World rejection and Pure Land Buddhism in Japan

The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of Pure Land Bud dhism in one particular phase of Japanese religious history. It is well known that Japanese religious history exhibits a dramat ic shift from a Shinto to a Buddhist world view between the sixth and the twelfth centuries a .d . Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century, and the culture of elite society had already undergone a remarkable Buddhification by the ninth century. But Japanese Buddhism of the ninth century had not yet become an authentic mode of Buddhism and moreover was limited in scope to the elite classes. It is the thesis of this paper that Pure Land Buddhist faith played a crucial role in converting Japan by the twelfth century to a Buddhism that was both au thentic and broadly inclusive of all social classesthe folk as well as the elites.