* Myōan Eisai ( 明菴栄西 ): Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health ( 喫茶養生記 ), 1193.

* During the Southern Song Dynasty a Japanese monk 明菴栄西 Eisai ( Yosai ): came to Tiantai mountain of Zhejiang to study Chan ( Zen ) Buddhism ( 1168 CE ); when he returned home in 1193 CE, he brought tea from China to Japan, planted it and wrote the first Japanese book on Tea: 喫茶養生記, Treatise on Drinking Tea for Health.

* 1214 ( Kempo 2, 2nd month ): Shogun Sanetomo, having drunk too much sake, was feeling somewhat uncomfortable ; and the Buddhist priest Eisai, who was the grand priest of the Jufuku-ji temple-complex, presented the shogun with an excellent tea, which restored his good health.

* 1215 ( Kempo 3, 6th month ): The well-known priest Eisai died at age 75 ; his remains were interred at the temple of Kennin-ji which he had founded in Kyoto.

* 1205 ( Genkyū 2, 3rd month ): Kyoto and the provinces of the Kinai were devastated by a terrible storm ; and at the time, the disaster was deemed to have been caused by the Budhist priest Eisai after he brought the Zen school of Buddhism to the capital.

* 1202 ( Kennin 2 ): On orders from Shogun Minamoto no Yoriie, the monk Eisai founded Kennin-ji, a Zen temple and monastery in the Rinzai sect.

In 1217, two years after the death of contemporary Zen Buddhist Myōan Eisai, Dōgen went to study at Kennin-ji Temple ( 建仁寺 ), under Eisai's successor, Myōzen ( 明全 ).

In 1223, Dōgen and Myōzen undertook the dangerous passage across the East China Sea to China to study in Jing-de-si ( Ching-te-ssu, 景德寺 ) monastery as Eisai had once done.

* Eisai founds the Rinzai Zen sect in Japan.

* 1191: Rinzai Zen Buddhism is introduced in Japan by the monk Eisai of Kamakura and becomes popular among the samurai, the leading class in Japanese society

* Eisai, founder of the Rinzai school of Zen.

The Kissa Yojoki ( Book of Tea ), written by Zen priest Eisai in 1191, describes how drinking green tea can have a positive effect on the five vital organs, especially the heart.

It is even referred to as though it was first used in China during the Song Dynasty, and brought to Japan by Myōan Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist priest who also introduced the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.

This period saw the introduction of the two schools that had perhaps the greatest impact on the country: ( 1 ) the Amidist Pure Land schools, promulgated by evangelists such as Genshin and articulated by monks such as Hōnen, which emphasize salvation through faith in Amitabha and remain the largest Buddhist sect in Japan ( and throughout Asia ); and ( 2 ) the more philosophical Zen schools, promulgated by monks such as Eisai and Dogen, which emphasize liberation through the insight of meditation, which were equally rapidly adopted by the upper classes and had a profound impact on Japanese culture.

He is often known simply as Eisai Zenji ( 栄西禅師 ), literally " Zen master Eisai ".

After his certification as a Zen teacher, Eisai returned to Japan in 1191, bringing with him Zen scriptures and tea seeds.

* Buddhist Channel TV: First chief priest Eisai revered for spreading Zen and stimulating drink to nation

Therefore, the standard introduction is in 1191, when the famous Zen priest Eisai brought back tea seeds to Kyoto.

A Japanese monk named Eisai ( 1141 – 1215 ) imported the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism from China to Japan, which led to the creation of a famous and unique Japanese gardening style, the Zen garden, exemplified by the garden of Ryōan-ji.

In 1168 Myōan Eisai traveled to China, whereafter he studied Tendai for twenty years.

By the 13th century, when the Kamakura Shogunate ruled the nation and tea and the luxuries associated with it became a kind of status symbol among the warrior class, and there arose parties wherein contestants could win extravagant prizes for guessing the best quality tea — that grown in Kyoto, deriving from the seeds that Eisai brought from China.

This event brought Dacogen ( decitabine ), Aloxi ( palonosetron ), Hexalen ( altretamine ) for ovarian cancer, and the Gliadel Wafer ( carmustine ) for brain tumors into the Eisai product portfolio.

Around the end of the 12th century, the style of tea preparation called, in which powdered matcha was placed into a bowl, hot water added, and the tea and hot water whipped together, was introduced to Japan by Eisai, another monk, on his return from China.

Eventually, he lapsed into inactivity and despair, plagued by fear of assassination and tormented by his chronic alcoholism ( an addiction which Priest Eisai once tried to break by replacing alcohol with tea ).

This is more than four hundred years earlier than the first Japanese tea monograph by Eisai No known ancient Indian monograph on tea exists.

The oldest tea specialty book in Japan,, was written by Eisai.

" Eisai was also instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the warrior class, which rose to political prominence after the Heian Period.

In 1996, Eisai received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration ( USFDA ) for Aricept ( donepezil ), a drug discovered in the company's labs and co-marketed with Pfizer.

In 2009, Eisai received the Corporate Award from the National Organization for Rare Disorders ( NORD ) for the development of Banzel.

Eisai learned Rinzai sect in China.

1191: Eisai introduces the Rinzai school to Japan.

First Introduction to Japan: Eisai ( 栄西 ), 1191

It was developed by Eisai Co. and is marketed by Janssen-Cilag as rabeprazole sodium under the brand names AcipHex (, referring to pH ) in the US, Pariet in Europe, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Russia and Australia, and Razo in India.

Though there were several attempts to establish Rinzai lines in Japan, it first took root in a lasting way through the efforts of the monk Myōan Eisai.

* 2005, 10 December: Eisai Submits New Drug Application for Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Adalimumab ( D2E7 ) in Japan.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is based in Tokyo, Japan while its American subsidiary Eisai Inc. is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Eisai maintains medical research headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey as well as locations in Japan, the United Kingdom, the Research Triangle in North Carolina, and Massachusetts where the Eisai Research Institute is based.

* July 5 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest ( b. 1141 )

Myōan Eisai 明菴栄西喫茶養生記 Kissa Yojoki, Treatise on Tea Drinking for Health.

Faced with the sometimes violent opposition of traditional schools of Buddhism such as Tendai, Shingon and Pure Land, Eisai finally left Kyoto for the north-east to Kamakura in 1199, where the Shogun and the newly ascendant warrior class enthusiastically welcomed his teachings.

In April 2007, Eisai acquired Exton, Pennsylvania-based Morphotek, a company developing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and infectious diseases.

In December 2007, Eisai acquired MGI Pharma, a company specializing in oncology, for $ 3. 9 billion USD.

Along with these select prescription drugs, which account for 90 % of the company's sales, Eisai markets Chocola BB, Travelmin, Nabolin, Juvelex, Saclon, and Selbelle tablets consumer products.