Japanese Buddhism developed, in its early days, without any connection with mountains. It was in the late seventh century that the Buddhist movement in the mountains appeared for the first time in Japanese history. The Government which was established on the Taiho Ritsuryo took an oppressive attitude toward the discipline in the mountains, which was one of the important exercises of Buddhist disciplinarians, during the seventh and eighth centuries- It is presumed that this oppressive attitude on the part of the authorities was relaxed in the latter half on the Tempyo 天平 era (740～750). However, after this period, the Government again adopted an oppressive policy. It is supposed that some Buddhist priests, who had critical opinions of State Buddhism, excited the authorities and the Government changed its attitude in the treatment of disciplinarians (about 770). It was by no means an easy task for Buddhism to invade the mountains. It had to struggle with the traditional worship of Yama-no-Kami (the mountain God). Many legends told about struggles during the period from the latter half of the eighth to the ninth century have been handed down from generation to generation. For instance, the legend that the mountain gods prayed to be saved through the mercy of Buddha, gradually turned into a belief that the gods of the mountain intended to protect Buddhism. Thus the Buddhists established a base to work in the mountains by overcoming the traditional faith, and Buddhism and the traditional faith blended into each other. Thereafter, Buddhism became influencial among the Japanese people. Legends of this early mountain Buddhism became in fact the popular faith. In this respect we have to mention the itinerant monks who were being oppressed by the Government of the early eighth century. The main factor that facilitated the Buddhist approach to the mountains was esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyo) to which the Japanese were paying increasing attention in the mideighth century. At the same time, we must not fail to mention the influence of two Chinese priests, Dosen 道〓 and Ganjin 鑑眞 who came to Japan at that time and assumed the leadership of Japanese Buddhism. Saicho who went out into the world towards the end of the eighth century as a priest of the Tendai Sect 天臺宗 and became the founder of the mountain Buddhism of the Heian period by Dosen and Ganjin Saicho arranged to unite the various itinerant monks in the mountains and organize them into a new State Buddhism on the basis of a systematic doctrine. He was also capable of changing the friction between Buddhism and traditional Shintoism into a power to support his new movement. However, under him Japanese mountain Buddhism wandered into a by-road.
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