Kukechu Translation Projects

Paul is an MK (“missionary kid”) born and raised in Japan. He has four children and one wife, is a Bob Dylan freak, edits the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, and has lost the battle against an expanding waistline and becoming a “senior citizen.” He did his graduate studies at Sophia University, the University of Tokyo, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His dual areas of specialization are Japanese Religions (Shugendo) and Buddhist Studies (T’ien-t’ai/Tendai Buddhism). His publications include:

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Foundations of T’ien-t’ai Philosophy, a study of the threefold truth as the basic structure of T’ien-t’ai Buddhist philosophy, including an annotated translation of part of the Fa-hua hsuan-i.
Religion and Society in Modern Japan, a collection of essays intended for use as a textbook for classes on Japanese religions
Pruning the Bodhi Tree, a collection of essays on “Critical Buddhism”
If you teach me Japanese, I’ll teach you English, a guide to exchanging languages
Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions, edited with Clark Chilson

Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight: T’ien-t’ai Chih-i’s Mo-ho chih-kuan, a complete annotated translation of one of the most influential treatises in East Asian Buddhism, in 3 volumes.

In Search of Clarity: Essays on Translation and Tiantai Buddhism (Chisokudo, 2018), a compilation of essays written while working on translations over the past 30 years

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Titles in Vietnamese:
Thien & Chi Quan
Thien Thai Tong

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Paul’s current projects include:

• translating the T'ien-t'ai texts (『法華玄義』) into English (for previous translation of the Mo-ho chih-kuan 『摩詞止観』 and see Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight).

• A translation of the "Records of the Temple of National Purity" 
  『国清百録』is forthcoming from the BDK.