Shinnyo sanmayaryu (真如三昧耶流)
Shinnyo sanmayaryu is one of the religious schools of the Shingon sect, which was made famous by Daigo-ji Temple, Sohonzan (the head temple of a Buddhist sect) of the Daigo school of the Shingon sect, but it's also the system of teachings of the Buddhist Shinnyoen himself.
It is sometimes referred to as the Shinnyo-en sect.
Shinnyo Sanmayado Hall was built in the place where Hokke Sanmai-do Temple once stood, under the (Buddhist) Daigo-ji Temple.
Features
In various Shingon schools, agreements are concluded through the use of personal seals. Usually when an agreement is concluded, the personal seal can't be seen because the hand that holds the seal is hidden under the sleeves. It is also decided that the agreement can't be concluded in such a ways that the seal can be seen by others (not inside the sleeves). However, in Shinnyo sanmayaryu the agreement with the personal seal is concluded outside the sleeves.
Shinnyoen Buddhist: Whether it is a new religion or not
Shinnyoen Buddhist is said to have been achieved as an orthodox derivative of the traditional Buddhism from the ancient period, and that it became a religious school of one religious sect.
The founder of Shinnyoen Buddhism, Shinjo ITO, learned one of the teachings of the Shugendo (Japanese mountain asceticism-shamanism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts) from the Tozan school, Saisho Ein Sanma Yaho (Dainichi Nyorai's most secret teachings) (also called Ein Kanjo (the ceremony of becoming the successor to a ritual of the Ein School Daiho (also known as great traditions of Esoteric practices by lay believers)), but he also became Kintai-ryobu denpo-kanjo (Daiho, or great traditions of Esoteric practices) by entering into the priesthood, followed by Ajari (a master in esoteric Buddhism; a high priest). It is said the completing the learning of Hsing-man of Esoteric practices is so difficult and strict that perhaps just one person in dozens of years will complete the learning.
In addition to the regulation that was passed after the separation of the gods and Buddha in the early Meiji period, such as the Law for Secularization of Temples, Haibutsu-kishaku (a movement to abolish Buddhism), the Law Banning Shugendo (mountain asceticism-shamanism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts), while even the existence of Daigo-ji Temple wasn't safe, the Einko schools (or learning groups of Einko) were organized after some monks and ascetics from the temple got together. Given the above, although the inheritance of the light of Buddhism was stopped for a long time since the founder, 聖宝 (根本僧正 of Daigo-ji Temple, Rigen Daishi), 'Esoteric practices' was restored in 1910, but it is said that few people have wanted to learn this teaching since then.
Shinjo ITO whose monk name when he was learning was Tensei, but he seemed to be called "Apparesan" in the gyoba of Kami-Daigo (the upper part of Daigo) after he finished learning the traditional Buddhist teachings of lay believers at the Daigo training place (orthodox dharma lineage of the Tozan school) in 1939; furthermore, he tried to learn 大法受法 of the Honshu department, and he became 伝燈大阿闍梨 金剛院真乗 in 1943 after finishing traditional system of teaching when entering into priesthood of Daigo-ji Temple, 'Sanpoin-ryu.'
During this time, after obtaining approval from the chief priest of the Daigo school, the hall of Tachikawa Fudoson Kyokai (currently the head office of Shinnyoen Buddhist Shincho-ji Temple) was built, and also 密院, which was directly supervised by Honzan, was established (in February 1939, after having the 落慶 Buddhist memorial service, it was named Tokeizan Shincho-ji Temple and go, 堂宇, which currently exist).
In 1941, Shinjo ITO took the position of a special chief priest as 醐山管長命, after receiving an order from the chief priest of Ein (shugen) Temple, '福聚山一住坊常宝院,' one of the historic old branch temples of Daigo Sanpoin Temple and the only one left in Murayama Village, Kita-tamagun, Tokyo Prefecture, while many 法類 temples were abolished, returned to secular life, or changed into another religious school during the time of disorder within the movement for the excision of Buddhism. Shinjo focused on restoring the temple, which hadn't had a priest since the mid-Taisho period and was declining in power.
真乗僧都 established gojikai, ' 常宝會' within his temple, Tachikawa Fudoson Kyokai; he tried to learn about the Honshu department and continuously dealt with 醍醐寺上山 while running the temple as the chief priest of 常宝 by doing things such as repairing the thatched roof or maintaining the mountainside.
Shinjo returned this temple to the honzan as a show of appreciation for letting him learn the inheritance of the light of Buddhism, 密法,受法 which was succeeded from Keika (Changan Seiryu-ji Temple 伝燈阿闍梨)- Kukai (Kobo Daishi (a posthumous title of the priest Kukai) - Shobo (Rigen Daishi) - Kangen (the first zasu (temple's head priest)of Daigo-ji Temple) - 恵眼 (the ninety-sixth zasu (temple's head priest)of Daigo-ji Temple - Shinjo, and left his position as a specially ordained chief priest.
