Shinran ［親鸞］ (1173–1262): The founder of the True Pure Land (Jōdo Shin) school in Japan. His father was Hino Arinori, a court noble in Kyoto. Orphaned, he entered the priesthood in 1181 and as a youth studied the teachings of the Tendai school at Mount Hiei and the teachings of other schools in Nara. Dissatisfied, however, he went to Kyoto in 1201 and confined himself to a temple called the Rokkaku-dō (hexagonal hall) for one hundred days of prayer. It is said that, on the morning of the ninety-fifth day, Prince Shōtoku appeared before him in a dream and advised him to go to see Hōnen, the founder of the Japanese Pure Land (Jōdo) school. He visited Hōnen at Yoshimizu in Kyoto and became his disciple. Shinran was ardent in the Pure Land practice of Nembutsu—recitation of Amida Buddha’s name—and soon became one of Hōnen’s favorite disciples. Hōnen entrusted him with transcribing his major work The Nembutsu Chosen above All. When the Pure Land teachings were banned in 1207, Hōnen and Shinran were both divested of their priestly status; Hōnen was exiled to Tosa, and Shinran, to Echigo. There Shinran married the daughter of the Miyoshi family, a powerful clan in Echigo Province. His wife was called the nun Eshin. Shinran was pardoned in 1211 and went to Hitachi Province to propagate the Pure Land teaching. Around 1234 he returned to Kyoto, where he concentrated on writing. His main work was The Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Proof.