Nōnin ［能忍］ (n.d.): Also known as Dainichi or Dainichi Nōnin. A Japanese priest who was among the first to spread the Zen teachings in Japan during the twelfth century. Although the Rinzai school established by Eisai (1141–1215) was the first official Japanese Zen school, Nōnin preceded him in introducing the Zen teachings. He founded Sambō-ji temple in Settsu Province. Criticized for not having received his teachings from any authorized master, he dispatched two disciples to China in 1189 and obtained authorization of his views from the Zen master Cho-an Te-kuang. Nōnin called his following the Japanese Bodhidharma (Nihon Daruma) school, though it did not in fact become an independent school.