13 Facts About Kiyozawa Manshi

Kiyozawa Manshi was a Japanese Shin Buddhist reformer and priest of samurai background who studied at Tokyo University in Western philosophy under the American philosopher Ernest Fenollosa.

Kiyozawa Manshi belonged to the Otani-ha branch of Shin Buddhism.

Many Higashi Hongan-ji scholars trace their line of thought to Kiyozawa Manshi, including such men as Akegarasu Haya, Kaneko Daiei, Soga Ryojin and Maida Shuichi.

Kiyozawa Manshi was instrumental to the establishment of Shinshu University in Tokyo in 1901.

Kiyozawa Manshi was emblematic of both the need for modernization, and its pitfalls.

Kiyozawa Manshi was not popular with the members of his temple, who considered his Dharma messages too difficult to understand.

Kiyozawa Manshi himself died of tuberculosis quite young and therefore some consider his thought to be immature and incomplete.

Kiyozawa Manshi was attracted by three works, the Agongyo which are scriptures of early Indian Buddhism, Discourses of the Greek Philosopher Epictetus, and the Tannisho by Yuien, a disciple of Shinran.

Kiyozawa Manshi did not get his urge to look toward the past from Honganji religious education or culture.

The second work that Kiyozawa Manshi was inspired by was the Discourses of Epictetus.

Kiyozawa Manshi wanted to learn Shinran's thought but rejected Honganji which was built on Pure Land Patriarchs, Shinran's Kyogyoshinsho, and Rennyo's letters.

Kiyozawa Manshi thought the work was so relevant that he published it in the journal Seishinkai making it available to the public.

Kiyozawa Manshi's efforts were taken up by later generations which resulted in Rennyo's letters being replaced by the Tannisho as the core Japanese language text for transmitting Shin thought.