ZEN. [This article treats the development of the Zen sect in Japan. The historical antecedents of this school, the practices and institutions of Chinese Chan Buddhism, are discussed in Chan.]

The Zen Buddhist sect in Japan consists of three main schools and several additional smaller movements. The largest denomination is the Sōtō school, founded by Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253), which has two head temples, Eiheiji in Fukui prefecture and Sōjiji in Kanagawa prefecture, and claims nearly fifteen thousand temples, over thirty monasteries and (six) nunneries, and more than eight million adherents, making it one of the largest of the traditional Japanese Buddhist schools. The second largest Zen denomination is the Rinzai school, founded by Myōan Eisai (1141–1215), which is divided into fifteen streams associated with different head temples and claims about six thousand temples, forty monasteries and (one) nunnery, and two million adherents. The largest of the...