Kumamoto Einin is an associate professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies at Komazawa University, and an ordained Sõtõ Zen priest. Translated by Micah Auerback.
摘要
[Editor’s introduction] This review article by Kumamoto Einin approaches the question of Buddhist identity in contemporary Japan from the critical perspective of gender. In his examination of the works under review, Kumamoto brings to bear his extensive knowledge of Buddhist and Gender Studies as well as his personal perspective as a Sõtõ Zen priest to provide an at times scathing review of contemporary Japanese Buddhist institutions and their relationship to the issue of temple families, or jizoku 寺族. The first section is an introduction written especially for this issue by the author about his original review of these works and their reception in Japan.