Asuka and Nara Periods
Although it is possible that Buddhism was known to the Japanese previously, the "official" introduction of Buddhism to Japan is dated to 552 in Nihon Shoki (otherwise 538 according to the History of Gangōji monastery), when Seong of Baekje sent a mission to Nara including some Buddhist monks or nuns, together with an image of Buddha, and numbers of sutras to introduce Buddhism.The powerful Soga clan played a key role in the early spread of Buddhism in the country. Initial uptake of the new faith was slow, and Buddhism only started to spread some years later when Empress Suiko openly encouraged the acceptance of Buddhism among all Japanese people.
In 607, in order to obtain copies of sutras, an imperial envoy was dispatched to the Sui Dynasty in China. As time progressed and the number of Buddhist clergy increased, the offices of Sojo (archbishop) and Sozu (bishop) were created. By 627, there were 46 Buddhist temples, 816 Buddhist priests, and 569 Buddhist nuns in Japan.
The initial period saw the six great Chinese schools, called Nanto Rokushu (南都六宗, lit. Nara six sects?) in Japanese, introduced to the Japanese Archipelago including the Ritsu (Vinaya), Jōjitsu (Satyasiddhi), Kusha (Abhidharma) Sanron (Madhyamika), Hossō (Yogacara), and Kegon (Hua-yen),[8] centered around the ancient capitals of Asuka and Nara, where great temples such as the Hōryū-ji and Tōdai-ji were erected respectively. These were not exclusive schools, and temples were apt to have scholars versed in several of the schools. It has been suggested that they can best be thought of as "study groups". The Buddhism of these periods, known as the Asuka period and Nara period – was not a practical religion, being more the domain of learned priests whose official function was to pray for the peace and prosperity of the state and imperial house. This kind of Buddhism had little to offer the illiterate and uneducated masses, and led to the growth of "people’s priests" who were not ordained and had no formal Buddhist training. Their practice was a combination of Buddhist and Taoist elements, and the incorporation of shamanistic features of the indigenous religion. Some of these figures became immensely popular, and were a source of criticism towards the sophisticated academic and bureaucratic Buddhism of the capital.
Ritsu
Founded by Dàoxuān (道宣, Jp. Dosen), China, c. AD 650
First Introduction to Japan: Ganjin (鑑真), AD 753. The Ritsu school specialized in the Vinaya (the monastic rules in the Tripitaka). They used the Dharmagupta version of the vinaya which is known in Japanese as Shibunritsu 四分律)
[edit] Jōjitsu
The Satyasiddhi school is considered to be an offshoot of the Sautrantika school, one of the Nikaya schools of Indian Buddhism (see early Buddhist schools). They were distinguished by a rejection of the Abhidharma as not being the "word of the Buddha". The name means literally, "Ends with the Sutras", which refers to the traditional order of texts in the Tripitaka—vinaya, sutra, abhidharma.
Temple tiles from Nara, 7th century, Tokyo National Museum.
Kusha
Introduced into Japan from China during the Nara period (710–784). The school takes its name from its authoritative text, the Abidatsuma-kusha-ron(Sanskrit:Abhidharma-kosa), by the 4th- or 5th-century Indian philosopher Vasubandhu. The Kusha school is considered to be an offshoot of the Indian Sarvastivada school.
Sanron
Literally: Three-Discourse School; a Madhyamika school which developed in China based on two discourses by Nagarjuna and one by Aryadeva. This school was transmitted to Japan in the 7th century. Madhyamika is one of the two most important Mahayana philosophies, and reemphasizes the original Buddhist teachings that phenomena are neither truly existent or absolutely non-existent, but are characterized by impermanence and insubstantially.
Hossō
The Yogacara (瑜伽行派 Yugagyouha) schools are based on early Indian Buddhist thought by masters such as Vasubandhu, and are also known as "consciousness only" since they teach a form of idealism which posits that all phenomena are phenomena of the mind. The Hossō school was founded by Xuanzang (玄奘, Jp. Genjo), China, c. AD 630, and introduced to Japan in AD 654. The Discourse on the Theory of Consciousness-Only (Jo yuishikiron 成唯識論) is an important text for the Hosso school.
Kegon
Also known by its Chinese name Huayen (華厳), the Kegon school was founded by Dushun (杜順, Jp. Dojun), China, c. AD 600, and introduced to Japan by the Indian monk Bodhisena in AD 736. The Avatamsaka Sutra (Kegonkyō 華厳経) is the central text for the Kegon school. The Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki is an early Japanese annotation of this sūtra.