Zen was not introduced as a separate school until the 12th century, when Myōan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which eventually perished.[web 1] Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明?) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential and only surviving lineage of Rinzai in Japan.[web 1] In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to China himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong.
The three traditional schools of Zen in contemporary Japan are the Sōtō (曹洞?), Rinzai (臨済?), and Ōbaku (黃檗?). Of these, Sōtō is the largest, Rinzai is middle, and Ōbaku the smallest. These are further divided into subschools by head temple, with 2 head temples for Sōtō (Sōji-ji and Eihei-ji, with Sōji-ji having a much larger network), 14 head temples for Rinzai, and 1 head temple (Manpuku-ji) for Ōbaku, for a total of 17 head temples. The Rinzai head temples, which are most numerous, have substantial overlap with the traditional Five Mountain System, and include Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji, among others.
Besides these traditional organizations, there are modern Zen organisations which have especially attracted Western lay followers, namely the Sanbo Kyodan and the FAS Society.