Author: Yejitsu Okusa

Yejitsu Okusa presented Japanese Pure Land teaching to English-language readers in The Principal Teachings of the True Sect of Pure Land. Published in Kyoto by the Otaniha Hongwanji in 1915, the book combines institutional history with an account of doctrine and practice. Its first section follows Shinran Shōnin and the development of the Hongwanji traditions, while later chapters address canonical writings, faith, salvation, and everyday religious life. Okusa’s exposition emphasizes reliance on Amida Buddha and explains how the tradition understands gratitude, moral conduct, and the relation between clergy and lay followers. The work is both a historical introduction and a statement from within the Shin Buddhist tradition, preserving period terminology while organizing a complex subject for readers encountering it in English.