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
History of Buddhism first western monastics such as U Dhammaloka, Ananda Metteyya and the German Nyānatiloka Thera (1878–1956). Another important element leading to the growth of Buddhism in the west was the large scale immigration of Chinese and Japanese to the United States and Canada in late 19th century. Refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have also immigrated to west, beginning in 1975. Asian Buddhists such as DT Suzuki, Hsüan Hua, Hakuun Yasutani and Thích Nhất Hạnh were influential in teaching Zen Buddhism in the West in the 20th century. Shunryu Suzuki opened the Soto San Francisco Zen Center (1961) and the Tassajara