The volume introduces the central themes in and the main figures of Japanese Buddhist philosophy. It will have two sections, one that discusses general topics relevant to Japanese Buddhist philosophy and one that reads the work of the main Japanese Buddhist philosophers in the context of comparative philosophy. It combines basic information with cutting edge scholarship considering recent publications in Japanese, Chinese, English, and other European languages. As such, it will be an invaluable tool for professors teaching courses in Asian and global philosophy, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the people generally interested in philosophy and/or Buddhism.

Gereon Kopf received his Ph.D. from Temple University and is currently professor of East Asian religions and philosophy of religion as well as the chair of the religion department at Luther College. He is also an adjunct professor of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Iceland. As a research fellow of the Japan Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, he conducted research in 1993 and 1994 at ¿birin University in Machida, Japan, and at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture in Nagoya, Japan, from 2002 to 2004.  In the academic year of 2008-2009, he taught at the Centre of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hong Kong.  2013-2014, he was a visiting lecturer at Saitama University and a Visiting researcher at T¿y¿ University. He is the author of Beyond Personal Identity (2001), the co-editor of Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism (2009) and the editor of the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy. He also contributes a series of essays on Japanese Buddhism to buddhistdoor.net. He is currently developing a non-essentialist philosophy of mind and an ethics based on a non-essentialist conception of identity formation.

Content Table and Authors.- Introduction.- A: Basic Issues in Japanese Buddhist Philosophy.- Chapter 1: "Japanese Buddhism" or "Buddhism in Japan.- The Category "Japanese Buddhism"; Richard Payne.- Is There Such a Thing as Buddhist Philosophy in Japan? John Maraldo.- Buddhist Philosophy; Makio Takemura, translator: Eiji Suhara.- The Role of Women in Japanese Buddhist Philosophy; Michiko Yusa.- Buddhist Theory and Culture in Japan; Rein Raud.- Chapter 2: Current Issues in Japanese Buddhist Philosophy.- The Reception of Buddhist Thought by Contemporary Philosophers in Japan; Ralf Mueller.- Interaction Between Japanese Buddhist Philosophy and Confucianism; Tomomi Asakura.- The Philosophy Underlying Buddhist Art; Pamela Winfield.- Violence and Salvation in Buddhism; Manabu Watanabe.- Buddhist Socialist Thought in Modern Japan; James Shields.- B: Individual Thinkers.- Chapter 3: Japanese Buddhist Philosophy Before the Meiji Period.- Saich¿; Victor Forte.- K¿kai; David Gardiner.- J¿kei; Jay Ford.- H¿nen; Mark Blum.- D¿gen; Steven Heine.- Keizan; Shud¿ Ishii, translator: Ching-yuen Cheung.- Shinran; Dennis Hirota.- Nichiren; Ruben Habito.- Ch¿gan Engetsu; Steffen Doell.- Takuan S¿h¿; Dennis Lishka.- Hakuin Ekaku; Juhn Ahn.- Bankei Y¿taku; Ensh¿ Kobayashi, translator: Thomas Kirchner.- Chapter 4: Japanese Buddhist Philosophy After the Meiji Period.- Nakamura Hajime; Toshi'ichi End¿.- Inoue Enry¿; Rainer Schulzer.- Nishida Kitar¿; Mayuko Uehara, translator: John Krummel.- Nishitani Keiji; John Krummel.- D. T. Suzuki; Michiko Yusa.- Kiyozawa Manshi; Robert Rhodes.- Tamaki Koshir¿; Makio Takemura, translator: John Krummel.- Hisamatsu; Andre van Braakt.- Ueda Shizuteru; Brett Davis.- Hiratsuka Raich¿; Saeko Kimura.