The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1660 page)

Nara Buddhism
.

The place and period (709–84) in which Buddhism was enduringly introduced into Japan. The prince-regent Sh
toku Taishi (574–622) became a devout follower of Buddhism, accepting Korean emissaries and sending to China for further support and instruction. In 604 he promulgated the ‘Seventeen Article Constitution’ which included (Art. 2) the instruction to reverence the
Three Jewels
. Most of the emperors and empresses in the 8th cent. were Buddhist, and the court patronage led to a profusion of sects and building, especially in the capital, Nara, founded by the emperor
Sh
mu
(701–56) in 710. The proliferation of sects was such that an alternative title for the period is that of ‘The Six Sects’ (Nanto Rokushu), of which the most important and enduring were
Sanron
, Hoss
, and
Kegon
, the others being
Ritsu
, Kusha, and Jojitsu, all
H
nay
na
-based. The Buddhism which flourished as a state religion was concerned with the ‘nation-protecting’ qualities of s
tras,
bodhisattvas
, and other guardians. The emperor Sh
mu gave particular impetus to the building of many temples, particularly in Nara. He founded Temples of Golden Light and of the Four
Devas
in all the provinces, and he planned and built the
daibutsu
(large image of Birushan/
Vairocana
) in T
dai-ji, so that the power of Birushan would emanate to the local temples from the centre. The Great Buddha Hall, said to be the largest wooden structure in the world, was restored in 1980. Other important temple complexes are J
ruri-ji (
Shingon
Ritsu), founded 1047, with
Amida
images from the Heian period; K
fuku-ji, founded
c.
670 (Hoss
); Shinyakushi-ji (Shingon Ritsu), founded 745; T
sh