It is as you said, only Japan developed a more strict separation between schools, but it especially began in the Kamakura Period for historical reasons. Amitabha’s Pure Land is the more common practiced one simply because is requires almost nothing from the practitioner’s side, and you can easily escape samsara. But it doesn’t mean there aren’t difference in the degree of practice even in Pure Land.

P.S. I technically practice in a Soto Zen environment, but I end up mixing a lot of Zen/Chan and Pure Land by myself. But I want to ask my teachers what they think about it BTW more about Vietnamese dual cultivation : https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/pure-land-zen-dual-cultivation-in-13th-century-vietnam-and-today/