When coming to Japan for the first time, it does not matter how many books one may have read about the 'land of the rising sun' or what one has imagined about it, his/hers perception of the country is most likely to change by the end of the stay. Be it one's notion about the society, business and economics, or traditional culture and religion. The same happened to me. I knew very little about Buddhism before coming to Japan. However having a great interest in the subject I decided to broaden my knowledge by visiting various temples and museums situated in the former capitals of Japan such as Kyoto and Nara, and reading books about Japanese culture, religion and society. Eventually I was surprised to find out how much my initial impression would change. .
Hearing a little bit here and there about wise Zen masters solving incomprehensible puzzles (as I later found out called koan), reading short articles about the beauty of Japanese Buddhist sculptures and architecture of the temples. Also having read some books about the Buddha and his compassion towards all beings, I was absolutely swept away and had a very magical perception of Buddhism in Japan. However with further research I have realized that Buddhism in Japan is very different from those in other countries and in some ways may be distant from the original Buddhist teaching. Before discussing Japanese Buddhism it is important to look at the origin of Buddhism and the 'originator', the Buddha himself. .
The historical Buddha is often referred to as Sakyamuni (the sage of Sakya people). He was born into the Gautama clan and his birth name was Siddhartha. He was the son of king Suddhodana who lived in the city called Kapilvastu on the border of India and Nepal (Hirakawa A. 1990). Siddhartha was born in c. 483 B. C., attained enlightenment by the age of 35, thus becoming the buddha (literally "awakened') and died in c. 563 B.