nine schools ［九宗］ ( ku-shū): Nine major Buddhist schools often referred to in Japanese Buddhist works. The Dharma Analysis Treasury (Kusha), Establishment of Truth (Jōjitsu), Precepts (Ritsu), Dharma Characteristics (Hossō), Three Treatises (Sanron), Flower Garland (Kegon), Tendai, True Word (Shingon), plus either the Zen or the Pure Land (Jōdo) school. The first eight schools and the Pure Land school appeared in Japan before the Kamakura period (1185–1333), while the Zen school emerged in the early Kamakura period.