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 Nara period saw the introduction of Tangmi (Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese "mikkyō") to Japan from China by Kūkai and Saichō, who founded Shingon Buddhism and the Tendai school, respectively. During the Heian period the capital was shifted from Nara to Kyoto. Monasteries became centers of powers, even establishing armies of Sōhei, warrior-monks. Shinto and Buddhism became the dominant religions, maintaining a balance until the Meiji-restoration. The Kamakura period was a period of crisis in which the control of the country moved from the imperial aristocracy to the samurai. In 1185 the Kamakura shogunate was established at Kamakura. This period saw the