How did Buddhism spread from the Asian mainland to Japan?

Answer 1

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Buddhism first came to Japan when King Seong of the Baekje kingdom on the Korean Peninsula sent a mission to Nara including Buddhist monks or nuns, an image of Buddha, and numbers of sutras to introduce Buddhism. This was in 552 CE.

This is the first documented contact between Buddhism and the Japanese, although there may have been earlier, informal contacts among travelers. Buddhism arrived in Korea in 372 CE and was well-established when the first missions were sent to Japan.

Wikipedia has a good article on this topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_buddhism#Asu...

Answer 2

I am pretty sure Dogen introduced Buddhism, or a form of it, to Japan. He originated from China and went to Japan to spread his teachings. Watch "Zen" the film, it's really interesting.

Answer 3

Korea and Japan we're in the sinosphere, so whatever China did they did as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_japan#Arr...

EDIT: Erm Dogen is Japanese, and went to study Buddhism in China and returned to Japan. Buddhism at that time already existed in Japan.

Answer 4

Most likely by Trade and people who migrated.