Buddhism in Japan began teaching devotion to the "Lotus Sutra". Eventually, his disciples formed their own school of Nichiren Buddhism, which includes various sects that have their own interpretations of Nichiren's teachings. Nichiren Buddhism established the foundation of Japanese Buddhism in the thirteenth century. The school is known for its sociopolitical activism and looks to reform society through faith. In the Muromachi period, Zen, particularly the Rinzai school, obtained the help of the Ashikaga shogunate and the Emperor of Japan, and accomplished considerable development. After the Sengoku period of war, Japan was re-united in the Azuchi–Momoyama period. This decreased the power of Buddhism,
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