Database: Kyonyo

Kyonyo was the twelfth abbot of Hongan-ji and who initiated the creation of Higashi Hongan-ji (the Eastern Hongan-ji) in Kyoto. This was distinct from Hongan-ji, now Nishi Hongan-ji (the Western Hongan-ji). He was the eldest son of Kennyo, the head of the True Pure Land School (its eleventh abbot), and he spent his childhood and youth at Ishiyama Hongan-ji, which was then the center for this Buddhist school. He was ordained a monk very young, age 13, and learned to conduct religious services alongside his father who involved him in the leadership of this religious institution.

Under the leadership of his grandfather Shonyo (1516–1554) and his father Kennyo (1543–1592), Hongan-ji had become a considerable institution based on the number of its followers. These followers were organized into a league (Ikkō-ikki) that could be mobilized in times of conflict. Ishiyama Hongan-ji itself was a true fortress, including a town where the faithful lived and gathered (jinaimachi). Additionally, the leaders of the school had established marital ties (the priests of this school had the right to marry) with the imperial aristocracy or warlords. Kyonyo's mother was from the Sanjō family descending from Fujiwara, and his aunt was the wife of Takeda Shingen.

With the rise of Oda Nobunaga in the 1570s, relations became strained between the new hegemon and Hongan-ji, and war eventually broke out lasting ten years. Nobunaga managed to crush the Ikko leagues and besiege the monastic city. The situation became impossible for Hongan-ji, whose allies and leagues had been defeated. In 1580, Kennyo accepted Nobunaga's terms and evacuated the temple to settle in Saginomori (Kii province), but Kyonyo refused to capitulate and continued the fight before he too evacuated. However, prior to leaving, he burned down the fortress to prevent Nobunaga from using it as a support point.

Subsequent to these events, relations between father and son deteriorated in a way that reflected the conflict among the school's followers. In fact, the rivalry persisted under Hideyoshi, although relations between him and Hongan-ji were much better. Eventually, land was given to the Buddhist school in Kyoto to build a new Hongan-ji. Kyonyo even became close to Hideyoshi, and very tied to Sen no Rikyū, the tea master. However, he lost some of his support when the latter was forced to commit suicide in 1591. After his father's death in 1592, Kyonyo held the leadership of the school for a time, but it eventually slipped away in favor of his younger brother Junnyo. In truth, the conflict within the family was violent. After Hideyoshi's death, Kyonyo allied himself with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the Ieyasu's victory, land was offered to Kyonyo to establish a second Hongan-ji indicating that the differences between the two factions had now reached a point of no return.