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
Buddhism in Costa Rica altars among Chinese merchants in the early 20 century Puntarenas. Another source of Buddhism in the country was the Theosophical Society, popular among important members of the economic and intellectual elite. Among the poets and theosophists that wrote Buddhist-influenced poetry are Roberto Brenes Mesén and José Basileo Acuña Zeledón. However one of the first Buddhist temples made in the country was the Casa Zen (Zen House) of Costa Rica created in 1974 with support of the Japanese government, followed by the first Dharma Center of Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug tradition founded in 1989 after the Dalai Lama's first visit