Gasan Jito

Gasan Jito was a student of Hakuin Ekaku and one of the most important figures in the post-Hakuin Rinzai school. He was one of Hakuin's principal dharma heirs and helped systematize his teacher's approach to koan practice into the structured curriculum that became standard in all subsequent Rinzai training.

Through Gasan and his dharma brothers, Hakuin's innovations were codified into an institutional form that could be transmitted reliably across generations. Gasan's students, particularly Inzan Ien and Takuju Kosen, founded the two main lines of post-Hakuin Rinzai Zen, which between them account for virtually all modern Rinzai practice.