James L. Ford is a Z. Smith Reynolds Fellow and Associate Professor
in the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University where he
teaches courses relating to East Asian religions. He holds a
Master's in Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Vanderbilt Divinity
School (1992) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in East Asian religions from
Princeton University (1998). Dr. Ford recently served for six years
as executive secretary for the Society for the Study of Japanese
Religion
and currently serves as co-chair for the Japanese Religions Group
of the American Academy of Religion.
"This first in-depth study of the noted Hosso monk who defended the
established schools of Buddhism against the new Kamakura movements
in their historic break with traditional values will be required
reading for students of Japanese religion for decades to come. It
provides new insights for our reassessment of the events of these
momentous times which have ripple effects even to the present day.
Professor Ford is to be highly commended for his clear-sighted
handling of the issues." --Robert E. Morrell, author of Early
Kamakura Buddhism: A Minority Report
"To say that James Ford's Jokei and Buddhist Devotion in Early
Medieval Japan is an important contribution to the study of
medieval Japanese Buddhism is not a mere commonplace. It fills a
long-standing lacuna in both Japanese and western language
scholarship. Ford successfully places Jokei back at the center of
our understanding of the Buddhism of the Kamakura era. His
treatment of Jokei is well-developed, presenting Jokei as an
important religious
thinker in his own right, and not solely as a sectarian partisan-as
has usually been the case. Ford's examination of Jokei allows us to
see Buddhism as it existed for its medieval practitioners, rather
than
through the lenses of later sectarian rhetorics." -- Richard K.
Payne, editor of Discourse and Ideology in Medieval Japanese
Buddhism
"Finally, we have a thorough study in English on this extremely
important religious figure from medieval Japan. Ford's insightful
work provides us with a totally new grounding to understand Jokei's
life and thought. It also illustrates, from Jokei's unique
perspective, the intricate relationship between the court and the
Buddhist order, the celebrated rivalry between the 'Old Buddhism'
and 'New Buddhism,' the influence of Esoteric Buddhism on new
doctrinal
developments, and other major traits of Buddhism in the most
tumultuous period in Japanese religious history. With its lucid
narrative and incisive analysis, James Ford's work is a gem that
illumines
amidst the ongoing process of revising our knowledge of Japanese
Buddhism." -- Ryuichi Abé, author of The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai
and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse
"Jokei still remains woefully neglected by religious studies
specialists in Japan -- and all but ignored in the West. In view of
this situation, the appearance of Ford's excellent volume, the
first book-length study on Jokei in any language, is truly a very
welcome event." --Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
"I enthusiastically recommend Jokei and Buddhist Devotion in Early
Medieval Japan. It is an erudite book...Ford's book is a welcome
addition to the field." --History of Religions
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