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mappō

The clearest expression of eschatological thought in Japan is found in the Buddhist concept of mappō, or "the latter days of the law," a degenerate age in which the teachings of the Buddha are in decline and people fail to reach enlightenment through their own efforts. Beginning in the late Heian period (794-1185), there was a pervasive sense that Japanese society had entered the age of mappō, and a succession of great Buddhist masters such as Hōnen, Shinran, and Nichiren encouraged their followers to rely on the saving grace of Buddhas. (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)

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