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Buddhism is believed to have been first introduced to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the 1260s by the Japanese monk [[Zenkan]]. He established the temple [[Gokuraku-ji (Okinawa)|Gokuraku-ji]] in [[Urasoe]] in [[1265]], and secured the conversion to Buddhism of King [[Eiso]]. A monk named Raijû, based at Ichijô-in at [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], traveled to Ryûkyû in [[1367]] and established the [[Shingon]] temple [[Gokoku-ji (Okinawa)|Gokoku-ji]], making it the personal prayer hall of King [[Satto]]. The [[Daianzen-ji]] was then founded in [[1430]] by [[Chinese investiture envoy]] [[Chai Shan]]. However, it was not until the reign of [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]] (r. [[1454]]-[[1461]]) that Buddhism really began to spread in Ryûkyû. Shô Taikyû dispatched the Japanese monk [[Doan|Dôan]] to Korea in [[1455]] to obtain copies of the [[sutra]]s. The following year, the Japanese monk [[Kaiin]] came to Ryûkyû from Kyoto's [[Nanzen-ji]], and established a number of temples, including [[Tenryu-ji (Okinawa)|Tenryû-ji]], [[Fumon-ji]], and [[Kogen-ji|Kôgen-ji]]. He also had a number of temple bells produced, donating them to temples across the island. Kaiin made a strong impact upon Shô Taikyû, and was named the first abbot of [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]], one of the top temples in the kingdom. He was unable, however, to convince the king to make Buddhism the state religion.<ref name=yoko38>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 38.</ref>

Buddhism is believed to have been first introduced to the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the 1260s by the Japanese monk [[Zenkan]]. He established the temple [[Gokuraku-ji (Okinawa)|Gokuraku-ji]] in [[Urasoe]] in [[1265]], and secured the conversion to Buddhism of King [[Eiso]]. A monk named Raijû, based at Ichijô-in at [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], traveled to Ryûkyû in [[1367]] and established the [[Shingon]] temple [[Gokoku-ji (Okinawa)|Gokoku-ji]], making it the personal prayer hall of King [[Satto]]. The [[Daianzen-ji]] was then founded in [[1430]] by [[Chinese investiture envoy]] [[Chai Shan]]. However, it was not until the reign of [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]] (r. [[1454]]-[[1461]]) that Buddhism really began to spread in Ryûkyû. Shô Taikyû dispatched the Japanese monk [[Doan|Dôan]] to Korea in [[1455]] to obtain copies of the [[sutra]]s. The following year, the Japanese monk [[Kaiin]] came to Ryûkyû from Kyoto's [[Nanzen-ji]], and established a number of temples, including [[Tenryu-ji (Okinawa)|Tenryû-ji]], [[Fumon-ji]], and [[Kogen-ji|Kôgen-ji]]. He also had a number of temple bells produced, donating them to temples across the island. Kaiin made a strong impact upon Shô Taikyû, and was named the first abbot of [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]], one of the top temples in the kingdom. He was unable, however, to convince the king to make Buddhism the state religion.<ref name=yoko38>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 38.</ref>

Zen monks based in Ryûkyû, due to their strong connections to Japan (chiefly [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]]), then came to occupy a particularly prominent role in Ryûkyû's diplomatic interactions with Japan, both in drafting formal communications, and in serving as official royal envoys. Interactions with China, Korea, and Southeast Asia continued to be handled chiefly by the [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-officials]] of [[Kumemura]], however.<ref name=yoko38/>

Thus, up until around 1600, Shingon and [[Rinzai]] Zen were very much the dominant - if not the only - schools of Buddhism active in Ryûkyû. The heads of Ryukyuan Buddhist temples were all Japanese up until the late 15th or early 16th century, when Ryukyuan monks began to rise to become the heads of some of these temples; even these Ryukyuan monks, however, trained for a considerable amount of time at temples in Japan prior to rising to such positions of authority.<ref name=smits193>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 193.</ref> Zen monks based in Ryûkyû, due to their strong connections to Japan (chiefly [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]] and [[Suo province|Suô provinces]] and the ''[[Kyoto Gozan]]'' temples),<ref name=smits193/> came to occupy a particularly prominent role in Ryûkyû's diplomatic interactions with Japan, both in drafting formal communications, and in serving as official royal envoys. Interactions with China, Korea, and Southeast Asia continued to be handled chiefly by the [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-officials]] of [[Kumemura]], however.<ref name=yoko38/>

[[Pure Land Buddhism]] (''Jôdo shû'') was first introduced to Ryûkyû by the Japanese monk [[Taichu|Taichû]], who sojourned in Ryûkyû in [[1603]]-[[1605]].<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41954-storytopic-121.html Taichû]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.</ref> By this time, there were some 46 temples active in Ryûkyû, associated with at least twenty different deities.<ref>Of these, roughly 17 were established before the reign of Shô Shin, 24 during the reigns of Shô Shin and [[Sho Sei (尚清)|Shô Sei]], and one later. Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 141-142.</ref>

[[Pure Land Buddhism]] (''Jôdo shû'') was first introduced to Ryûkyû by the Japanese monk [[Taichu|Taichû]], who sojourned in Ryûkyû in [[1603]]-[[1605]].<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41954-storytopic-121.html Taichû]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.</ref> By this time, there were some 46 temples active in Ryûkyû, associated with at least twenty different deities.<ref>Of these, roughly 17 were established before the reign of Shô Shin, 24 during the reigns of Shô Shin and [[Sho Sei (尚清)|Shô Sei]], and one later. Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 141-142.</ref>

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