Edited by the Medieval Japanese Studies Institute 

The thirteenth-century Rinzai Zen nun, Mugai Nyodai (1223–1298), continues to inspire both women and men today not only as an icon of enlightenment that sends the message that women can reach its highest levels, but also as an activator, a leader who founded institutions. Recent research by the authors of the new (2024) book Mugai Nyodai: The Woman Who Opened Zen Gates and others has concluded that the conundrum about the identity of Nyodai’s parents and husband arose from a tradition confusing Mugai Nyodai with another nun with a similar name, Mujaku, and that the well-known poem expressing enlightenment (about the moon vanishing with the receding water when the bottom of her bucket falls out) belongs not to Nyodai, but to Chiyono, who was a different, legendary person. In an effort to disentangle the historical Nyodai from legend, the book focuses first on original thirteenth- and fourteenth-century documents and artifacts as well as later items reflecting her legend as it grew over the centuries. 

By bringing together primary sources related to Nyodai’s life as well as the convent (Keiaiji) and temple (Shōmyakuan) that she founded in Kyoto, the book comprises a core set of resource materials, some never before published, making them available for future study. Medieval documents, along with unpublished biographies from the Edo period, are reproduced in the form of images, transcriptions, and English translations. The volume also includes high-quality color photographs of important portrait sculptures and portrait paintings of Nyodai, as well as Buddhist robes (kesa) associated with her.

Through examining these primary sources within a broader Buddhist and historical context, the book reassesses Nyodai’s family background and religious training. It places her not in Kamakura among the elite military aristocracy but in Kyoto within the imperial circles. It also proposes that she trained with Priest Enni (also Shōichi Kokushi; 1202–1280) at Tōfukuji before receiving enlightenment certification from the Chinese immigrant priest, Mugaku Sogen (1226–1286).

The book devotes an entire chapter to the life of Mujaku, a nun some twenty-five years younger than Nyodai, squarely refuting lore that assigned Mujaku’s parentage and husband to Nyodai. Likewise, by investigating the process by which Nyodai’s biography came to incorporate the story of Chiyono’s enlightenment, the book sheds light on how originally distinct personages meshed into a single narrative to create the story of Nyodai’s life as it has been erroneously chronicled since the seventeenth century. A chapter focusing on the dynamic role of Tokugon Rihō (1672–1745), abbess of Hōkyōji convent, in transmitting Nyodai’s legacy and convent rituals fills out this picture.        

The book also traces the veneration of Nyodai through the ages within the convents and temples that claim her as their founder. Portrait statues and paintings inscribed with poems lauding her insights and accomplishments are analyzed, as well as records describing the periodic rituals performed in her honor.

 The final essay examines previous approaches to arch themes surrounding the study of Mugai Nyodai, stressing the need to incorporate women into the history of Japanese Buddhism and highlighting the continual need to reevaluate evidence.

The essays included in the book are listed below:

“Mugai Nyodai and Keiaiji” by HARADA Masatoshi

“Mugai Nyodai: Literary and Material Traces from Her Time” by Monica BETHE

“Mujaku: A Woman in Her Own Right” by Karen GERHART

“Venerating Nyodai through Memorial Ceremonies” by Patricia FISTER

“A Critical Analysis of the Formation of the Mugai Nyodai Biography” by YONEDA Mariko

“Tokugon Rihō and the Legacy of Mugai Nyodai” by Monica BETHE and Patricia FISTER

“Righting Wrongs: The Joys of Unraveling the Story of Nyodai’s Life” by Barbara RUCH

In addition, there are forewords by YOKOTA Nanrei, Abbot of Engakuji; TANAKA Ekō, Abbess of Hōkyōji Imperial Convent; and EGAMI Shōdō, Abbot of Shinnyoji; and an introduction by Monica BETHE

Publisher: 思文閣出版　Shibunkaku Publishing Co., Ltd. 

Publication date: April 29, 2024

Language: Japanese and English

Hardcover: 448 pages, full color

ISBN 978-4-7842-2079-3

¥4,500 plus tax

Available through Shibunkaku Shuppan, Kinokuniya, and other Japanese booksellers, including Amazon.co.jp, which will sell overseas. Inquiries can be made at the Medieval Japanese Studies Institute（ https://chusei-nihon.net/contact/）

Shibunkaku Shuppan (https://www.shibunkaku.co.jp/publishing/list/9784784220793/)