Oda Sessō
Japanese Buddhist monk
About Oda Sessō
Lived 1901 – 1966 (aged 64–65).
Oda Sessō (小田 雪窓, 1901 – 16 September 1966) was a Rinzai Rōshi and abbot of the Daitoku-ji (大徳寺) in Kyoto, Japan, a Dharma successor of Gotō Zuigan. He was elected abbot of Daitoku-ji upon Goto's retirement from that post in 1955. At Goto's request, Oda opened Daitoku-ji to foreigners. His western students included Gary Snyder, Janwillem van de Wetering, Irmgard Schloegl, and Philip Yampolsky.
Snyder described him as:
Alan Watts said:
Janwillem van de Wetering gave an account of his stay at Daitoku-ji in his book The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery.
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Important facts
People in Oda Sessō's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Oda Sessō's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Oda Sessō?
Japanese Buddhist monk
When was Oda Sessō born?
Oda Sessō was born in 1901 in Japan.
When did Oda Sessō die?
Oda Sessō died on 16 September 1966.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Oda Sessō. https://biography.guide/oda-sesso/
MLA: "Oda Sessō." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/oda-sesso/.
Chicago: "Oda Sessō." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/oda-sesso/.
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