Hoitsu Suzuki, born in 1939, is the son of San Francisco Zen Center’s founding teacher, Shunryu Suzuki. He visits San Francisco Zen Center intermittently, often to assist with formal ceremonies, such as the Mountain Seat (stepping down and installation of abbots/abbesses) and events related to the history and teachings of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. He is generally addressed as Hojo-san.
Rev. Hoitsu Suzuki currently serves as the abbot of Rinso-in, Shunryu Suzuki’s temple in Japan. He held teaching positions for seven years at Eiheiji, the main Soto Zen temple in Japan, as the head of practice (holding the positions referred to as Tantō and Godō). He is the current senior advisor of Eiheiji, the current senior teacher of Tōshoji, a training monastery in Okayama, and the current head of Chōkokuji, Eiheiji’s branch training monastery in Tokyo.