Born at the foot of Mount Hiei in Ōmi Province, the founder of the Tendai sect, Saichō (posthumously known as the Great Master Dengyō, 767–822), strived to master Buddhism. As the expansive world of Mahāyāna Buddhism unfolded in front of his eyes, Saichō devoted himself to his studies and discovered the Lotus Sutra (J., Hokekyō), which expounds the eternal Śākyamuni Buddha. During his training on Mt. Hiei, he encountered the writings of the Chinese Tiantai founder Zhiyi (538–597) and was deeply impressed by his teachings. Based on this, the second half of this exhibition traces the life of Saichō, who established the Tendai sect in Japan, and the activities of Ennin (794–864) and Enchin (814–891), who later established Tendai esotericism through Buddhist statues and paintings that have been preserved in Shiga Prefecture.