Subsequently, due to the abolishment of the Shukyo Dantaiho (Religious Organization Law) (December 1945), the combined religious group of the Shingon sect (or the Daishingo sect) was dissolved (dated March 1, 1946) and each sect established an individual religious sect. At that time, Tachikawa Fudoson Kyokai Shincho-ji Temple, having Shinjo ITO as the shukan (representative), left the religious sect and the Honmatsu group and became independent from the Shingon sect. After the Religious Cooperation Law was issued (the law became effective on December 28, 1945), 'Makoto kyodan,' having Shincho-ji Temple as its sohonzan, was established (Shinjo ITO, chief abbot, 1948). Furthermore, after the Religious Cooperation Law was issued (the law became effective on April 3, 1951), the former religious organization was reformed and the system of the new religious group based on lay people in Buddhism was organized, Misshu, or 'Shinnyoen Buddhism,' was established. (approved by the Minister of Education on May 16, 1953).
Incidentally, in 一住坊常宝院, which had once been restored by Shinjo ITO, there was no priest to succeed after the successor to the former chief priest went to war, so that the temple was abolished after the war, 一住坊常宝院, which had been passed down since the medieval period, was absorbed into Shiofune Kannon, the oldest temple in Ome City (1952). Honzon (principal image of Buddha), Fudo Myoo (Acala, one of the Five Wisdom Kings), Buddhist scriptures and other materials are currently enshrined at Shiofune Kannonji Temple of Bekkaku-honzan (special head temple) of the Daigo school of the Shingon sect.
(The materials being used to collect above information were not from publications of religious groups who didn't have objective materials for researchers, but instead the information came from the chronicle of a local history book, as the history of the city and town, being part of the materials of the library of official documents.)
In terms of the tradition of dharma lineage of the Shingon sect, it is said that the name Shinjo was clearly mentioned in the genealogy of the Shingon sect (it has traditional dharma lineage since Shingon the eighth) (it was confirmed by a person in charge of the Ministry of Education (currently the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) when applying for approval of a religious corporation, Shinnyoen Buddhism). This genealogy is usually not open for inspection by the public.
In 1976, when Sohonzan Daigo-ji Temple was part of the Daigo school, the Shingon sect had its 1100th anniversary after opening the Daigo mountain; Shinjo ITO acted as 大導師 due to the order from Sohonzan Daigo-ji Temple of Daigo school, Shingon sect, and also conducted the Buddhist memorial service of 真如苑慶讃法要 to commemorate the anniversary. Additionally, 弘法大師御入定一千百五十年御遠忌法要 (memorial service of Kobo Daishi (a posthumous title of the priest Kukai), the 1150th anniversary of his death) was conducted, and Shinjo ITO daisojo, the chief priest of 真如苑, acted as 導師 at Kondo Hall of Daigo-ji Temple (a national treasure) in 1984.
Shinjo ITO is famous as a sculptor of Buddhist images; the statues he made had been given to various places and kept as Hibutsu (Buddhist statues not usually shown to the public). There are many places where the statues were given, such as Eihei-ji Temple, Daihonzan (head temple of a Buddhist sect) of the Soto Zen sect, Chuson-ji Temple, Tohoku daihonzan of the Tendai sect, Juntei Kannon-do Hall of Daigo-ji Temple, Paknum Temple in Thailand, Copenhagen University, Uppsala University, University of Oslo, Pope Paul VI in Vatican City, Hebrew University, and Erin-ji Temple, which is an ancestral temple of Shingen TAKEDA, and the golden statues were sent to various places without regard for differences of religion.
In Shinnyoen, there are visitors from various religious sects based on traditional Japanese Buddhism. One example of the above is when a youth group of the Jodo sect visited for the purpose of study.
By the way, Shinnyoen officially announced itself as a new religious group since it started in the early Showa period; this is the only religious group in Buddhist society in which there is an established Buddhist group of lay believers based on the theory of the Nirvana Sutra. However, it is true that Shinnyoen succeeded the traditional dharma lineage as mentioned above, the couples of the founder of the religious sect clearly states that it is different than being just a new religion since this religion started naturally based on the religious background when it was succeeded from another family, and it didn't start by having someone in the group abruptly establish a new channel.
It is true that any new religion will initially be treated with prejudice or will be seen as an enemy by other religions, and there is a history of persecution, regardless of whether it's Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, and every religion seems to have rumor or some true or false information attached to it.
Thus, when investigating the religion after considering the above, Shinnyoen must be further investigated carefully, as to whether it's appropriate to contemptuously call it a new religion. Sixty years after the war, through successive generations and seeing religion not from the perspective of categorization into a simultaneously existing Bukkyo and new religion, although the search for direction continues, it is presumed that the religious group of Shinnyoen seems to direct a certain direction or possibility, where 'bulky' should describe the new generation.