Rinzai

(proper noun)

A school of Zen buddhism in Japan, based on sudden enlightenment though koans; for that reason also known as the "sudden school".

Related Terms

Examples of Rinzai in the following topics:

  • Japanese Painting and Sculpture in the Kamakura Period

    • Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential and only surviving lineage of Rinzai in Japan.

  • Zen Ink Painting

    • The foremost painter of the new Sumi-e style was Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506), a Rinzai priest who traveled to China in 1468-69 and studied contemporary Ming painting.

  • Japanese Calligraphy in the Kamakura Period

    • With the rise of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, a less technical style of calligraphy appeared, representative of Zen attitudes.