Sōjiji

“Combining intimate portraits of lay participants, trainee priests, and senior clergy with informative analyses of the history and operations of one of Japan’s most significant temples, Irizarry’s Sojiji provides us with a vivid bottom-up account of contemporary Japanese Zen. Meticulous thick descriptions of novitiate training, daily life in the temple’s distinct spaces (from the prayer hall to the kitchen), ritualized debates and other practical engagements with texts, tensions between priestly and lay attitudes toward meditation and enlightenment, and even a vibrant account of taking part in goeika (devotional singing), among many other aspects, animate Irizarry’s compelling discussions of ways immersion in Sojiji’s communities and their attendant practices shape participants’ worldviews and life courses. Lucid, jargon-free prose and engrossing detail make this book a must for undergraduate courses, and it will also appeal to general readers and specialists alike who want a peek into the inner workings of temple life.”
—Levi McLaughlin, Associate Professor, North Carolina State University