Kakure nenbutsu

Kakure nenbutsu (隠れ念仏, "concealed nenbutsu"), kakushi nenbutsu (“hidden nenbutsu”) or Secret Shin, refers to forms of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism practiced by secret lay groups of Japanese Buddhists. These groups developed distinctive ritual practices, initiation procedures, and doctrines that set them apart from temple-centered, institutional Shin Buddhism. Although historically viewed as heterodox by the major Shin denominations, these movements preserved a persistent lineage of small, insular communities based on ritual secrecy, and restricted transmission by esoteric teachers. Scholarly documentation is scarce; only a handful of modern ethnographies describe their contemporary activities, with Urahōmon being the best-attested surviving example.