Zen's Influence on the Art of the Sword Zen has long had a great influence upon Japanese culture. Many aspects of this culture are touched upon by Zen including art, literature, and specific ceremonies such as the one concerning tea. During the Kamakura period of Japan, another area of culture began to be affected by Zen; the martial arts of the samurai class. Somewhere along the line, the samurai realized the ease with which the monks of Zen Buddhism dealt with issues such as mortality and then began to seek these methods of discipline for themselves for the purposes of becoming less concerned with their physical well-being. However, as D.T. Suzuki