Biography
Shin'ichi Hisamatsu was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. He entered the Kyoto University in 1912 and studied philosophy with Dr. Kitaro Nishida, who was the most prominent philosopher in Japan and the author of An Inquiry into the Good. With Nishida’s recommendation, Shinichi Hisamatsu joined the Rinzai Zen monastery at Myōshin-ji temple in Kyoto in 1915 and studied Zen Buddhism with Zen Master Shosan Ikegami. After his monastic life at Myōshin-ji temple, he established his original philosophical view, which consists of both Eastern (mainly, Zen Buddhism) and Western philosophy. Shortly after that, Hisamatsu received a doctorate degree from the Kyoto University.
Between 1943 and 1949, he taught Philosophy and Religious Studies at the Kyoto University. While in Kyoto, Dr. Hisamatsu frequently discussed Zen Buddhism and philosophy with D.T. Suzuki at Shunkō-in temple, where Dr. Hisamatsu lived. Hisamatsu also became the teacher of Masao Abe.
Dr. Hoseki Shinichi Hisamatsu was a founder of the FAS Society. The FAS Society’s origin, Gakudō Dōjō, was established by students of Kyoto University under the guidance of Dr. Hisamatsu. In 1960, Gakudō Dōjō was renamed the FAS Society for their international activities. The purpose of this society is to spread the standpoint of the fundamental of self-awakening of all mankind.
In the Netherlands and Belgium the message of Hisamatsu is kept alive by Zen master Ton Lathouwers.
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