Rennyo (蓮如, 1415–1499) was the 8th head priest of Hongan-ji and a descendant of Shinran (親鸞, 1173–1263). He reshaped Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗) through accessible preaching, pastoral letters, and liturgical reform; active during the Sengoku period, he expanded the sect into one of Japan’s largest Buddhist movements and is revered as its “second founder” (Chūkō no sō, 中興の祖).
