In the capital of the political power of feudal Japan, Kyoto, around 1540, a clan of formidable swordsmen who had previously dedicated themselves to trade and the production of colors for dyeing fabrics began to emerge. However, their exploits as master swordsmen lasted only four generations; they then died out or had to return to their previous economic activities. More than for their skills as instructors of the house of the shogun, they, in fact, went down in history for a number of battles lost against Shinmen Munisai, and his legendary son, Miyamoto Musashi. In the stories passed down to us, truth and myth are blurred, leaving the researcher and the reader with many unanswered questions and doubts. Who were the Yoshioka? When did their exploits as swordsmen begin? Where did their martial art come from? Who were their opponents? Were they really defeated or killed in duels against Miyamoto Musashi?

Explores how Soto monks between the 13th and 16th centuries developed new forms of monastic organization and Zen instructions and new applications for Zen rituals within lay life; how these innovations helped shape rural society; and how remnants of them remain in the modern Soto school, now the lar

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First published in Britain in 1966, French Rural History is a study initially given as lectures in Oslo in 1929. It focuses on the fundamental problems of French agrarian history and places them in true perspective. Throughout the work, Marc Bloch analyses the issues in all their complexity and treats them practically, as would a man who was both a historian and a farmer. The work has been celebrated as a work of historical sociology, full of personality and unmistakable insight.

Recognizing the need for increased social justice in the fields of TESOL and English language teaching (ELT) globally, this volume presents a range of international case studies and empirical research to demonstrate how English language instruction can promote social and linguistic justice through advocacy-oriented pedagogies and curricula. Advocacy for Social and Linguistic Justice in TESOL adopts a critical, and evidence-based approach to identifying effective practice in ensuring inclusive and equitable learning and teaching. Chapters address emergent issues including heritage language and L1 attrition, teacher and learner identity, and linguistic colonialism, as well as wider issues such as global citizenship and human rights. Focus is placed on empowering both educators and learners as advocates of social justice and consideration is also given to how social responsibility can be supported through enhanced teacher preparation and professional development. Making a timely contribution at the intersection of advocacy, social justice, and English language teaching, this book will be key reading for postgraduate researchers, scholars, and academics in the fields of TESOL and ELT, as well as language education, applied linguistics, and the sociology of education more broadly. English language teachers and practitioners will also find this volume of interest.

During the 1920s Herbert O. Yardley was chief of the first peacetime cryptanalytic organization in the United States, the ancestor of today's National Security Agency. Funded by the U.S. Army and the Department of State and working out of New York, his small and highly secret unit succeeded in breaking the diplomatic codes of several nations, including Japan. The decrypts played a critical role in U.S. diplomacy. Despite its extraordinary successes, the Black Chamber, as it came to known, was disbanded in 1929. President Hoover's new Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson refused to continue its funding with the now-famous comment, "Gentlemen do not read other people's mail." In 1931 a disappointed Yardley caused a sensation when he published this book and revealed to the world exactly what his agency had done with the secret and illegal cooperation of nearly the entire American cable industry. These revelations and Yardley's right to publish them set into motion a conflict that continues to this day: the right to freedom of expression versus national security. In addition to offering an exposé on post-World War I cryptology, the book is filled with exciting stories and personalities.

Eihei Dogen, the founder of the Japanese branch of the Soto Zen Buddhist school, is considered one of the world's most remarkable religious philosophers. Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist is a comprehensive introduction to the genius of this brilliant thinker. This thirteenth-century figure has much to teach us all and the questions that drove him have always been at the heart of Buddhist practice. At the age of seven, in 1207, Dogen lost his mother, who at her death earnestly asked him to become a monastic to seek the truth of Buddhism. We are told that in the midst of profound grief, Dogen experienced the impermanence of all things as he watched the incense smoke ascending at his mother's funeral service. This left an indelible impression upon the young Dogen; later, he would emphasize time and again the intimate relationship between the desire for enlightenment and the awareness of impermanence. His way of life would not be a sentimental flight from, but a compassionate understanding of, the intolerable reality of existence. At age 13, Dogen received ordination at Mt. Hiei. And yet, a question arose: "As I study both the exoteric and the esoteric schools of Buddhism, they maintain that human beings are endowed with Dharma-nature by birth. If this is the case, why did the buddhas of all ages - undoubtedly in possession of enlightenment - find it necessary to seek enlightenment and engage in spiritual practice?" When it became clear that no one on Mt. Hiei could give a satisfactory answer to this spiritual problem, he sought elsewhere, eventually making the treacherous journey to China. This was the true beginning of a life of relentless questioning, practice, and teaching - an immensely inspiring contribution to the Buddhadharma. As you might imagine, a book as ambitious as Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist has to be both academically rigorous and eminently readable to succeed. Professor Hee-Jim Kim's work is indeed both.

Exploring key concepts and metaphors, Bernard Faure guides readers to an appreciation of some of the more elusive aspects of the Chinese traditions of Chan Buddhism and Japanese Zen. Faure focuses on Chan's insistence on "immediacy"--its denial of all traditional meditations, including scripture, ritual, good works--and yet shows how these mediations have always been present in Chan.