Zen master Dōgen (1200–1253) was the founder of the Sōtō sect,one of the five major denominations of Japanese Buddhism that
spread rapidly in medieval Japan and remains an important religious movement in modern society. Dōgen transmitted the teachings he learned during a four-year visit from 1223 to 1227 to China, where he attained enlightenment while training in Zen meditation under the tutelage of mentor Rujing and was also immersed in studying Chinese styles of writing, including poetry. In response to Rujing’s exhortation to stay free of distraction, even if it might limit the number of disciples, Dōgen eventually decided to leave behind the secular society of Kyoto for a remote mountain setting north of the capital following his return from the mainland. In the1240s, he established a major monastery at Eiheiji Temple in Echizen (currentlyFukui Prefecture), which is today one of the most frequently visited sacred sites in Japan