Nembutsu in the context of "Pure Land Buddhism"

Ikkō-shū (一向宗) or "single-minded school" is usually viewed as a small, militant offshoot from Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, though the name has a complex history.

Originally, Ikkō-shū was an "obscure band of Pure Land proponents" founded by Ikkō Shunjō in the fifteenth century. He was a disciple of Ryōchū of the Chinzei branch of Jōdo-shū Buddhism and similar to Ippen's Ji-shū. However, when the religious and military-political establishment began to crack down on the Nembutsu, little distinction was made between the various factions. Most of Ikkō Shunjo's followers therefore defected to the more powerful Jōdo Shinshū and the name Ikkō-shū ultimately became synonymous with Jōdo Shinshū.

Chion-in (知恩院, Monastery of Gratitude) in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan is the headquarters of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land Sect) founded by Hōnen (1133–1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha's Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha's name.

The vast compounds of Chion-in include the site where Hōnen settled to disseminate his teachings and the site where he died.