---
node: introduction_of_buddhism_to_japan
type: event
slug: introduction_of_buddhism_to_japan
title: "Introduction of Buddhism to Japan"
lead: "Buddhism officially reached Japan when King Seong of the Korean kingdom of Baekje sent a Buddha image and sutras to Emperor Kinmei — dated 552 in the Nihon Shoki and 538 in other early sources, both traditional dates."
published: 2026-07-09
updated: 2026-07-09
image_file: introduction_of_buddhism_to_japan.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japan,_late_Asuka_to_early_Nara_Period_-_Buddha_of_the_Future_(Maitreya)_-_1950.86_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif"
image_author: "Unknown"
image_license: "CC0"
---

## What happened

King Seong of Baekje, a kingdom on the Korean peninsula, sent a Buddha image and sutras to Emperor Kinmei. The Nihon Shoki dates the event to 552; other early sources give 538. Both dates are carried by tradition.

Acceptance was contested at court between the pro-Buddhist Soga clan and the opposed Mononobe clan. The Soga prevailed in the 580s.

## Background

Buddhism did not travel alone. It reached Japan as part of a whole continental package — writing, architecture and statecraft — transmitted through the Korean peninsula.

## Consequences

Early temples followed: Asuka-dera (596), Shitenno-ji (traditionally 593, founded by Prince Shotoku) and Horyu-ji (607). Over centuries Buddhism fused with native kami worship (shinbutsu shugo), laying the foundation of Japanese temple culture, art and thought for the next millennium and a half.