Eisai was the founder of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism in Japan. Born in 1141 (the first year of Eiji), he was the founder of the Rinzai sect in Japan, introduced tea from China (Sung Dynasty), and wrote “Tea and Health”. Born in 1141 (Eiji 1), he was called Senko or Meian, and was also known as Yagami. He was a native of Bicchu Province (Okayama Prefecture), and his family name was Kayo. In 1168, at the age of twenty-eight, he entered the Song dynasty (Sung dynasty), ascended Mount Tendai and Mount Ayuu, and returned to Japan. Zen at Mannenji Temple on Mount Tendai for five years. After returning to Japan, he was ordered to stop the practice of Daruma Zen, and in 1198 (Kenkyu 9), at the age of fifty-eight, he wrote “Kosen Gokoku-ron” (A Treatise on the Protection of Zen). He was revered by Kamakura shoguns Yorike and Sanetomo, and was in charge of the rebuilding of Todaiji Temple. Eisai returned from the Sung Dynasty in 1191 (Kenkyu 2), and planted tea seeds in Mt. He died on July 5, 1215 at the age of 75.
The first book was written in 1211, when he was 71 years old. It is said that Shogun Sanetomo recommended tea as a good remedy when he was drunk at his lodgings and presented this book to him. It is divided into two parts, the “Five Organs of Harmony” and the “Enchantment of the Devil’s Gate”; the former is sometimes called the “Tea Sutra” and the latter the “Mulberry Sutra. The former is called the “Tea Sutra” and the latter the “Mulberry Sutra.” (The Complete Collection of Tea Ceremony Classics, II)
