# Masatoshi Ueki

Masatoshi Ueki (植木 雅俊, Ueki Masatoshi, born 1951) is a Japanese scholar of Buddhist studies.
Ueki is an expert in the original Buddhist texts, including Sanskrit and Pali texts as well as Chinese and Japanese translations of sutras.

## Career

Masatoshi Ueki is a scholar whose research focuses on Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist thoughts. Born in Nagasaki, Japan, Ueki obtained his Bachelor of Physics and Master of Science degrees from Kyushu University. Prior to his work in academia, he worked as a journalist, specializing in fine arts and literature. In recognition of his exceptional storytelling skills, Ueki was awarded the "Cosmos, rookie of the year" award in 1992 for his piece titled "Circus girl."
Starting in 1991, Ueki studied under Professor Hajime Nakamura at the Eastern Institute. In 2002, Ueki received his Ph.D. (Humanity) from Ochanomizu University with a thesis entitled「仏教におけるジェンダー平等の研究──『法華経』に至るインド仏教からの考察」[Gender equality in Buddhism: An analysis of Indian Buddhism, from Early Buddhism to ‘the Lotus Sutra'] From 2008 to 2013, Ueki worked as an adjunct lecturer at Center for the Studies of World Civilizations, Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has also taught at NHK cultural center and Asahi culture center
In 2008, Ueki published “Bon-Kan-Wa Taisho Gendaigo Yaku, Hokekyo", 1st and 2nd volumes (『梵漢和対照・現代語訳　法華経』（上・下）, [The Lotus Sutra: A contrastive translation between Sanskrit-Chinese-Japanese], which consist of 1) Sanskrit texts, 2) Chinese translation by Kumarajiva, and 3) Japanese translation by the author). With this work, Ueki won the Mainichi Shuppan Bunka Sho.
He also translated ‘the Vimalakirti Sutra’, which was found in Potala Palace, Tibet, in 1999, into modern Japanese, and published “Bon-Kan-Wa Taisho Gendaigo Yaku, Yuimakyo" (『梵漢和対照・現代語訳　維摩経』, [The Vimalakirti Sutra: A contrastive translation between Sanskrit-Chinese-Japanese]), and won the Papyrus Award in 2013.
In 2017, Ueki wrote a series of columns for the Nishinippon Shimbun titled "Bukkyo 50 wa"(『仏教５０話』[50 Buddhist stories] ). His aim was to make the teachings of Buddhism accessible to a wider audience by explaining them using everyday concepts and common sense.
In 2018, April, Ueki was serving as a commentator on the NHK's "100 Pun de Meicho" (『１００分de名著』[Introducing a literary masterpiece in under 100 minutes]) broadcasting program.
Ueki is a member of The Japan P.E.N Club, The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies, and Japanese Association for Comparative Philosophy.

## Talks

| Date | Venue | Original title | Temporary English title |
| 2023/6/15 | Democracy times | 日蓮はニセ科学嫌いのフェミニストだった 植木雅俊さん 池田香代子の世界を変える100人の働き人77人目 | Nichiren’s Surprising Deep Compassion for Women by Dr. Masatoshi Ueki No.77 |
| 2022/11/24 | Democracy times | 原始仏教・大乗仏教の溌剌とした女性たち　植木雅俊さん　池田香代子の世界を変える100人の働き人68人目 | Vivid Women of Primitive and Mahayana Buddhism by Dr. Masatoshi Ueki No.68 |
| (1)2022/2/7 (2)2022/2/14 (3)2022/2/21 (4)2022/2/28 | NHK (TV broadcast) | 「100分de名著」名著116『日蓮の手紙』 | Introducing a literary masterpiece in under 100 minutes, No. 116: "The Letters of Nichiren." |
| 2018/12/22 | Nishogakusha University | インド仏教の日本文学への影響――短歌・俳句を中心に | The influence of Indian Buddhism on Japanese literature: Tankan and Haiku as an example |
| (1)2018/4/2 (2)2018/4/9 (3)2018/4/16 (4)2018/4/23 | NHK (TV broadcast) | 「100分de名著」名著７５『法華経』 | Introducing a literary masterpiece in under 100 minutes,, No. 75. The Lotus Sutra |
| 2017/7/2 | The Japan Science Society | 原始仏教における知と信 | Faith and knowledge in Early Buddhism |
| 2017/3/15 | Ikegami Honmon-ji | 元政上人の詩歌と仏教 | Poems by Gensei shōnin and Buddhism |
| 2015/7/11 | Embassy of India, Tokyo | 日本文学に見る大乗仏教の影響――短歌、俳句を中心に | The influences of Mahayana teachings on Japanese literature - Tanka and Haiku as cases |
| 2014/6/15 | Japan poet Association The H award ceremony | お釈迦さまも詩人であった | The Buddha is also a poet |
| 2014/2/23 | The Papyrus Award commemorative speech | 私の学問人生 | My study life |
| 2013/7/26 | Soka University | 絶妙だった鳩摩羅什訳ーーサンスクリット語から『法華経』『維摩経』を翻訳して | The excellence in Kumārajīva's translation - The Lotus sutra and the Vimalakirti Sutra from Sanskrit |
| 2013/1/20 | NPO Tokyo Jiyu Daigaku | 仏教との出会いと、その後 | An encounter with the Buddhism, then ... |

