Cause & Context
Japan, driven by the envoys to Tang, was vigorously importing Central Plains culture, but its domestic Buddhist precepts were in extreme confusion. Japanese monks came to Tang and sincerely invited the eminent monk Jianzhen to go to Japan to spread the Vinaya school of Buddhism.
Epochal Overview
Jianzhen ignored obstruction by local officials, endured five perilous typhoons, and even lost his sight as a result. He still held to his vow of teaching the dharma and finally on the sixth ocean crossing succeeded in reaching Kyushu, Japan.
Civilizational Impact
Jianzhen's arrival not only standardized the Japanese Buddhist Vinaya system in religion, but also exported Tang sculpture, medicine, and architecture intact overseas. It became the highest model of cross-ocean cultural exchange between China and Japan.
Key Figures
The eminent monk Jianzhen was an outstanding Buddhist master of firm dharma-spreading who carried Buddhist compassion and outstanding art overseas. The disciples and craftsmen who accompanied him injected an entirely new artistic vitality into Japanese culture.