Auerback rightly asks whether the Buddha will outlive Buddhism in Japan....Highly recommended.
Choice The point where this study blossoms with voluminous detail is when developments in historiography made biographies of the Buddha controversial in the early modern era. . . . Auerback's coverage of these debates is exceedingly thorough.
Journal of Japanese Studies Auerback brings ... Read moreto the foreground a topic that Buddhist monastics and scholars alike have neglected and provides a compelling explanation for the contemporary Japanese interest in the historical Buddha at a time when institutional Buddhism appears to be dying. Eminently readable, A Storied Sage will become standard fare among specialists of the early modern and modern period and provides wonderful historical scaffolding for work being done on religion and Japanese popular culture.
Helen Baroni, University of Hawai'i at Manoa The life of the Buddha, which has served as the master narrative for most Buddhist traditions, has often been eclipsed in Japan by more celebrated celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas. In taking on this crucial, yet underanalyzed, topic, Auerback has produced an entirely original history of Japanese Buddhism. Insightful, sophisticated, and nuanced, A Storied Sage represents a major contribution to the field. This book is exemplary.
D. Max Moerman, Barnard College, Columbia University Show Less