Awataguchi Takamitsu Buddhist religion. Chan which then became Zen in Japan was widely received by the samurai class which had political power in Japan in the thirteenth century. Zen Buddhism then continued to grow and spread in Japan and was the most recognized and practiced form of Buddhism between the fourteenth and sixteenth century. The spread of Zen Buddhism in paintings was influenced by a small circle of elite Japanese men of the Ashikaga clan which had political power and influence over the country at the time of Awataguchi Takamitsu. The Ashikaga shōguns embraced art and culture through their private villas which
Japanese Zen often pointed to as an event that enhanced its profile in the Western world. It was during the late 1950s and the early 1960s that the number of Westerners pursuing a serious interest in Zen, other than descendants of Asian immigrants, reached a significant level. Eugen Herrigel's book "Zen in the Art of Archery" describing his training in the Zen-influenced martial art of Kyūdō, inspired many of the Western world's early Zen practitioners. However, many scholars, such as Yamada Shoji, are quick to criticize this book. The single most influential person for the spread of Zen Buddhism was D. T.