Thus from its very inception the Tendai Lotus school was equally based on Mikkyō and T'ien-t'ai. It was as a subdivision of Saichō's new school that Mikkyō first received the official acknowledgment of the imperial court and became a proper subject of study in Japanese Buddhism. Before Saichō, all monastic ordinations took place at Tōdai-ji temple under the ancient Vinaya code, but Saichō intended to found his school as a strictly Mahayana institution and ordain monks using the Bodhisattva Precepts only. Despite intense opposition from the traditional Buddhist schools in Nara, his request was granted by Emperor Saga in 822, several days after his death. This was the fruit of years of effort and a formal debate. By 822, Saichō petitioned the court to allow the monks at Mount Hiei to ordain under the Bodhisattva Precepts rather than the traditional ordination system of the "prātimokṣa", arguing that his community would be a purely Mahayana, not Hinayana one. This was met with strong protest by the Buddhist establishment who supported the "kokubunji" system, and lodged a protest. Saichō composed the , which stressed the significance of the Bodhisattva Precepts, but his request was still rejected until 7 days after his death at the age of 56. Saichō traveled to China along with a number of other young monks, one of whom was named Kūkai. Saichō befriended him during his trip to China who traveled with him going and coming. This turned out to be pivotal to the future development of Buddhism. , and likewise returned with esoteric (tantric) Buddhist texts. Saichō was entranced with the new material and wanted to learn more. On the trip back he found that Kukai had studied these teachings in depth and had an entire library of vajrayana materials. This friendship would influence the future of Tendai. It was Saichō who performed the "abhiṣeka", or initiatory ritual, for the court. Thus esoteric Buddhism became an important aspect of the Tendai school, which was primarily focused on the Lotus Sutra. Paul Groner states,  However,  Moreover, Saichō began to realize that his own idea of "enmitsu itchi" was not exactly shared by the esoteric Shingon school, and especially its founder Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi).