According to the teachings of Shinran, the sole object of worship is Amida Buddha, not the gods. However, Zonkaku 存覚 (1290–1373) stated that the gods were also an object of faith, a view different from that of Shinran. One of the reason was the strong influence of folk beliefs in Japan at that time. That is why Zonkaku tried to meet the expectations of the country and Jōdo Shinshū believers who placed faith in the gods. Another reason was the influence of the Jōdo sect, that he acquired from his learning of Pure Land Buddhism.
The monks of the Jōdo sect had, for the most part, a tolerant attitude towards popular practices and customs. It seems that such an attitude influenced Zonkaku, and he at last came to think that accepting the gods as an object of faith was a means of attracting people to Jōdo Shinshū. In other words, Zonkaku affirmed the acceptability of faith in the gods influenced by the historical situation of his time and the monks of the Jōdo sect.
