According to Japan's oldest official history, Nibon shoki (Cronicles of Japan), Buddhism was first introduced to the Yamato kingdom in the thirteenth year of the reign of the sovereign Kinmei (552) by an envoy from Paekche. The envoy presented Kinmei with a gift: a kind Buddihsm "start up kit ” that included sütras, ritual implements, and a gilt-bronze statue of the Buddha. In Nibon shoki's narrative, the sovereigns of the Yamato kingdom thereafter took the lead in promoting buddhism in Japan, after a period of intense debate, persecution, and a decisive battle between the leading clans campaigning for and against the religion.
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Introduction 265 The Structure of the Tamamushi Shrine 267 Textual Sources for Panels 2 through 5 273 Textual Source for Panel 1 and Its Thematic Ties to Panels 2 and 4 276 Panels 2 and 4 305 Panel 3 307 Panel 5 (and Thousand Buddhas) 313 Conclusion 318 Acknowledgments 321 Glossary 322
