page_title: Buddhism in Japan
section_title: Heian Period (794 to 1185)
hierarchical_section_title: Buddhism in Japan / History of Japanese Buddhism / Heian Period (794 to 1185)
caption_attribution_description: English: Byōdō-in's Phoenix Hall is a Japan's National Treasure in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, Japan It was built in 1153. Byōdō-in was registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic monuments of ancient Kyoto". 日本語: 平等院鳳凰堂は日本の国宝。京都府宇治市。1153年建立。平等院はユネスコ世界文化遺産「古都京都の文化財」の一部。 Camera: Sony NEX-5Lens: Sony SEL1855
context_page_description: Buddhism in Japan has been practiced since its official introduction in 552 CE according to the Nihon Shoki from Baekje, Korea, by Buddhist monks. Buddhism has had a major influence on the development of Japanese society and remains an influential aspect of the culture to this day.
  According to the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs estimate, as of the end of 2018, with about 84 million or about 67% of the Japanese population, Buddhism was the religion in Japan with the second most adherents, next to Shintoism, though a large number of people practice elements of both. There are a wide range of estimates, however; the Pew Research Center estimated 36.2% of the population in 2010 practiced Buddhism. The Japanese General Social Survey places the figure at less than 20% of the population in 2017, and along with the 2013 Japanese National Character Survey, shows that roughly 70% of the population do not adhere to any religious beliefs.
  In modern times, Japan's popular schools of Buddhism are Pure Land Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism and Zen. About 60% of the Japanese have a Butsudan in their homes.
context_section_description: During the Heian period the capital was shifted from Nara to Kyoto. Monasteries became centers of powers, even establishing armies of Sōhei, warrior-monks.
  Shinto and Buddhism became the dominant religions, maintaining a balance until the Meiji-restoration.
caption: Byōdō-in (Pure Land sect), located in Uji, Kyoto
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "SONY DSC", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "NEX-5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2010:12:12 02:15:11", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 6, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Image ExifOffset": "392", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1174", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6157", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:11:27 09:37:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:11:27 09:37:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "29/4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "361/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4530", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3020", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1048", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "27", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 7/2, 28/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS"}