Rinzai

School of Zen Buddhism introduced to Japan from China in the 12th century by the monk Eisai and others. It emphasizes rigorous monastic discipline and sudden enlightenment by meditation on a kōan (paradoxical question).

Rinzai is the oldest Japanese school of Zen. It was adopted primarily by the samurai and the upper class, and the main Rinzai temples were built in Kamakura (then the centre of government) and Kyoto (the imperial capital), though the first, Shōfuku-ji, was founded on the southern island of Kyushu 1192. The head monastery of Rinzai (from 1324) is Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. During the Ashikaga period (1338-1573), Rinzai Zen was the officially patronized form of Buddhism. Under the influence of the poet, painter, and mystic monk Hakuin (1685-1768), Rinzai and especially the kōan enjoyed a revival.

The arts of ink painting, calligraphy, tea ceremony, and Zen gardening were cultivated at Rinzai monasteries. The Ryōan-ji in Kyoto, whose austere sand and stone garden dates from about 1490, is the head Rinzai temple. Rinzai is still regarded as the more intellectual of the two Zen schools, and has a smaller following than Sōtō Zen.