Sensei Sozui was born in Hildesheim, Germany, in 1965 and after receiving a Master’s degree in architecture in Munich, she went to Japan in search of an authentic Zen master. She found her teacher in Harada Shodo-roshi, abbot of Sogen-ji Monastery in Okayama, Japan, and after a short return to Germany she returned to Sogen-ji for full time training and remained there for the next 20 years.