Gisan Zenrai

Gisan Zenrai (1802–1878) was the head abbot of Sōgen-ji in Okayama and one of the most important Rinzai masters of the nineteenth century. A student of Taigen Shigen, Gisan carried forward the Inzan koan curriculum with great authority and produced students whose lineages extend to the present day.

Among his heirs, Kosen Imakita went on to modernize Rinzai Zen at Engaku-ji in Kamakura, while Tekisui Giboku transmitted a line that eventually produced Omori Sogen. Through these and other students, Gisan's influence permeates virtually all living Rinzai lineages. His role as a training master in a period of enormous social upheaval — the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration — helped ensure that Rinzai Zen survived the transition into modern Japan.