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When Buddhism was first introduced to Japan in the 6th century, it was adopted as a state religion by the government of the time. The aristocracy used Buddhism as a vehicle to pray for the safety of the state and for their own longevity. Esoteric Buddhism was particularly suitable for this purpose, so Esoteric Buddhism became popular in the early stages of the development of Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism, on the other hand, remained somewhat peripheral for several centuries. Generally speaking, whereas Esoteric Buddhism as a state religion in Japan was very much concerned with worldly happiness, Pure Land Buddhism was far more concerned with the spiritual liberation of the individual and developed along those lines.

Although there had appeared a number of noble Pure Land figures such as Kyoshin (-866), Kuya (903-972), Ryogen (912-985), Genshin (942-1017) and Yokan (1033-1111), Pure Land Buddhism had to wait for the advent of Honen and Shinran before really starting to develop and flourish as a great spiritual movement of MahAyAna Buddhism in Japan.

Pure Land Buddhism is not the name for a particular Buddhist denomination but a general appellation for various Buddhist schools that teach people the doctrine of birth in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha as the way to attain Buddhahood. The main texts in Pure Land Buddhism are: