Buddhism in Japan

traditions of Buddhism popular in Japan

64 dated entries naming Buddhism in Japan, drawn from 63 separate years between 364 CE and 1300 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Japanese Buddhism in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q736311

4th century

364Huiguo, Chinese Buddhist nun (died 433)source

6th century

552Buddhism in Japan is introduced, according to the Nihon Shoki.source
586Japanese Buddhism comes under attack as a "foreign" religion.source
587Battle of Shigisan: The Soga clan, which has intermarried with the royal Yamato clan, fights the Mononobe and Nakatomi clans over influence in selecting a new successor for the Japanese throne, after Emperor Yōmei dies. The Soga favor importing Buddhism from the Asian mainland, described there as the religion of the most civilized. The Mononobe and Nakatomi hold that Buddhism would be an affront to the gods. The Soga win the civil war and Sushun, age 66, becomes the 32nd emperor of Japan.source
593Empress Suiko begins a long reign during a pivotal period, in which Buddhism influences the development and culture of Japan. She is the first female ruler and the first to receive official recognition from China.source
594Empress Suiko issues the "Flourishing Three Treasures Edict", officially recognizing the practice of Buddhism in Japan. She begins diplomatic relations with the Sui dynasty (China).source

7th century

604Prince Shotoku, imperial regent of Empress Suiko, issues a Seventeen-article constitution, based on both Confucian and Buddhist principles in Japan.source
629Dōshō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 700)source
668The monk Gyōki, one of the founders of Japanese Buddhism, is born in the Ōtori District of Kawachi Province.source
670Hōryū-ji, a Japanese Buddhist temple, burns to the ground after being hit by lightning; its reconstruction is immediately begun.source
689Rōben, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 773)source
697A festival, for the opening of the eyes of Buddhist images, is held in Yakushi-ji Temple in Japan (approximate date).source
700Dōkyō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 772)source

8th century

736Rōben, scholar-Buddhist monk, invites Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at Kinshōsen-ji (later Tōdai-ji); this event is considered to be the roots of the Kegon school of Buddhism founded in Japan.source
741Japanese authorities decree that Buddhist temples should be established throughout the country (approximate date).source
749Gyōki, Japanese Buddhist priest (born 668)source
749August 19 – Emperor Shōmu abdicates the throne, after a 25-year reign that has been dominated by his wife (and aunt), Kōmyō, a commoner he married at age 16. He is succeeded by his daughter Kōken; Shōmu becomes the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest.source
752Emperor Shōmu (retired since 749) takes part in the dedication ceremony of the Great Buddha, (15 metres) at Tōdai-ji in Nara (Japan), and declares himself a Buddhist.source
767September 15 – Saichō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 822)source
772May 13 – Dōkyō, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 700)source
773Rōben, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 689)source
774Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 835)source
784The Japanese begin a war against the Ainu, in the north, on the main island of Honshu. Emperor Kanmu wishes to be free from the influence of the Buddhist monasteries around Nara (then called Heijō), and moves the capital to Nagaoka, ending the Nara period.source
788The Enryaku-ji temple complex is founded by Saichō, a Buddhist monk, on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu (Japan).source
797Shinshō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 873)source

9th century

804Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk, travels in a government-sponsored expedition to China, in order to learn more about the Mahavairocana Sutra. He brings back texts of Shingon (Esoteric Buddhism).source
806Hōzen-ji Temple is founded in Wakakusa, Nakakoma District, Japan (now Minami-Alps, Yamanashi Prefecture). The temple follows the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism.source
822June 26 – Saichō, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 767)source
824Zenpuku-ji, one of the oldest Tokyo temples, is founded by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kūkai.source
835Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 774)source
876Emperor Seiwa abdicates the throne, in favor of his 7-year-old son Yōzei. Seiwa becomes a Buddhist priest; he appoints Fujiwara no Mototsune as regent (sesshō), who assists the child emperor.source

10th century

930October 16 – Emperor Daigo of Japan, being fatally ill, abdicates in favor of his 7-year-old son Suzaku, after a 33-year reign. He enters the Buddhist priesthood, but dies shortly after. Former Emperor Uda (Daigo's father), remains the power behind the Japanese throne (until 931).source
977Kōkei, Japanese Buddhist monk (approximate date)source
984Fall – Emperor En'yū abdicates the throne in favor of his 16-year-old son Kazan after a 15-year reign. En'yū retires and becomes a Buddhist priest.source
998Byōdō-in Temple (located in Yamashiro Province) is built during the Heian Period on orders of Fujiwara no Michinaga, who uses the Buddhist temple as a countryside retreat villa (modern-day Kyoto Prefecture).source

11th century

1052Byōdō-in, a Japanese Buddhist temple (located in the Kyoto Prefecture), changes its name by order of Fujiwara no Yorimichi.source
1095Kōgyō-Daishi, Japanese Buddhist priest (died 1143)source

12th century

1121Chōgen, Japanese Buddhist monk (kanjin) (died 1206)source
1126Taira no Tokiko, Japanese Buddhist nun (died 1185)source
1162June 20 – Benchō, Japanese Buddhist patriarch (died 1238)source
1173Tankei, Japanese Buddhist sculptor (died 1256)source
1185April 25 – Taira no Tokiko, Japanese Buddhist nun (born 1126)source

13th century

1202November 1 – Enni, Japanese Buddhist monk and teacher (died 1280)source
1203Sengaku, Japanese Buddhist monk and writer (died 1273)source
1207Hōnen and his followers of the Pure Land sect are persecuted and exiled to remote parts of Japan, while a few are executed, for what the government considers heretical Buddhist teachings.source
1212February 29 – Hōnen, Japanese Buddhist reformer (born 1133)source
1221Nisshō, Japanese Buddhist priest and teacher (died 1323)source
1227January 1 – Mujū Dōkyō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 1312)source
1232February 21 – Myōe, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 1173)source
1234Ippen (or Zuien), Japanese Buddhist monk (died 1289)source
1238March 16 – Benchō, Japanese Buddhist monk (born 1162)source
1243Awaji Nichiken, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 1338)source
1247December 24 – Shōkū, Japanese Buddhist disciple (born 1177)source
1253April 28 – Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist monk, declares his intent to preach the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō as the true Buddhism, thus founding Nichiren Buddhism.source
1264Nichiin, Japanese Buddhist monk and disciple (died 1329)source
1269Nichizō, Japanese Buddhist monk and disciple (died 1342)source
1271September 12 – Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist priest, is arrested by a band of soldiers and nearly beheaded. This incident, known as Hosshaku Kenpon or "casting off the transient and revealing the true," is regarded as a turning point of Nichiren's teachings within the various schools, known as Nichiren Buddhism.source
1277Meihō Sotetsu, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk (died 1350)source
1282October 13 – Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist priest (born 1222)source
1283Yoshida Kenkō, Japanese Buddhist monk and writer (died 1350)source
1289Ton'a (or Tonna), Japanese Buddhist poet and writer (died 1372)source
1291In Japan the temple of Nanzen-ji at Kyoto is established by Emperor Kameyama. This temple becomes one of the most important religious schools within the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and includes multiple sub-temples.source
1299Akashi Kakuichi, Japanese Buddhist monk and musician (died 1371)source
1300Kangan Giin, Japanese Buddhist scholar and Zen Master (born 1217)source