Hōonkō (報恩講) is a holiday in the Jodo Shinshu tradition of Buddhism which commemorates the death of its founder, Shinran Shonin. Depending on whether the old Japanese lunar calendar is used, or the western Gregorian calendar, typically this holiday is observed either in around 28 November or early January from the 9th to the 16th respectively. This holiday is among the most important observed in the Jodo Shinshu tradition. The observance began after Shinran's youngest daughter, Kakushinni (覚信尼; 1224-1283), assumed administration of Shinran's mausoleum, a duty later inherited by her descendants, who ultimately became the Monshu of Jodo Shinshu. In the word hōonkō; 'hōon' means "return of gratitude" and 'ko' means "to clarify the meaning of" or "gathering"'.
