Where does “密教” come from?

密教 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 教, from Middle Chinese 教.

密教 (Japanese): esoteric Buddhism

Definitions

  1. esoteric Buddhism

Ancestry of “密教”, step by step

密教 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 教

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese教-ism
2Middle Chinese教—

via Japanese 密

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese密something without breaks or openings, something dense
2Middle Chinese密—
Every word from Middle Chinese 教 →Every word from Japanese 教 →