Tosotsu-shū

The Tosotsu-shū (兜率天宗 Tosotsuten-shū) are a family of Prakrtivada Siddhist sects in Chisei. Unlike most modern prakrtivada sects in Chisei, which are predominantly descended from Tenjō Siddhism centered on Eito, the Tosotsu-shū are descended from the much older Yūso tradition centered on Seito (modern day Kurihara), though they have adopted many elements of theology from Tenjō and its derivative schools. They are closely related to the Gokuraku-shū.

All of the Tosotsu-shū schools are descended from the teachings of the 13th century monks Jikei and Kōben, a pair of yūso reformers who sought to counteract the dominance of the Tenjō school and in particular the rise of the Shōjō-shū, or "Field of Merit" School. The sect as a whole is thus sometimes known as Kōji-shū, and individual sects are identified as "Ji" or "Kō" schools depending on which of the founders' ideas they follow more closely.

Like their contemporary Gien (founder of the Gokuraku school), both Jikei and Kōben were scathingly critical of the shōjō but also believed that the siddhist establishment of their time was corrupt, and that it was necessary to make siddhism more accessible to the lay public. Instead of rebirth in the 'Field of Merit' as proposed by Shōjō-shū, Jikei and Kōben promoted rebirth in (補陀洛 Fudaraku-san), the dwelling of the aryasattva Kanjizai, or aspiring for rebirth in  (兜率天 Tosotsu-ten), the potential dwelling of, the next. These two figures are the primary objects of veneration within the Tosotsu-shū.

The primary differentiation between the two founders was on matters of rite; Jikei favoured an 'orthodox' version of yūso and believed strongly in strict monastic discipline, while Kōben and his disciples promoted a pragmatic approach that synthesised influences from other traditions, such as Sanmichi and Gokuraku, and were heavily invested in developing spiritual practices for lay followers. Jikei established his own temple of Kazuru-dera in 1234, and this would soon be followed by the construction of Hōbuku-ji, founded by Kōben, in 1238. Initially a branch temple of Kazuru-dera, the Hōbuku-ji split off along with several other Kō temples after Kōben's death in 1245. Another schism occurred much later, in 1734, following financial disputes between Hōbuku-ji and the major northern branch temple of Myōzan-ji.

Together, the Tosotsu-shū are the fourth largest siddhist denomination in Chisei by number of affiliated temples. They consist of three major sects (named for their head temples, Kazuru-dera, Hōbuku-ji, and Myōzan-ji) and about 24 independent temples. There is no central sectarian organisation, though an association known as the Tosotsu-shūkwe (兜率宗會) founded in 1889 exists to foster discourse and coordinate tourism and charitable activities between the sects. All three major sects, and 11 of the independent temples are members of the association.