Nishi Hongan-ji[edit]
Formally known as the Jodo-Shinshu Honganji-ha is the largest of all the Jodo Shinshu branches. Compared to the Higashi Honganji it has a history of institutional stability that accounts for high membership figures, and a larger geographical reach, but fewer well-known modern thinkers. The Nishi Hongan-ji has a sizable number of overseas temples in the U.S.A., South America, Hawaiʻi, Canada, and Europe which are organized into several kyodan ("districts"). The largest of these is the Buddhist Churches of America.
The Hongwanji International Center, to the east of Nishi Hongan-ji, coordinates dialogue with Jōdo Shinshū organizations around the world and produces translation work.
The Nishi Hongan-ji operates the Hongwanji Publishing Company[2] which produces books, music, films, and anime about Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism. They also publish a bimonthly newspaper, the Hongwanji Journal and their website includes, among other things, a TV channel devoted to explaining Buddhism and Hongan-ji's everyday operation