SUZUKI SHOSAN

born Feb. 5, 1579, Mikawa province, Japan died July 28, 1655, Edo [now Tokyo] Japanese Zen priest. Suzuki was born of a samurai (warrior) family that had traditionally served the Matsudaira (later Tokugawa) family. He fought with distinction under Tokugawa Ieyasu (15421616), who as a shogun (military dictator) won control of Japan. At the age of 42 Suzuki left his family to enter the Zen priesthood. He did not completely dissociate himself from politics, however, for he later appeared, at the age of 59, in Shimabara, Kyushu, where a famous Christian rebellion took place. Together with his younger brother, who was appointed magistrate for the region, he remained there to build 32 Buddhist temples and to do his best to remove Christian influence, until he returned to Edo in 1648.