H?nen (猭礛, May 13, 1133 - February 29, 1212) was the religious reformer and founder of the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism called J?do sh? (?﹙, 'The Pure Land School'). In the related J?do Shinsh? sect, he is considered the Seventh Patriarch. H?nen became a monk of the Tendai sect at an early age, but grew disaffected, and sought an approach to Buddhism that anyone could follow, even during the perceived Age of Dharma Decline. After discovering the writings of Chinese Buddhist, Shan-tao, he undertook the teaching of rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha through reciting the Buddha's name, or nembutsu. H?nen gathered a wide array of followers, but also critics. The emperor exiled H?nen and his followers in 1207, after an incident regarding two of his disciples, in addition to persuasion by certain influential Buddhist communities. H?nen was eventually pardoned and allowed to return to Kyoto where he stayed for a short time before his death.