Customer Reviews

The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Soto Zen Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan

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This book was a fine example of scholarship in many ways, especially in the way it brings Soto Zen Buddhism down to earth and helps fill in the gaps in our knowledge of Tokugawa Period Buddhism (usually ignored as "decadent"--an ahistorical slur that sheds no light on the issues). In some ways it reminded me of the fine work Gregory Schopen has done with Indian Buddhism, or with what Bernard Faure might achieve if he would learn to write and stop dropping names of French Postmodernists.

Sometimes the author gets a bit too dismissive of the "great Zen masters" style of history. Granted he's trying to make a point and balance the distorted emphasis on the latter, still I don't think one needs to disparage other styles and approaches to do so.

I highly recommend this book to anyone going to Japan who is interested in Buddhism, especially Zen. Years ago when I went to Japan I had already avidly read some stuff about Dogen (the founder of Soto Zen) and was really excited that there were several Soto Zen Temples near where I lived. Of course I was immediately thrown for a loop because what was going on at these temples was like 1% related to what I had read. If I had read this book beforehand, I would have had a much better idea what to expect and been able to make more of the experience.

For people seeking an introduction to Japanese Buddhism, I cannot recommend any book more highly than Ian Reader's Religion in Contemporary Japan; However, as far as learning more about Buddhist history goes, this is probably one of the strongest books on the subject in English.

By introducing its tales of religiously marketed panaceas, the mythical stories of religious founders, and gross tales of misogynistic funeral practices pushed on the laity, the author not only slices through Western mythology about "Zen" but also shows us in fascinating detail how the Japanese religious world differs so much from our own. Although it's an academic book, it still transports you back to everyday Tokugawa life, like an impeccably researched travelogue. I strongly recommend it for a university class on Japanese religion or self-study-- I would only emphasize that it's not an introductory text.