* 1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

The doctrine of interpenetration influenced the Japanese monk Kūkai, who founded the Shingon school of Buddhism.

All Japanese Kamakura sects of Buddhism ( Zen, Nichiren, Jodo ) have relaxed Mahayana vinaya, and as a consequence, vegetarianism is rare.

Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West: Orientalism, Occidentalism, and the Columbian Exposition.

Kammu also sponsored the travels of the monks Saichō and Kūkai to China, from where they returned to found the Japanese branches of, respectively, Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.

# Kōmyō ( 光明 ) is a phrase used in Japanese Jodo Shinshu Buddhism to refer to the Infinite Light of Amitabha Buddha.

* 1222 – Nichiren Daishonin, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism ( d. 1282 )

It is the opinion of some food scholars that the Japanese diet always relied mainly on " grains with vegetables or seaweeds as main, with fowl meat secondary, and mammal meat in slight amounts ," even before the advent of Buddhism which placed an even stronger taboo.

In Japanese Buddhism, ai ( 愛 ) is passionate caring love, and a fundamental desire.

He then went to Mount Hiei, the cradle of Japanese Tendai Buddhism, where he found the original purity of the Tendai doctrine corrupted by the introduction and acceptance of other doctrines, especially Amidism and esoteric Buddhism.

Nichiren Buddhism ( 日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha ) is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese Buddhist reformer Nichiren ( 1222 – 1282 ).

* 1279 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon.

Due to increasing influence from Buddhism and mainland Asian thought, codification of the " Japanese " way of religion and laws begins in earnest.

With the introduction of Buddhism and its rapid adoption by the court in the 6th century, it was necessary to explain the apparent differences between native Japanese beliefs and Buddhist teachings.

The event brought together about 300 people including Keishu Shinso Ito, the highest-ranking minister in Japanese Buddhism, along with other religious leaders.

However, each branch of Mahayana Buddhism selects which sutra to follow, and some branches, including the majority of Tibetan and Japanese Buddhists, do eat meat, while many Chinese Buddhist branches do not.

** Kanoko Okamoto, Japanese novelist, poet, and Buddhism scholar ( d. 1939 )

* Nichiren, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism -( October 13 )

* April 8 – Prince Shotoku, Japanese prince, one of the first in that country to support Buddhism

* Japanese monk Kukai visits China, from which he brings back texts of Shingon ( Esoteric Buddhism ).

* Shinran, Japanese founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism ( d. 1263 )

* 1253 – April 28 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, declares his intention to preach the Lotus Sutra and Nam Myoho Renge Kyo as the true Buddhism, essentially founding the branch of Buddhism now known as Nichiren Buddhism.

* Kuya, Japanese monk of Pure Land Buddhism ( b. 903 ).

* Hōnen, Japanese founder of Pure Land Buddhism ( d. 1212 )

* Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism

* Kuya, Japanese monk of Pure Land Buddhism ( d. 972 ).

In the United States, Pure Land priests of the Japanese diaspora serve a role very similar to Protestant ministers of the Christian tradition.

Through his efforts, Amitābha created the " Pure Land " ( 净土, Chinese: jìngtŭ ; Japanese: jōdo ; Vietnamese: tịnh độ ) called Sukhāvatī ( Sanskrit: " possessing happiness ").

While recognized by the Japanese Shingon sect, Eastern Pure Land Buddhism is less popular than Western Pure Land Buddhism.

Strong institutional boundaries exist between sects which serve to clearly separate these Pure Land schools from the Japanese Zen schools.

* Hōnen, founder of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism or Jōdo shū.

The Japanese monks Gyonen of the Pure Land Buddhism and Zenshu and Joto of the Faziang school were also influenced by him.

Instead the Pure Land School of Buddhism encouraged its practitioners to rely on the vow of the Buddha Amitabha ( Sanskrit, Amida in Japanese ) to save all beings from suffering.

This period saw the introduction of the two schools that had perhaps the greatest impact on the country: ( 1 ) the Amidist Pure Land schools, promulgated by evangelists such as Genshin and articulated by monks such as Hōnen, which emphasize salvation through faith in Amitabha and remain the largest Buddhist sect in Japan ( and throughout Asia ); and ( 2 ) the more philosophical Zen schools, promulgated by monks such as Eisai and Dogen, which emphasize liberation through the insight of meditation, which were equally rapidly adopted by the upper classes and had a profound impact on Japanese culture.

Japanese name: 浄土, " Pure Land "

Japanese name: 浄土真, " True Pure Land "

Nianfo ( Chinese: 念佛, pinyin: niànfó ; Japanese: 念仏 nembutsu ; Korean: 염불 yeombul ; Vietnamese: niệm Phật ), is a term commonly seen in the Pure Land school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The music for the games was composed by two employees of the Japanese music and sound effect production company Pure Sound, credited under the pseudonyms " M-Adachi " and " Kyopi ".

* Jodo Shu, a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism, distinct from the larger Jodo Shinshu branch.

In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, Vairocana was gradually superseded as an object of reverence by Amitabha Buddha, due in large part to the increasing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism, but Vairocana's legacy still remains in the Tōdai-ji temple with its massive bronze statue and in Shingon Buddhism, which holds a sizeable minority among Japanese Buddhists.

was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher ( hijiri ) who founded the Ji-shū ( 時宗 time sect ) branch of Pure Land Buddhism.

* Pure Escapism ( 2002 ) ( Japanese Edition )

In addition, many classic Japanese haiku poets, including Chiyo-ni, Buson, and Issa were Pure Land rather than Zen Buddhists.

Though Chán is less well known in the West compared to Japanese Zen, the teachings of Hsu Yun have persisted within Asia, and he is still a major figure of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia.

The concept of gongyō is also common in Japanese Pure Land Buddhist schools such as Jodo Shu and Jodo Shinshu.