Japanese culture was always under the influence of the China until the Heian period (794- 1185). It was then the transition started. Japan saw the rise of two different schools of Buddism- the Tendai and the Shingon schools. These schools had a more Japanese bent than the Chinese. Both these institutions though originated in the same country at the same time, have their own beliefs and points of references.
The founder of Tendai was the spiritual leader Dengyo Daishi and that of the Shingon sect was Kobo Daishi. Both these people travelled to China to find Buddhism of their own.
Referring to the Tendai Buddhism, it was brought to Japan by Dengyo Daishi. This sect laid emphasis on the teachings from the Lotus Sutra and also preached the significance of ascetic exile for right meditation. Although, the Lotus Sutra had a background in Japan, Dengyo Daishi gave it a new perspective by concluding that all beings had the potential to get enlightened. Unlike earlier, he exclaimed the lotus Sutra to be the ultimate resort for the mankind.
Dengyo Daishi as the great leader of this sect established an institution to train and ordain the Buddhist monks. This institution was built on the top of Mt. Hiei. He believed that the Buddhism in Japan must be the conformist one adhering to the set rites, doctrine and the scriptures. The Zen practices and the Bodhisattva Amida in Japan were also his contributions but they were established as different institutions later.
Coming to the Shingon School of Buddhism, it was Kobo Daishi's contribution to the world. This sect has its roots in India. In essence, it was more Indian than Chinese because of the mention of mandalas (mystic diagrams) and mantra (mystic syllables) as significant resorts to save the world from misfortune. This sect believed in the symbolic and ritualistic practice with special emphasis on detailed positioning of the arms to attain enlightenment. The Shingon School became more esoteric than the Tendai sect in practice. In this sect, the enlightenment was said to be achieved only by realizing the Dainichi Buddha- the primal basis of all the beings and the foundation to all the physical forms within one's own self. This particular difference of learning the tomes and passing the mysterious rituals from the teacher to the disciples makes this sect strikingly different from the Tendai sect.
Both the Tendai as well as the Shingon sect have similarity of origin and other few things. This is the reason why they have been linked time and again. But on the contrary, these schools stand apart in terms of expression and practice. And, are strongly established even toady with their own fundamentals.
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