Buddhism in Japan Buddhism in Japan Buddhism in Japan has been practiced since its official introduction in 552 CE according to the "Nihon Shoki" from Baekje, Korea, by Buddhist monks. Buddhism has had a major influence on the development of Japanese society and remains an influential aspect of the culture to this day. In modern times, Japan's most popular schools of Buddhism are Pure Land Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism and Zen. As of 2008, approximately 34% of the Japanese identify as Buddhists and the number has been growing since the 1980s, in terms of membership in organized religion. However, in terms of
Nichiren Buddhism Japan while Tadao Yanaihara described Nichiren as one of the four historical figures he most admired. While various sects and organizations have had a presence in nations outside Japan for over a century, the ongoing expansion of Nichiren Buddhism overseas started in 1960 when Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda initiated his group's worldwide propagation efforts growing from a few hundred transplanted Japanese to over 3500 families just by 1962. Nichiren Buddhism is now practiced in many countries outside of Japan. In the United States Prebish coined the typology of "two Buddhisms" to delineate the divide between forms of Buddhism that