After being exiled, the Venerable Master began referring to himself as “neither monk nor layperson” (hiso hizoku). He referred to himself of “not monk” because his ordination as a monk was revoked and he was treated as a criminal. But being stripped of his position as a monk did not mean he could not remain a follower of the Buddhist teaching. Because of his experience in the world of salvation, the Venerable Master could not consider himself to be an ordinary follower. That was why he also referred to himself as “non-layperson.”

The Venerable Master also referred to himself as “Gutoku.” The gu character of gutoku means “ignorant.” The toku character means “short-haired,” and refers to a hair style that consists of not shaving off all his hair as was the practice for monks, nor growing his hair long as is the practice of laypersons. It also implies that he was considered a criminal. Thus the name “Gutoku” that he took for himself means something like “ignorant short-haired one,” which can be considered to be how, through self-reflection, he came to regard himself.

There are differences of opinion among scholars regarding when the Venerable Master married. Some say it was while he was exiled in Echigo Province. Others say it was in Kyoto after becoming Master H?nen’s disciple and entering the way of “Buddha-centered power.” There is little possibility at present of determining which of these views is correct, but there is little doubt that the Venerable Master married Esshin-ni (1182 – approx. 1270 CE) while he was in Echigo Province. During that time, marriage by a monk was prohibited and severely punished.

I believe considering why the Venerable Master married is very important in understanding his teaching. Two years after discarding the way of “self-centered effort,” when he was 31, during 1203 CE (Kennin 3), the Venerable Master received the following revelation from Kusekannon Bosastsu while secluded in Rokkaku Temple:

Oh Shinran, if from the distant past you were so destined, I will transform myself into a beautiful woman and become one with you. I will spend my entire life devoted to you, and when the time for you to leave this world arrives, I will lead you to birth in the Pure Land.

This is referred to as “Revelation of a (monk’s clandestine romance) at Rokkaku Temple” (Rokkakudo nyobon no mukoku).

Some scholars believe this revelation is part of the previously-mentioned revelation that the Venerable Master received when he was 29 years of age. I believe, however, that at that age the Venerable Master was most concerned about the problem of his personal salvation – whether to follow the Path of Sages using “self-centered effort” or following the Pure Land Path of “Buddha-centered power” – and that the problem of marriage was not uppermost in his mind.