Background
Shūshin Gidō was born in 1325. He was a follower of the Rinzai branch of the Zen sect and was also known as Kuge Dojin.
義堂 周信
Shūshin Gidō was born in 1325. He was a follower of the Rinzai branch of the Zen sect and was also known as Kuge Dojin.
In his youth Gido entered the Tendai monastery on Mt. Hiei. At the age of seventeen began study under the Zen monk Muso Soseki.
In 1359 he was invited by the Kanto kanrei (governor of the eastern regions) Ashi- kaga Motouji to come to Kamakura, where he resided in the Engaku-ji, and in 1380, at the invitation of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, he went to Kyoto and took up residence at the Nanzen-ji, where he enjoyed great favor with Yoshimitsu.