This book will be welcomed by anyone interested in the spiritual sources of modern Japanese literature, and in particular, the profound in3uence Buddhism continued to exert on that literature in the early twentieth century, despite the mounting incursions from the Judeo-Christian West. As the author, Michihiro Ama, points out, Western scholars of Japanese literature have largely ignored or underestimated this influence, which of course makes this book all the more welcome. The writers dealt with include four of the most popular novelists of the period: Natsume Sōseki 夏目漱石 (1867– 1916), Tayama Katai 田山花袋 (1872–1930), Shiga Naoya 志賀直哉 (1883–1971), and Matsuoka Yuzuru 松岡譲 (1891–1969), as well as, interestingly, less popularly known, though important Buddhist priests such as Kiyozawa Manshi 清沢満之 (1863–1903) and Akegarasu Haya 暁烏敏 (1877–1954). For the first time in English, partial translations of Akegarasu’s confessional memoir, Before and After My Rebirth (Kōsei no zengo 更生の前後, 1920) and Matsuoka’s best-selling Shin Buddhist historical novel, Guardians of the Dharma Castle (Hōjō o mamoru hitobito 法城を護る人々, 1923–1926) are helpfully appended to the book.
