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 the West the East Asian Mahayana traditions in the West is Zen Buddhism, which was boosted by post-war popularity among the counterculture and influential figures like Shunryu Suzuki. Today it is a popular type of convert Buddhism, in various forms such as Japanese Zen, Vietnamese Thien and Korean Seon. According to Hughes Seager, in America, Zen is "primarily a movement of laity who practice monastic disciplines." The "flagship" institutions of Zen in the United States include the Soto Zen San Francisco Zen Center of Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Center of Los Angeles of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, as well as the Rinzai