William E. Deal is Severance Professor of the History of Religion in the Department of Religious Studies and Professor of Cognitive Science in the Department of Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve University, and Associate Director for Digital Humanities at the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities. He is the author of Theory for Religious Studies (with Timothy K. Beal, 2005) and Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan (2006).Brian Ruppert is Associate Professor of Japanese Religions at the University of Illinois, where he is a faculty member in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of Religion. His publications include Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early Medieval Japan (2000), "Buddhism in Japan" (Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed., 2005), and "Buddhism and Law in Japan" (Buddhism and Law: An Introduction, 2014).

“In short, this study is a welcome contribution to the field and will make an excellent textbook for the classroom.”  (Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 1 October 2015)

• List of Illustrations viiAcknowledgments ixIntroduction 11 Early Historical Contexts (Protohistory to 645) 132 Ancient Buddhism (645–950) 453 Early Medieval Buddhism (950–1300): The Dawn of Medieval Society and Related Changes in Japanese Buddhist Culture 874 Late Medieval Buddhism (1300–1467): New Buddhisms, Buddhist Learning, Dissemination and the Fall into Chaos 1355 Buddhism and the Transition to the Modern Era (1467–1800) 1716 Modern Buddhism (1800–1945) 2097 Buddhism Since 1945 231Character Glossary 255Index 287