Eisai founded the Rinzai school of Zen in Japan. He travelled twice to Song China, and on his return brought back tea seeds, laying the foundation for matcha culture in Japan. He is the starting point of Japanese tea history.
Life
Born in Bitchu (modern Okayama Prefecture), he studied Tendai doctrine on Mount Hiei before travelling to Song China and transmitting Rinzai Zen on his return. He founded Kennin-ji in Kyoto. On his second return in 1191 he brought tea seeds, which are said to have been planted on Mount Sefuri in northern Kyushu and at Toganoo in Kyoto.
Kissa Yojoki
In 1214 he wrote the *Kissa Yojoki*, arguing that "tea is the miraculous medicine for maintaining health", and presented it to the shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo. It is the first Japanese book on tea and treats the subject medically rather than aesthetically — a reminder that tea entered Japan as a stimulant and remedy for monks, not as an art.
Why he matters
The powdered tea Eisai transmitted is the direct ancestor of the matcha used in tea practice today. Everything in the tradition that follows presupposes his introduction of both the plant and the method.
Sources
- 栄西（デジタル大辞泉 / 日本大百科全書） / コトバンク
Supports: 栄西の生没年が1141年～1215年であること。日本臨済宗の開祖であり、宋から茶の種を持ち帰って栽培法を広め、『喫茶養生記』で茶の薬効を説いたとされること
About this article
Edited by the operator of Chaen (a one-person operation) / Last updated:
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Term info
- Life dates
- 1141–1215
- Category
- Term
Related terms
- Chado (The Way of Tea)chado
The Japanese practice of preparing and serving powdered green tea, treated as a lifelong discipline rather than a beverage ritual.
- Wabiwabi
Finding sufficiency of mind within insufficiency and plainness; one of the root concepts of tea practice.
- Ichigo ichie (one time, one meeting)ichigo ichie
The principle that every gathering is unrepeatable, and should therefore be treated as if it will never occur again.
- MyoeMyoe
The monk (1173–1232) who cultivated Eisai's tea seeds at Toganoo, establishing tea growing in Japan.
- Ikkyu SojunIkkyu Sojun
The Zen monk (1394–1481) whose transmission to Murata Juko founded the link between Zen and tea.
- History of Japanese tea practicechanoyu no rekishi
Eight centuries from Eisai to the present, through shoin tea, wabi tea, warrior tea, and modernisation.
- Cha no denpa (transmission of tea to Japan)cha no denpa
The arrival of tea from China, from Heian-period first contact to Eisai's decisive transmission in the Kamakura period.