 Among the better known philosophers of the Kyoto School, references to Kūkai or Shingon, when compared to Zen or Pure Land Buddhism, are hardly noticeable. It has been suggested that this neglect may have something to do with an intellectual’s prejudice against the “esoteric,” e.g. the significance of ritual with its symbols and images, which are not so easily amenable to rational comprehension and instead conjure up preconceptions of the “occult” and the “magical.” However the philosophical aspects of Shingon Buddhism are often traceable to the same Mahāyāna seeds that sprouted Zen. Once such prejudices are overcome, it would not be so difficult for the contemporary philosopher to find in Kūkai a well-spring of ideas and thoughts which may be of interest today.