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
Buddhism in Japan The Kegon school was founded by c. 600 and was introduced to Japan by the Indian monk Bodhisena in 736. The "Avatamsaka Sutra" ("Kegon-kyō" 華厳経) is the central text for the Kegon school. The "Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki" is an early Japanese annotation of this sūtra. 753: Jianzhen () introduces the Risshū (Ritsu or vinaya school) to Japan. Founded by Daoxuan (道宣, Jp. "Dosen"), China, c. 650 First Introduction to Japan: Jianzhen, 753. The Ritsu school specialized in the Vinaya (the monastic rules in the Tripitaka). They used the Dharmagupta version of the vinaya which is known in Japanese as