Editing Religion in Japan (section)

===Buddhism===
{{Main|Buddhism in Japan}}

{{nihongo|[[Buddhism]]|仏教|Bukkyō}} first arrived in Japan in the 6th century, introduced in the year 538 or 552<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 455">Brown, 1993. p. 455</ref> from the kingdom of [[Baekje]] in [[Korea]].<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 455" /> The Baekje king sent the Japanese emperor a picture of the Buddha and some sutras. After overcoming brief yet violent oppositions by conservative forces, it was accepted by the Japanese court in 587.<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 455" /> The [[Yamato Kingship|Yamato state]] ruled over {{nihongo|clans||uji}} centered around the worship of ancestral nature deities.<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 456">Brown, 1993. p. 456</ref> It was also a period of intense immigration from Korea,<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 454">Brown, 1993. p. 454</ref> horse riders from northeast Asia,<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 455" /> as well as cultural influence from China,<ref>Brown, 1993. p. 453</ref> which had been unified under the [[Sui dynasty]] becoming the crucial power on the mainland.<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 454" /> Buddhism functioned to affirm the state's power and mold its position in the broader culture of East Asia.<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 456" /> Japanese aristocrats set about building Buddhist temples in the capital at [[Nara, Nara|Nara]].<ref name="Brown, 1993. p. 456" /> However, the government's vast investment in spreading Buddhism during the Nara period (646-794) led to corruption, and led to reformation period and a shift in focus from Nara to the new capital of Heian (now [[Kyoto]]).<ref>{{Cite book |title=A History of Japanese religion |date=2007 |publisher=Kosei |isbn=978-4-333-01917-5 |editor-last=Kasahara |editor-first=Kazuo |edition=6. print |location=Tokyo |editor-last2=McCarthy |editor-first2=Paul}}</ref>{{multiple image
| align             = center
| width             = 150
| caption1          = {{Transliteration|ja|[[Tōshōdai-ji]]}}, an early Buddhist temple in Nara
| image1            = Toshodaiji Nara Nara pref01s5s4290.jpg
| image2            = Myoudouji-tenple 1.jpg
| caption2          = {{Transliteration|ja|Myoudou-ji}}, a [[Jōdo Shinshū|Jodo Shin]] temple with distinctive architectural style
| image3            = Daihozan Monjuin 04.JPG
| caption3          = {{Transliteration|ja|Monju-in}}, a [[Shingon Buddhism|Shingon]] temple in [[Matsuyama, Ehime|Matsuyama]], [[Ehime Prefecture|Ehime]]
| image4            = Interior - Hyakumanben chion-ji - Kyoto - DSC06544.JPG
| caption4          = Inner hall of {{Transliteration|ja|Hyakumanben chion-ji}} a [[Jōdo-shū|Jodo]] temple in [[Kyoto]]
}}The six Buddhist sects initially established in Nara are today together known as "[[Nanto Rikushū|Nara Buddhism]]" and are relatively small. When the capital moved to Heian, more forms of Buddhism arrived from China, including the still-popular [[Shingon Buddhism]], an esoteric form of Buddhism similar to Tibet's Vajrayana Buddhism, and [[Tendai]], a monastic conservative form known better by its Chinese name, [[Tiantai]].

When the [[Kamakura shogunate|shogunate]] took power in the 12th century and the administrative capital moved to [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], more forms of Buddhism arrived. The most culturally influential was [[Zen]], which focused on meditation and attaining enlightenment in this life. Two schools of Zen were established, [[Rinzai]] and [[Sōtō]]; a third, [[Ōbaku]], formed in 1661.

With the [[Meiji Restoration]] in 1868 and its accompanying centralisation of imperial power and modernisation of the state, [[State Shinto|Shinto]] was made the state religion. An order of [[shinbutsu bunri|elimination of mutual influence of Shinto and Buddhism]] was also enacted, followed by a [[haibutsu kishaku|movement to thoroughly eradicate Buddhism]] from Japan.

Today, the most popular school in Japan is [[Pure Land Buddhism]], which arrived in the form of independent schools in the [[Kamakura period]], although elements of it were practiced in Japan for centuries beforehand. It emphasizes the role of [[Amitabha|Amitabha Buddha]] and promises that reciting the phrase {{Transliteration|ja|"[[nianfo|Namu Amida Butsu]]"}} will result in being taken by Amitabha upon death to the "Western Paradise" or "[[Pure Land]]", where [[Buddhahood]] is more easily attained. Pure Land attracted members from all of the different classes, from farmers and merchants to noblemen and samurai clans, such as the [[Tokugawa clan]]. There are two primary branches of Pure Land Buddhism today: {{Transliteration|ja|[[Jōdo-shū]]}}, which focuses on repeating the phrase many times as taught by [[Hōnen|Honen]], and {{Transliteration|ja|[[Jōdo Shinshū]]}}, which claims that only saying the phrase once with a pure heart is necessary, as taught by [[Shinran]]. Two smaller schools of Pure Land Buddhism exist as well, those of [[Ji-shu]] and [[Yuzu Nembutsu]], although these are significantly smaller than their larger counterparts.

Another prevalent form of Buddhism is [[Nichiren Buddhism]], which was established by the 13th century monk [[Nichiren]] who underlined the importance of the [[Lotus Sutra]]. The main representatives of Nichiren Buddhism include sects such as {{Transliteration|ja|[[Nichiren Shū]]}} and {{Transliteration|ja|[[Nichiren Shōshū]]}}, and lay organisations like {{Transliteration|ja|[[Risshō Kōsei Kai]]}} and {{Transliteration|ja|[[Soka Gakkai]]}}—a denomination whose political wing forms the {{Transliteration|ja|[[Komeito]]}}, Japan's third largest political party. Common to most lineages of Nichiren Buddhism is the chanting of {{Transliteration|ja|[[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō]]}} (or Nam Myoho Renge Kyo) and the {{Transliteration|ja|[[Gohonzon]]}} inscribed by Nichiren.

{{As of|2018}}, there were 355,000+ Buddhist monks, priests and leaders in Japan,<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]]|title=宗教年鑑 令和元年版|trans-title=Religious Yearbook 2019|url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/hakusho_nenjihokokusho/shukyo_nenkan/pdf/r01nenkan.pdf#page=49|page=35|year=2019|language=ja}}</ref> an increase of over 40,000 compared to 2000.<ref>{{cite book|author=Agency for Cultural Affairs|year=2002|title=宗教年鑑 平成13年版|trans-title=Religious Yearbook 2001|url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/tokei_hakusho_shuppan/hakusho_nenjihokokusho/shukyo_nenkan/pdf/h13nenkan.pdf#page=45|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs|language=ja|page=31|isbn=978-432406748-2}}</ref>