Daisetsu Suzuki

A Buddhist philosopher from the Meiji to Showa periods. He was known more abroad than in Japan as Daisetz T. Suzuki. He was born on October 18, 1870, in Honda-cho, Kanazawa City, as the fourth son of four boys and one girl to his father Ryojun (1822-1876) and mother Masu (1830-1890). His real name was Teitaro. He lost his father, a doctor, at the age of six. He went on to study at the Fourth Higher School but dropped out and became an English teacher and instructor at an elementary school to help support his family. At the age of 21, he moved to Tokyo and enrolled in Tokyo Senmon Gakko (the predecessor to Waseda University) to study English literature, but aspiring to become a Zen practitioner, he studied under Imakita Kosen at Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura. After Kosen's death, he followed Shaku Soen and continued to study Zen at Engaku-ji Temple. Daisetsu received the name Koji from Soen. In September 1892 (Meiji 25), he entered the elective course at the Faculty of Letters of the Imperial University of Tokyo, and graduated in September 1895. He was persuaded to enter the elective course by his fellow student, Nishida Kitaro, from the same town. In 1897, on the recommendation of Soen, he traveled to the United States, where he worked as an editor at The Open Court Publishing Company in LaSalle, Illinois, while studying hard. In 1900 (Meiji 33), at the age of 30, he published his translation and annotation of Ashvaghosha's "Daijo Kishinron", namely " Açvaghosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana ", through the Open Court Publishing Company. In 1907, he published " Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism" through Luzac and Company in London, and the following year, through the Open Court Publishing Company. With these publications, Daisetsu's name became known in the West as an up-and-coming Buddhist scholar. After 12 years in the US, he returned to Japan at the age of 39, and in October of that year became a lecturer at the Faculty of Letters of Tokyo Imperial University, then at Gakushuin, and was later promoted to professor at Gakushuin. At the age of 41, he married American Beatrice Erskine-Lane (1878-1939), and in March 1921 (Taisho 10), he became a professor at Otani University of the Shinshu sect. He was active in research until his death on July 12, 1966, at the age of 96, and is known for having written over 30 books in English and over 120 books in Japanese. His many famous English works include Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture (later revised as Zen and Japanese Culture ) and the three-volume series Essays in Zen Buddhism , and he is credited with establishing Zen as ZEN around the world. One of his last works was the English translation of Shinran's "Kyogyoshinsho." After the Second World War, he stayed in the United States for ten years, lecturing on Buddhist thought at Columbia University and Harvard University. In 1945, he established the Matsugaoka Bunko Foundation at Tokeiji Temple in Kamakura, and in 1949, he became a member of the Japan Academy and received the Order of Culture in the same year.

[Shokin Furuta August 21, 2017]

"Complete Works of D.T. Suzuki, 32 volumes (1968-1971/revised and expanded edition, 40 volumes, 1999-2003, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "D.T. Suzuki - The Person and His Thought, edited by Shinichi Hisamatsu, Masu Yamaguchi, and Shokin Furuta (1971, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治～昭和期の仏教哲学者。その名はDaisetz T. Suzukiとして、国内よりもむしろ国外に広く知られる。明治3年10月18日、金沢市本多町に、父良準（1822―1876）、母増（1830―1890）の4男1女の四男として生まれる。本名は貞太郎。6歳のときに医師であった父を失う。第四高等中学校本科に進学したが中退し、小学校の英語教師、訓導となって家計を助けた。21歳のとき上京して東京専門学校（早稲田(わせだ)大学の前身）に入学し英文学を修めたが、かねて参禅を志したことから鎌倉・円覚(えんがく)寺の今北洪川(いまきたこうせん)に師事し、洪川の寂後は釈宗演(しゃくそうえん)につき、重ねて円覚寺に参禅を続けた。大拙の名はこの宗演から受けた居士(こじ)号である。1892年（明治25）9月、東京帝国大学文科大学選科に入学、1895年9月同科修了。選科への入学は同郷の学友西田幾多郎(にしだきたろう)の勧誘による。1897年、宗演の推薦により渡米、イリノイ州ラサルのオープン・コート出版社The Open Court Publishing Companyの編集員として勤めながら勉学に励み、1900年（明治33）30歳のとき、馬鳴(めみょう)（アシュバゴーシャ）の『大乗起信論(だいじょうきしんろん)』の訳注、すなわち『Açvaghosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana』をオープン・コート出版社から、続けて1907年に『Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism』（『大乗仏教概論』）をロンドンのルザック社Luzac and Companyから、翌1908年にオープン・コート出版社からまた刊行するに及んで、大拙の名は新進の仏教学者として、一躍して欧米に知られた。在米12年、39歳のとき帰国、この年10月東京帝国大学文科大学講師、ついで学習院講師となり、のち学習院教授に昇進。41歳のときアメリカ人のビアトリース・レーンBeatrice Erskine-Lane（1878―1939）と結婚、1921年（大正10）3月、真宗大谷大学教授に転じた。昭和41年7月12日、96歳の生涯を閉じるまで旺盛(おうせい)な研究活動を続け、英文の著書30余冊、和文の著書120余冊を残したことは有名。英文の名著に『Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture』（『禅と日本文化』。のちに『Zen and Japanese Culture』として改訂）、『Essays in Zen Buddhism』3巻など数々があり、禅をZENとして世界に定着させた功績は大きい。また晩年の労作に親鸞(しんらん)の『教行信証(きょうぎょうしんしょう)』の英訳がある。第二次世界大戦後10年間はまたアメリカに滞在し、コロンビア大学、ハーバード大学にて仏教思想を講じた。1945年（昭和20）鎌倉東慶寺内に財団法人松ヶ岡文庫を設立、1949年日本学士院会員となり、同年文化勲章を受けた。

［古田紹欽　2017年8月21日］

『『鈴木大拙全集』全32巻（1968～1971／増補新版、全40巻・1999〜2003・岩波書店）』▽『久松真一・山口益・古田紹欽編『鈴木大拙――人と思想』（1971・岩波書店）』

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