Buddhism had an important role in the development of Japanese art between the sixth and the sixteenth centuries. Buddhist art and religion came to Japan from China, with the arrival of a bronze Buddhist sculpture alongside the sutras. Buddhist art was encouraged by Crown Prince Taishi in the Suiko period in the sixth century and Emperor Shomu in the Nara period in the eighth century. In the early Heian period Buddhist art and architecture greatly influenced the traditional Shinto arts, and Buddhist painting became fashionable among the wealthy class. The Amida sect of Buddhism provided the basis for many artworks,...
with their halls and five story towers were built all over Japan, and huge sculptures of Buddha were made for these temples. Many artists depicted Buddhist images, and many artists were themselves Buddhist priests. Scroll paintings showing the lives of Buddha and the bodhisattva saints, portraits of priests and other scenes with religious themes were often depicted. The philosophies of different sects of the Buddhist religion affected Japanese art when they came across from China. Whether it was architecture, sculpture or painting, for a thousand years the Buddhist religion provided the main inspiration for the development of Japanese art.