1. Hōnen Hōnen (May 13, 1133 – February 29, 1212) was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called Jōdo-shū (" The Pure Land School "). He is also considered the 7 th Jōdo Shinshū Patriarch . Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that anyone