Religion in Japan capital at Heian (now Kyoto). The six Buddhist sects initially established in Nara are today together known as "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 shogunate took power in the 12th century and the administrative capital moved to Kamakura, more forms of Buddhism arrived. The most popular was Zen, which became the most popular type of Buddhism of
Buddhism in Japan managed to establish Shingon as a school in its own right. Kūkai received two lineages of teaching—one based on the and the other based on the . The word "Shingon" is the Japanese pronunciation of "Zhēnyán" "True Words", which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word "mantra". 1175: Hōnen introduces Pure Land Buddhism to Japan. Jōdo-shū was founded by Hōnen (法然), 1175 Japanese name: 浄土, "Pure Land" Major Influences: Chinese Jingtu Zong (净土宗 "Pure Land school"), Tendai Doctrine: "Nianfo" Primary Text: "Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra" ("Muryōju-kyō" 無量壽経) Jōdo Shinshū was founded by Shinran (親鸞), 1224 Japanese name: 浄土真,