[paragraph continues] Hokekyo, whilst they brought religion into disrepute; and one of the favourite themes for dramatic performances was skits on the gross immoralities of the Buddhist clergy.

A few bright names, to be sure, adorned the period. Such was, for instance, that of Rennyo Shonin (1415-1499), the poet, preacher, and religious writer, eighth Patriarch of the Shinshu, who was driven from the capital by the Hieizan monks, jealously incensed at the influence which he had gained by his sanctity. Shortly afterwards, he was able to return to Kyoto as Patriarch of his sect, but again, and in spite of Imperial protection, the Hieizan monks attacked him, burned the Hongwanji, and drove him into exile. He now went into the provinces of Echizen, Kaga, and Noto, preaching, building temples, and exhorting to a better life, with such vigour and success that his own Shinshu clergy rebelled and set fire to the monastery in which he was living. In spite of all his efforts, a civil war amongst his own people ensued. It is known as Ikkoto no ran, "the civil war in the Ikko sect," and filled all the earlier years of the sixteenth century, until Nobunaga arose to put it down with a strong hand. It is from Renuyo Shonin's time, and from the schism which these family squabbles engendered, that we get the division of the disciples of Shinran into the two Hongwanji of the East and of the West, which still remains.

When Catholic Christianity reached Japan, Buddhism was morally and spiritually bankrupt. With few exceptions,

all the elements that worked for good came from the purer forms of Confucianism, which were gaining ground everywhere, and from the improved moral discipline which some of the better daimyos were introducing amongst their followers. In the popular imagination, Buddhism was associated with magnificent services in magnificently decorated temples, performed by men who were extremely punctilious on points of ecclesiastical order, but who enjoyed a bad reputation for worldliness, hypocrisy, and avarice. The fighting man, who monopolized education outside of the clerical ranks, had seen enough of these things. He had no desire to make even the acquaintance of any other system which might seem to reproduce the blemishes which he so vigorously blamed and so heartily despised. He was much strengthened in his opinions by the philosophy of Shushi, the Confucianist reformer of the Middle Ages, whose teachings had recently been introduced into Japan, where they had met with a very hearty welcome amongst thoughtful people. The Zen priests, especially, had been much drawn towards these views, which very largely coincided with their own.

Footnotes