Trailblazer
Eshinni Shonin and Kakushinni, her daughter
Eshinni met and married Shinran while he was in exile in Echigo (present day Niigata prefecture), one of Japan’s harshest places to live, where most of the winter you are snowed in. Coincidentally, Echigo was also the place where Eshinni was born in 1182. She married Shinran at the age of 28. Shinran was 37 years old. They had a total of 6 children; some historians believe it was 7. Kakushinni was the youngest who took care of her father, Shinran, in his final years. Not much is known about their other children, except for Zenran, whom Shinran had to disown because he was spreading a doctrine contrary to Shinran's teachings.
It is believed that Eshinni was Princess Tamahi, the daughter of the then-Prime Minister, Kujo Kanezane. Even though she is not listed on Kanezane’s family tree, female offspring were sometimes omitted in those days. There are documents in the Nishi Hongwanji’s archives that say she is Princess Tamahi. However, it remains a controversial issue. She appeared to be well educated in the letters she wrote. However, some are signed as the servant and not Eshinni.
Eshinni was financially well off, which allowed Shinran to write and spread the nembutsu. She owned property in Echigo and perhaps other parts of Japan. She had a staff working with her. Unfortunately, to manage her estate, she had to be in Echigo, while Shinran was living out his final years in Kyoto. In one of her letters, she wrote her sorrow for not being with Shinran, and was glad that Kakushinni was there.
“Dear Wakasa, I often think of your children and would like to hear the most recent news about them. I would really like to know about your oldest child. Will there ever be a chance for me to visit you, or for you to come see me once more while I am alive? Most likely not!”
They lived in Echigo for around 15 years, and in 1214, they moved to Kanto. Shinran was pardoned in 1211 but stayed in Echigo for a couple of more years. No one knows for sure why the Shinran family moved. Some speculate that Eshinni owned property. The final residence of Shinran and his family in Kanto was Inaba, a section of present-day Kasama city. According to some scholars, this is where Shinran intended to write his major work, the Kyo-gyo-shin-sho.
They stayed in Inaba for twenty years before returning to Kyoto, leaving behind their 10,000 nembutsu followers.
Eshinni stayed with Shinran but had to leave Kyoto to return to Echigo and manage her real estate holdings. She writes, “I may be going to the land of bliss at any moment. In the land of bliss, we will be able to see everything clearly, so I hope that you shall live the life of the Nembutsu and come to join me there.”
Eshinni passed away in Echigo at the age of 86 in 1268. She lived 5 years longer than Shinran. Leaving behind the 10 letters that only give a snapshot of their 58-year marriage.
Besides providing insight into Shinran, the letters also reveal much about Eshinni’s life as an independent woman, including her management of land and servants, as well as her coping with famine during the 13th century. Eshinni did not depend on her husband for a living; instead, she supported Shinran financially and materially. Eshinni clearly followed her husband’s view that marriage was not an impediment to being a nun and to following her religious beliefs.
Kakushinni, the youngest and only daughter of Shinran and Eshinni, was born in 1224 and died at the age of 60 in 1283. Her original name was Ogozen. Kakushinni was nine or ten years old when she moved to Kyoto with Shinran and Eshinni. She was left at home to serve as a lady-in-waiting in the household of Kuga Michiteru, whose brother was Dogen, the founder of Zen Buddhism. Kakushinni married Hino Hirotsuna, a relative and follower of Shinran Shonin, and in 1239, she gave birth to a son, Koju (Buddhist name Kakue). Her husband, Hino, died when Kakue was only seven. Kakushinni took her son to live with her parents. Kakue learned the nembutsu from his grandfather Shinran. He then entered Shoren-in, a Tendai temple in Kyoto.
Kakushinni took care of Shinran during his final years. Shinran Shonin passed on January 16, 1263, at the age of ninety. In a letter to her mother, she expressed that nothing particularly noteworthy had happened. Her mother wrote back saying, “There is no doubt that your father was born in the Pure Land, and there is no need for me to reiterate this.” Eshinni was firmly committed to Amida’s Vow.
Three years after Shinran Shonin died, Kakushinni married Onomiya Zennen, who owned valuable property in Kyoto. They had one son, Yuizen. In 1272, Shinran’s ashes were removed from their original site of internment at Ohtani in Higashiyama to Zennen’s estate. Some dedicated and influential disciples of Shinran gave donations to construct the Ancestral Hall. This is the nucleus of today’s Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha.
Even though the Ancestral Hall belonged to Shinran Shonin’s disciples from Kanto, Zennen gave the property on which it stood to Kakushinni in 1274. He also stipulated that it was for her to decide whether his son, Yuizen, or his stepson, Kakue, would be the heir to inherit her land. However, Kakushinni went beyond tradition and decided the disciples of Shinran Shonin would jointly own the land.
Kakushinni
It is believed Kakushinni made her decision based on the nembutsu teaching that Amida Buddha embraced all. With no one excluded.
Kakushinni also specified that the upkeep of the Ancestral Hall and the position and authority of the Rusushiki (Protector of the Ohtani Ancestral Hall) should be inherited by Shinran Shonin’s descendants. Kakushinni assumed the duties of the first Rusushiki and served in that position until her passing. Her first son, Kakue, succeeded her as the second Rusushiki. Kakue’s successor was her grandson, Kakyno. He changed the role of the Rusushiki from a caretaker to an administrator. Today, the head of the Jodo Shinshu Howngwani-ha is known as the Monshu or Abbot.
The contributions of both Eshinni and Kakushinni have had a lasting impact on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Eshinni gave Shinran Shonin her complete dedication and support, while Kakushinni established the foundation and center from which to transmit his teachings. Eshinni and Kakushinni represented women of the Kamakura Era who were confident and self-aware, and who are a part of Japan's history.