character/[id]

‹
PERSON
Eisai
Eisai
Father of Rinzai Zen & Japanese Tea
1141-1215 · 享年 74歳
＋ Add to Oshi
系
View Family Tree
▾
生
生涯
Born to a Shinto priestly family in Bitchu. Studied Tendai on Mt. Hiei, then traveled to Song China twice (1168, 1187) to learn Rinzai Zen. He introduced Rinzai to Japan and, with shogunate patronage, founded Kennin-ji in 1202. He also brought tea seeds from China and wrote "Kissa Yojoki" (Drinking Tea for Health), promoting tea's medicinal benefits. Legend says he cured Shogun Sanetomo's hangover with tea. He is the father of both Rinzai Zen and tea culture in Japan.
人
Personality
An adventurous monk who twice crossed to Song China. Undeterred by old-school Buddhist opposition, he devoted his life to spreading Zen with practical flexibility.
義
Historical Significance
Established Rinzai Zen in Japan and developed Kennin-ji into one of Kyoto's Five Mountains. His introduction of tea was immeasurable—he laid the foundations for two pillars of Japanese culture: Zen and tea.
話
Famous Anecdotes
其 一
Curing Shogun Sanetomo's Hangover with Tea
Tea brought back by Eisai from Song China was initially treated as medicine. In 1214, when the third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo fell ill after drinking too much at a banquet, Eisai presented him with tea alongside his treatise "Kissa Yojoki" and explained its medicinal virtues. The story that Sanetomo recovered after drinking the tea spread widely and is credited as one of the events that introduced tea into warrior society.
其 二
The Adventurous Monk Who Brought Rinzai Zen and Tea to Japan in Two Voyages
Eisai made two voyages to Song China, in 1168 and 1187. The crossing was life-threatening in that era. On the second voyage he received formal certification from the Rinzai master Xu'an Huaichang, inheriting an authentic Zen lineage. Back in Japan, the old Buddhist establishment (Enryaku-ji) fiercely denounced him for "imperiling the nation with Zen," but with shogunate protection he founded Kennin-ji in 1202, laying the foundations of Zen in Japan.
事
Related Historical Events
1200
Kamakura Culture
Vigorous, realistic culture of the 12th-13th centuries accompanying samurai rule. Fused aristocratic tradition, warrior simplicity, and new Song-Yuan influences. Unkei and Kaikei of the Kei school created the Tōdai-ji Niō guardians (1203) and Kōfuku-ji statues. Architecture introduced Daibutsu-yō and Zen styles. Kamakura New Buddhism (Hōnen, Shinran, Ippen, Eisai, Dōgen, Nichiren) spread to commoners. Literary masterpieces include the "Tale of the Heike," the three great essay collections (Hōjōki, Tsurezuregusa), and the "Shin Kokin Wakashū" (1205, Fujiwara no Teika).
地
Related Places — 1
寺
Kenninji
京都府
Founded in 1202 by Eisai under the patronage of the 2nd Shogun Yoriie as Kyoto's first Zen temple. Eisai traveled to Song China twice (1168, 1187), bringing back Rinzai Zen and tea seeds, becoming the father of both Japanese Zen and tea culture. At Kenninji he promoted tea cultivation alongside Zen practice. His 'Kissa Yojoki' is Japan's oldest treatise on tea. Kenninji is ranked 3rd of the Kyoto Five Mountains and houses Tawaraya Sotatsu's National Treasure 'Wind God and Thunder God' screens.
›
─ 完 ─
📱
Explore pilgrimage with the app
Download on the App Store
✕