In time, Hōnen gathered disciples from all walks of life, and developed a large following, notably women, who had been excluded from serious Buddhist practice up to this point. This included fishermen, prostitutes and fortune tellers. Hōnen also distinguished himself by not discriminating against women who were menstruating, who were thought at the time to be unclean. All of this caused concern among the religious and political elite of Kyoto and eventually Emperor Go-Toba issued a decree in 1207 to have Hōnen exiled to a remote part of Japan and given a criminal's name. Some of Hōnen's followers were executed, while others, including Benchō, Ryukan and Shinran, were exiled to other regions of Japan away from Hōnen.