Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: Ahakoa kāore i taea e ēnei mahi te hanga i te Buddhism hei hāhi a te kāwanatanga, i whakanui te Nara Buddhism i te mana o te whānau rangatira. I piki ake te mana Buddhist i te marae i raro i nga kingitanga e rua o te tamahine a Shōmu. Ka rite ki Empress Kōken (r. 749<unk>758) i kawea e ia he maha nga tohunga Buddhist ki te kooti. I whakarerea a Kōken i te tau 758 i runga i te tohutohu a tana whanaunga, a Fujiwara no Nakamaro. I te taenga mai o te emepara kua reti ki te manaaki i tētahi kaiwhakaora whakapono Buddhist ko Dōkyō,
I ara ake a Nakamaro ki te patu i te tau 764, engari i tere te patu. I whakapae a Kōken i te emepara rangatira mo te mahi tahi ki a Nakamaro, a, ka whakakorehia ia. I eke ano a Kōken ki te torona hei Empress Shōtoku (r. 764 <unk> 770).