Did Shinran Shonin marry and did he have any children?
Did Shinran Shonin have children? If so, whatever became of them?
Shinran, the founder of Shin Buddhism (Jodo Shinshu), was among the first priests to openly acknowledge being married. Honen, who expressed the idea that whether priests or nuns are single or married, it makes no difference in the Light of Amida Wisdom and Compassion. Thus, Shinran did marry and had six children.
Very little is known about what happened to most of them except for Zenran (the oldest son) and Kakushinni (the youngest daughter).
Zenran caused the most difficulty for Shinran. Zenran, for unknown reasons, started rifts among Shinran’s followers in the Tokyo area; he claimed that he had a secret teaching from his father.
In the end, with great anguish, Shinran felt he had to discredit and disown Zenran because Shinran had already openly and honestly shared all his teachings.
Kakushinni was left to care for her father in Kyoto during the later stages of Shinran’s retirement in Kyoto. Shinran’s wife, Eshinni, returned to her family home to care for the property and family affairs.
It was Kakushinni who built a mausoleum (Ohtani Homyo) in memory of Shinran, which was the beginning of the Hongwanji sect and the beginning of Shin Buddhism.