Buddhism in Japan movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shōguns. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese
Shingon Buddhism important to note that, because of the interdependence between emptiness and form, Vairocana is also a representation of all collective phenomena, of the universe itself. When the teachings of Shingon Buddhism were brought to Japan, Esoteric Buddhism was still in its early stages in India. At this time, the terms "Vajrayāna" ("Diamond Vehicle") and "Mantrayāna" ("Mantra Vehicle") were not used for Esoteric Buddhist teachings. Instead, esoteric teachings were more typically referred to as "Mantranaya", or the "Mantra System." According to Paul Williams, "Mantranaya" is the more appropriate term to describe the self-perception of early Esoteric Buddhism. The primary difference between