Shinshu, today Japan’s largest Buddhist denomination. After his pardon in 1211 he chose not to return to Kyoto but moved to Hitachi to spread teachings in eastern Japan. Sites such as Koda Shrine, Gochi Kokubunji, and the Honganji Kokufu Branch Temple in Joetsu preserve his memory.