Buddhism in the Philippines conducted by Philip Maise has included the discovery of giant sculptures, has also discovered what he believes to be cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the Journey to the West. Estimates of the Buddhist population of the Philippines is at 2%. Several schools of Buddhism are present in the Philippines. There are Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist temples as well as Theravada followers, lay organizations, meditation centers and groups, such as Pure Land Buddhism, Soka Gakkai International which is an international Nichiren Buddhist organization founded in Japan. The Maha Bodhi Society's Zen circle was founded in October
Buddhism in Japan during the Edo period, through the Danka or "terauke" system. In this, Japanese citizens were required to register at their local Buddhist temples and obtain a certification ("terauke"), which became necessary to function in society. At first, this system was put into place to suppress Christianity, but over time it took on the larger role of census and population control. In Japan, Buddhist art started to develop as the country converted to Buddhism in 548. Some tiles from the Asuka period (shown above), the first period following the conversion of the country to Buddhism, display a strikingly classical style, with