Takamaro Shigaraki (, 1926 – 26 September 2014) was a Japanese

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and priest within the

Honganji-ha Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha (the period Japanese transcription), or more commonly Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha (the contemporary Japanese transcription, 浄土真宗本願寺派, ''Jōdo Shinshū Honganji-ha''), is a Japanese Buddhist organization. It is ...

branch of

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran (founder) S ...

. Shigaraki is widely regarded as one of the most influential Buddhologists of the

in the 20th century. Shigaraki was born in Hiroshima in 1926. The former president of

Ryukoku University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as a school for Buddhist priests of the Nishi Hongan-ji denomination in 1639, and became a secularized university in 1876. The university's professors and students founded the literary m ...

spent his career studying

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

. He was on the faculty of Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan, since 1958, where he received his PhD in literary studies. He also served as Charmain of the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai. He tried to clarify a contemporary meaning of Buddhism through looking into Shinran’s thought from a perspective of

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Shigaraki has been influenced by

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (; ; August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German and American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twenti ...

. He died of chronic respiratory failure, on 26 September 2014.getnews.jp retrieved 28th Sept 2014
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Select bibliography

* ''A Life of Awakening. The Heart of the Shin Buddhist Path. '' Translation by David Matsumoto. Hozokan Publishing, Kyoto, 2005 * ''Sogar der Gute wird erlöst, um wie viel mehr der Böse. Der Weg des buddhistischen Meisters Shinran.'' Übersetzt und mit einem Vorwort versehen von Volker Zotz. Kairos Edition, Luxembourg 2004, * ''Jōdokyō ni okeru shin no kinkyū'' (Studie über den Glauben im Reinen Land Buddhismus) 1975 * ''Gendai shinshū kyōgaku'' (Gegenwärtige Shin-Lehren)) * ''Bukkyō no seimeikan'' (Die buddhistische Sicht des Lebens), Kyoto, 1994 * ''Shinran ni okeru shin no kinkyū'' (Studie über den Glauben in Shinrans Denken), Kyoto, 1995 * ''Shinran shisō o ikiru'' (Leben aus Shinrans Denken), Kyoto, 2003 * Kyoto, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shigaraki, Takamaro 1926 births 2014 deaths People from Hiroshima 20th-century Japanese philosophers 20th-century Buddhists 21st-century Buddhists Buddhist writers Japanese scholars of Buddhism Buddhist existentialists Japanese Buddhists Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist priests Pure Land Buddhists Existentialists