Dainin Katagiri (1928-1990) was born in Osaka, Japan. He trained at Eiheiji monastrery for three years under the guidance of Eko Hashimoto, Roshi and attended Komazawa University. In 1963 he came to the United States to the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission in Los Angeles, later moving to Sokoji Zen Mission and San Francisco Zen Center, where he assisted the late Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi. In 1972, he became the first abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, where he overswaw the development of the center as well as Hokyoji, a country retreat in southeastern Minnesota. Katagiri Roshi died in 1990.