and protecting them from governmental wrath when they rebelled against the authorities. Return to Kyoto By 1475, Rennyo returned to the Kyoto provinces with such a following that Mt. Hiei could no longer pose a credible threat to Jōdo Shinshū again. Rennyo had secured such status in the Jōdo Shinshū ranks that he had to begin issuing pastoral letters (or, ofumi) in place of appearances to congregations. During this time, Rennyo established a new form of liturgy (gongyō), incorporating elements that would eventually become the core of Honganji Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism. He also rewrote many Buddhist texts into kana, the simple, phonetic Japanese characters, making the texts more accessible for the common person. In 1496, Rennyo sought solitude and retired to a rural area at the mouth of the Yodo River, where he built a small hermitage. The area was known for its "long slope," or "Ō-saka" (大阪) in Japanese. Contemporary documents about Rennyo's life and his hermitage were thus the first to refer to this place by the name Osaka. Rennyo's isolation did not last long, however; his hermitage grew quickly into a temple and surrounding temple town (jinaimachi) as devotees gathered to pay him homage and to hear his teachings. By the time of Rennyo's death three years later (in 1499), the complex had come to be known as the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, and was close to the final shape which would prove to be the greatest fortified temple in Japanese history. Teachings Rennyo believed he was restoring his ancestor Shinran's original teachings, which he summed up in a short creed known as the : The Ryogemon is still recited in modern-day Shinshu liturgy as a summation of Jodo Shinshu beliefs. However, Rennyo's teaching also differed from Shinran's in subtle ways: Rennyo frequently used the term alongside the term that Shinran used. Rennyo de-emphasized the prohibition against veneration of Shinto kami, and taught they were manifestations of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in keeping with medieval Japanese viewpoints. Rennyo further elaborated on the notion of kihō ittai (機法一体), whereby the deluded person is united with Amida Buddha through the nembutsu. Rennyo emphasized the notion of "gratitude", such that every invocation of the nembutsu after the first one expressed gratitude at being assured rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha. In his letters, he described this as Writings and Liturgy As part of Rennyo's reforms, he elevated the status of