The Buddhist thought and culture, introduced by Kukai, Saicho, and others, had a great influence on Japanese art, so the Mandala of Esoteric Buddhism, and the full-blown Esoteric Buddhism statues, which could not be seen in the Nara period, were made in this period.
空海、最澄らが伝えた仏教思想や文物は美術の面でも大きな影響をもたらし、密教曼荼羅や、奈良時代には見られなかった本格的密教彫像がつくられた。