How did Buddhism come to be the religion for funerals in Japan?

: How did Buddhism come to be the religion for funerals in Japan?
Can someone please give me a brief history of Buddhism in Japan (just enough to show how Buddhism came to be the religion for funerals)?
Also, what is the significance of the funeral rituals?

Answers and Views:

Answer by ♥✿Lucy✿♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
When Japanese began trading goods with China, they were exposed to Chinese writing, Chinese aesthetics, and Buddhism, all of which were adopted over time.

Answer by Fireball
some are shinto also..

Answer by Mr.holy underpants
well it all started back in the wong dynasty. a young prince named wang had to bury his father the king. a samaruri who also worked as a dry cleaner on the side. asked prince wang if he could do any thing special for the kings burial. the young wang began to meditate and came up with his answer. from now on they only do bubbhist funerals in remberance of the wang.

Answer by Kagos
I would assume it’s because Buddhism is an ascetic faith/philosophy which sees death as a natural inevitability. Shinto, on the other hand, sees death as ritually impure. Neither Shinto nor Buddhism are exclusivist, so a person can believe in both at the same time.