Jan Van Bragt, trans.
Wamae Muriuki, ed.

A Soga Ryōjin Reader

The present collection brings together selections from the writings of Soga Ryōjin, arguably the most innovative and influential Pure Land Buddhist thinker of twentieth-century Japan. In an attempt to counter the religious skepticism of his age, Soga rejected the idea of a postmortem soteriology and fought fiercely for the true significance of Shinran’s thought. This volume shows the development of Soga’s thinking and the variety of contexts in which he wrote.

Available from Amazon US, UK, JP, &c. Also available in e-book format for Apple and Kindle.

“A Soga Ryōjin Reader is a milestone English translation of Soga Ryojin’s work. It also contains Jan Van Bragt’s self-investigation into his Christian faith through a dialogue with Soga’s Shin Buddhist thought. In particular, Soga’s creative understanding of Dharmakara enabled Van Bragt to engage in a new investigation into the meaning of the Christian Incarnation.” —Tsunoda Yūichi

“A Soga Ryōjin Reader opens up modern Shin Buddhist Studies to the Western world and serves as a new reference for Shin Buddhist studies and Christian theology.” —Michihiro Ama