Ganesha worship was brought to Japan by early Buddhists through China. In Japan the Ganesha worship (Ganapatya tradition) was first mentioned in AD 806. Scholars commonly date the presence of Ganesha in Japan with the age of Kukai (774- 834), the founder of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. The centrality of the worship of Ganesha or Vinayaka or Kangiten, as he is popularly called in Japan, is a distinguishing feature of this cult. The doctrines, rituals and beliefs of the sect have a number of parallels with the tradition of Ganapatya.