On Sunday, April 22, the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin Buddhist Women’s Association (BWA) will celebrate the lives of Lady Eshinni and her daughter, Kakushinni. The special service will start at 9 a.m. with the Rev. Bruce Nakamura officiating. Beatrice Isemoto will be the emcee, and the Rev. Shingo Furusawa will deliver the Dharma message.
The public is invited to attend the program at the temple at 398 Kilauea Ave. in downtown Hilo, next to Starbucks and the Sangha Hall.
Eshinni is revered as the “Mother of Jodo Shinshu.” She was the wife of Jodo Shinshu founder Shinran Shonin. She was born in Echigo (the present day Niigata) and supported Shinran, the first woman to do so, while in exile. She later married him in Kyoto.
“It is a major concern for scholars in pursuing Eshinni’s life that so little has been written about her. Fortunately, there exist 10 letters addressed to her youngest daughter, Kakushinni, in Kyoto which chronicle Eshinni’s life with Shinran,” said a church spokesman. “It is surmised that she was not of noble birth, but she was well-educated and possessed the stamina to overlook the tireless task of caring for her children, grandchildren, houseful of servants and her inherited properties.”
Late in life, her youngest child, Kakushinni, was born. As Eshinni approached her 70s, she had to return to Echigo, leaving her husband behind in Kyoto. According to her letters to Kakushinni, Eshinni’s life was a difficult and chaotic one. She survived a widespread famine caused by poor crops and a fever epidemic, but she still managed to make a living for her family.
“It is believed that the Jodo Shinshu teachings instilled in her aided her,” said a BWA spokeswoman. “Kakushinni remained in Kyoto to care for her father, and was with him at the time of his death.
“Eshinni’s life was a difficult one, but her determination to put her life in order before her impending death was remarkable. She had a dream of erecting a five-tiered pagoda as her memorial and hoping for its completion before her death. Today, the completed pagoda stands on a mound next to a 600-year old Japanese magnolia tree.”
Eshinni’s work with the Buddhist women of her day was the start of the Fujinkai, which today is a worldwide united organization.
Kakushinni inherited from her husband, Zennen, the land on which her father’s mausoleum stands today in Kyoto. She is fully credited as the first custodian, or monshu, of the present Hongwanji, also referred to as the Pure Land Buddhism sect.
