ABSTRACT
This chapter gives a brief outline of the history of Honganji-ha, focusing on ritual. This sets the scene for the discussion in subsequent chapters of the ritual transformations that have accompanied globalisation. The chapter spans the period from the establishment of the first Honganji temple by Shinran's great-grandson Kakunyo (1271–1351), to the Meiji period (1868–1912). International activities of Jōdo Shinshū in the Meiji period, following the opening of Japan, are also considered, from the sponsored overseas visits by scholar-priests from both Honganji-ha and Ōtani-ha to organised visits by prominent overseas Buddhists and the launching of English-language journals. Although much of the academic research on this period focuses on doctrine, these developments also had implications for ritual.
