Risshū (Buddhism)

Tōshōdai-ji in Nara

Part of a series on
Buddhism in Japan
Schools Jōjitsu Hosso Sanron Kegon Ritsu Kusha Tendai Shingon Pure Land Zen Nichiren
Founders Saichō Kūkai Hōnen Shinran Dōgen Eisai Ingen Nichiren
Sacred texts Avataṃsaka Sūtra Lotus Sūtra Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra Infinite Life Sūtra Mahāvairocana Sūtra Vajraśekhara Sūtra
Glossary of Japanese Buddhism

Risshū (律宗), also Ritsu school, is one of the six schools of Nara Buddhism in Japan, noted for its use of the Vinaya textual framework of the Dharmaguptaka, one of the early schools of Buddhism.^[1] The Ritsu school was founded in Japan by the blind Chinese priest Jianzhen, better known by his Japanese name Ganjin. Ganjin traveled to Japan at the request of Japanese priests, and established the Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. During the Kamakura period, the Ritsu sect was divided into schools at Tōshōdai-ji, Kaidan-in, Saidai-ji, and Sennyū-ji. However, during the Meiji period, the Ritsu sect was incorporated within the Shingon sect by decree of the Japanese government. Today only Tōshōdai-ji, which resisted the government measures, retains its identity as a Ritsu temple.

See also

• Vinaya
• Dharmaguptaka
• Schools of Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan

References

Bibliography

• Bunyiu Nanjio (1886). A short history of the twelve Japanese Buddhist sects, Tokyo: Bukkyo-sho-ei-yaku-shupan-sha, pp. 20–31