Japanese Buddhist pantheon

The Japanese Buddhist pantheon designates the multitude (the pantheon) of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and lesser deities and eminent religious masters in Buddhism. A Buddhist Pantheon exists to a certain extent in Mahāyāna, but is especially characteristic of Vajrayana Esoteric Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism and especially Japanese Shingon Buddhism, which formalized it to a great extent. In the ancient Japanese Buddhist pantheon, more than 3,000 Buddhas or deities have been counted, although now most temples focus on one Buddha and a few Bodhisattvas.