During Heian period (794-1185), a great transformation took place Buddhism, but to understand it, you should take some steps back. First of all, this religion was born in India in the sixth century BC and came from China and Korea come concezione puramente intellettuale, atta a rafforzare e legittimare il potere centrale, rappresentato allora dal clan Soga e dalla casa imperiale. Infatti, quando il buddhismo fece ufficialmente il suo ingresso in Giappone nel 538 , a fare presa sulle classi elevate non furono tanto le originarie concezioni di questa religione (come l'atteggiamento pessimistico verso la vita, la reincarnazione e il nirvana), quanto piuttosto l'arte, la letteratura, i cerimoniali e i poteri magici che accompagnavano la sua filosofia. Inoltre, fino all'VIII secolo, il buddhismo rimase strettamente confinato all'aristocrazia di corte, senza che le sei cosiddette sette di Nara coinvolgessero il resto della popolazione.
However, a substantial change in the situation occurred in the period in question, namely the early ninth century, when the mainland came two new schools of thought that are more spread among the people, both of which were introduced by two monks who had accompanied the diplomatic mission to China by the 804 . One of these monks, Kukai (744-835), otherwise known as Kobo Daishi (Daishi means "great teacher"), brought with him from China to the teachings of Tantric Buddhism as his headquarters and founded a monastery mont on and Kuya , end South of the capital. So he introduced the Shingon (literally, "true word"), an esoteric sect, which had, however, one aspect populations with spells, incantations and other rituals for the dead. Shingon gained great popularity at court, just as it placed emphasis on ritual magic, also regarded as local manifestations Japanese Shinto gods of universal Buddhist deities, it also contributed to both theological and institutional merger of the two religions. 
The other monk return dall'ambasceria dell'804, Saicho (767-822), also known as Dengyo Daishi, instead promoted the construction of a large monastic complex on Mount Hiei-zan , located northeast of the Heian: given that the north-east was considered an unfavorable direction, SAIC, to protect the capital from the evil influences , had chosen Mount Hiei-zan as an ideal place in which to build his school, the Tendai sect of (the name comes from m shame Tiantai where the Monaco had learned the doctrine in China). It was an eclectic school, according to which all living things could become a "Buddha", ie to achieve a state of enlightenment through a series of practices (studies, meditations and invocations), this doctrine was great success at all levels of society, becoming a state religion, as he was able to absorb elements from various religions and schools (both Buddhist Shinto) and adapt to different levels of individual understanding. 
Over time, the monastic complex of these two schools were able to become real centers of power alternativ to the imperial court. In fact, they had started to buy weapons and to get warrior monks (called Sohei ), not only to settle internal political disputes and doctrinal or other schools, but also to seize by force of large agricultural areas. Emblematic the case of the Tendai sect, whose Enryaku-ji temple on Mount Hiei-zan was at the time of SAIC, the hub of a complex of more than 3000 buildings: its many monks came to be an army in wartime and even hordes of bandits who, starting from 'the eleventh century, carried out sporadic but devastating raids in the city. In addition, these seven also contains a magic-religious that often used to intimidate and threaten the imperial government. So the latter, while not looking directly threatened its autonomy by the presence of Buddhist temples around the capital (as had happened instead in the Nara period ), was gradually deprived of many landholdings, and therefore the real power, new religious institutions. 
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