Buddha Tree (Unesco collection of contemporary works) [Paperback]

Fumio Niwa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1971 | Series: Unesco collection of contemporary works

The author's remarkable insight into human weaknesses, his sensitive sketches of the Japanese countryside, and his revelation of the materialism of the modern Buddhist church in Japan make this a book of unusual distinction.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation)

About the Author

Fumio Niwa (1904--), the son of a Buddhist priest, was the author of more than 80 novels, 106 volumes of short stories, and 10 volumes of essays. As the heir of a family of priests, Niwa was ordained during childhood, but left the priesthood after finishing college. A graduate of Waseda University, he was the winner of every major Japanese literary prize and the long-time chief director of the Japanese Writers Association. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Pub (June 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080480995X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804809955
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,526,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karma and Punishment, March 21, 2006

By 

Crazy Fox (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buddha Tree (Unesco collection of contemporary works) (Paperback)

This was an incredible novel, really. The storyline meanders at a measured pace towards the conclusion in what is a well-crafted modern tale of human weakness and repentance; the possibility of redemption is suggested in a subtle manner but still left ambigious enough not to browbeat one like a religious tract. Dostoyevsky is the only other novelist I know of who can pull this off so well.

The characters were complex and convincing...even the ones you think you have pegged as two-dimensional "types" will turn around later in the story and mildly surprise you. All of them come across as flawed, eliciting the reader's sympathy or disgust in turns but thereby gradually developing one's awareness that this is the human condition, warts and all; such a theme is 100% Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and could have come from the works of the founder Shinran himself, but Niwa has clearly made this worldview his own and skillfully evokes it in the hearts of his readers.

Naturally "The Buddha Tree" will appeal to anyone who loves a good novel, but those interested in Japanese Buddhism would also profit immensely by reading this, as it realistically portrays what real hometown down-to-earth Buddhism really is in modern Japan like nothing else I've seen.

Supposedly this guy has written a ton of other novels, stories, and essays. Why haven't these been translated? They need to be!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an amazing rollercoaster of scandal and intrigue, March 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddha Tree (Unesco collection of contemporary works) (Paperback)

This is an amazing book, set in a peaceful temple in rural japan this book surprises and delights as the reader is drawn into the torment of guilt the priest of the temple suffers because of his illicit relationship with his mother-in-law.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative period piece, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddha Tree (Unesco collection of contemporary works) (Paperback)

The literature of post-war Japan is relatively unknown in the U.S. with the exception of Kawabata and Mishima. This book is really a fine example from those years, and both it and its author deserve to be better known. The pace of the writing is unhurried, self-assured, and the sense of time, and place, is breathtaking. The setting is a Buddhist temple in a small town, and the illicit relationship between the priest and his domineering mother-in-law. By the time you finish reading it, you feel you know the people and the town like an insider. I feel like I can see the temple and feel the hush enclosed by its wooden floors and halls. If you've ever been to Japan and visited a temple, you'll recognize the feeling, and this book captures it as well as any I know.