Portrait of Shinran

Shinran

Japanese Buddhist monk and founder of the Jōdo Shinshū sect

Lived
1173–1263

Updated September 2026

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About Shinran

Shinran was a key Japanese Buddhist figure of the Kamakura Period who is regarded as the founder of the Jōdo Shinshū school of Japanese Buddhism. A pupil of Hōnen, the founder of the Japanese Pure Land movement, Shinran articulated a distinctive Pure Land vision that emphasized faith and absolute reliance on Amida Buddha’s other-power.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Authors like Shinran

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.