Bokusan Nishiari (), was a prominent Japanese Sà Âtà  Zen Buddhist monk during the Meiji Era. He is considered one of the most influential Sà Âtà  priests of the modern era due to his elevation of the status of the school's founder Eihei Dà Âgen, the many prominent positions he held during his lifetime, and his almost equally prolific disciples Sà Âtan Oka and Ian Kishizawa. Nishiari's positions included abbot of Sà Âtà Â's head temple Sà Âji-ji, professor at what would become Komazawa University, and chief priest, or kanchà Â, of the entire Sà Âtà  school. His student Sà Âtan Oka was the first abbot of Antai-ji and a teacher to both Kà Âdà  Sawaki and Hashimoto Ekà Â, each of whom are the source of Zen lineages in the United States. His student Ian Kishizawa taught Shunryà « Suzuki, the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center. Though critical of Nishiari later in his life, the founder of the Sanbà  Kyà Âdan sect Hakuun Yasutani also studied extensively with him and Kishizawa. The Buddhist studies scholar William Bodiford writes of Nishiari: