History of Japan men instead joined forces with Emperor Go-Daigo and overthrew the Kamakura shogunate. Japan nevertheless entered a period of prosperity and population growth starting around 1250. In rural areas, the greater use of iron tools and fertilizer, improved irrigation techniques, and double-cropping increased productivity and rural villages grew. Fewer famines and epidemics allowed cities to grow and commerce to boom. Buddhism, which had been largely a religion of the elites, was brought to the masses by prominent monks, such as Hōnen (1133–1212), who established Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, and Nichiren (1222–82), who founded Nichiren Buddhism. Zen Buddhism spread widely among
Buddhism in Japan The Fuke-shū was founded by Puhua (普化) First introduction to Japan: Shinchin Kakushin (心地覚心), 1254 Major Influences: Rinzai school Abolished: 1871 1253: Nichiren (日蓮: "Sun-Lotus") expounds his teachings. Nichiren Buddhism split into several denominations after the death of Nichiren in 1282. The Nichiren Fuju-fuse-ha sub-sect of Nichiren Buddhism was abolished in 1669 and legalised again in 1876. Today's Nichiren Buddhism is represented by traditional-oriented schools such as Honmon Butsuryū-shū, Nichiren-shū and Nichiren Shōshū and more recent movements like the Soka Gakkai, Risshō Kōsei Kai, Reiyūkai and Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga. See Nichiren Buddhism for a more complete list. Major Influences: Tendai Primary Texts: