One of the two main schools of Zen still active in Japan, the other being Sōtō. Rinzai, which originated in China, was the first school of Zen to be brought to Japan. Its initial introduction near the end of the 12th century did not take hold, but a subsequent transfer from China did succeed. The Rinzai tradition places more emphasis on dokusan and koan work than the Sōtō tradition. However, a positive trend seen in North America today is that the distinctions between the two schools are not considered very significant and teachers often quote Zen masters from both schools, or from non-Japanese sources, equally as often.
