I believe the Venerable Master’s shinjin was settled at the age of 29. That does not, however, mean there were no changes in his thought after that. As might be expected, his thought deepened and changed as he got on in years. In this regard, I believe his treatment of the “Nembutsu of the ‘true gate’” in his later years should be carefully considered.

The Jodo Wasan previously quoted, contains wasan in which the Venerable Master seems to urge reciting the Nembutsu with “self-centered effort” in order to receive shinjin. At the end of the Takadacopy of the Jodo-Wasan, is the inscription:

Completed on the 1st day of the last 10-day period of the 1st month during the zodiac year of tsuchi-no-eno-saru (2nd year of Hogen, 1248 AD), when I Gutoku Shinran, was 76 years of age.

From this, we know that the Venerable Master was 76 years of age when that work was completed.

There are many theories regarding when the Kyogyoshinsho was compiled, and it is very difficult to determine exact dates. From the fact that it was during 1257 AD (5th year of Kangen) that the Venerable Master allowed his disciple Sonren to make a copy, the Kyogyoshinsho is considered to have been in some state of completion when he was 75 years of age. The Kyugan-mon is considered to have been written before the Kyogyoshinsho.

For the above reasons, we see that the texts that are considered to urge reliance on the “‘true gate’ of the Nembutsu” (the 20th Vow)—i.e., the texts of the Jodo Wasan, the Kyugan-mon, and the statement on the “true gate” in the Kyogyoshinsho, namely, “should promptly enter the ‘true Gate’ of the perfectly accomplished Utmost Virtues”—were written before the Jodo Wasan was compiled, when the Venerable Master was 76 years of age.

As already mentioned, the “Hymns on Doubt” section of the Shozomatsu Wasan severely criticized entering the “true gate” by reciting the Nembutsu through “self-centered effort.” There is absolutely no encouragement in that direction.

The Takada copy of the Shozomatsu Wasan contains the inscription: “Written on the 1st day of the 3rd month during the zodiac year of hi-no-to-no-mi (1st year of Shoka, 1257 AD) when I, GutokuShinran was 85 years of age.”

Further, the same work copied by Takada Kenchi contains the indication:

The original indicates: “24th day of the 9th month during the 2nd year of Shoka (1248 AD). Shinran, 86 years of age.”

From these indications, we can determine that the Shozomatsu Wasan was written during the Venerable Master’s 85th to 86th years.