## Publication
### Publication in English

* Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture（with Robin Wang and Makiko Ueki）Hackett Publ. Inc., Massachusetts, 2003
* Gender Equality in Buddhism, Asian Thought and Culture series vol. 46, Peter Lang Publ. Inc., New York, 2001

### Publication in Japanese
#### Translation

・Japanese Translation of Therī-gāthā: Pāli Terminology and Grammatical Analysis (2023)
・Japanese Translation of The Lotus Sutra: Sanskrit Terminology and Grammatical Analysis (2020)
・Japanese Translation of The Vimalakirti Sutra: Sanskrit Terminology and Grammatical Analysis (2019)
・“Therī-gāthā — Immortal Poems of Early Buddhist Nuns,” (2017)
・“The Lotus Sutra — Translation into Modern Language of a Sanskrit Original”(2015)
・The Vimalakirti Sutra (2011)
・The Lotus Sutra (2008)

#### Books

(some major works by Ueki)
| Original title | English title | Date | Publisher |
| 日蓮の思想――『御義口伝』を読む | The philosophy of Nichiren: Reading "Ongi-kuden", the record of the orally transmitted teachings | 2024 | Chikuma sensho |
| 日蓮の手紙 | The letters of Nichiren | 2021 | Kadokawa sophia bunko |
| 法華経とは何か―その思想と背景 | What is the Lotus sutra? The philosophy and backgrounds | 2020 | Kadokawa sophia bunko |
| 今を生きるための仏教100話 | “100 Stories about Buddhism for Living in the Present Time” | 2019 | Heibonsha, INC. |
| 江戸の大詩人 元政上人－京都深草で育んだ詩心と仏教 | A great poet of Edo era, Gensei Shounin - Deepening the heart of poet and Buddhism in Kyoto Fukakusa | 2018 | CHUOKORON-SHINSHA, INC. |
| 差別の超克――原始仏教と法華経の人間観 | Overcoming Discrimination - The view of the human in the Early Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra | 2018 | Kodansha Ltd. |
| 法華経 2018年4月 (100分 de 名著) | The Lotus Sutra: April 2018 (An introduction to a masterpiece within 100 minutes) | 2018 | NHK Publishing |
| 人間主義者、ブッダに学ぶ――インド探訪 | Learning from Buddha as a Humanist －Visiting and searching India | 2016 | Gakuge Mirai Sha |
| 本当の法華経(橋爪大三郎との対談) | The truth of the Lotus Sutra(Discussions with Daisaburo Hasizume) | 2015 | Chikuma |
| 仏教学者　中村元――求道のことばと思想 | Hajime Nakamura, A Buddhist scholar - Seeking the truth in words and thoughts | 2014 | $_{Kadokawa}$ |
| 思想としての法華経 | The Lotus Sutra as philosophical thoughts | 2012 | Iwanami |
| 仏教、本当の教え――インド、中国、日本の理解と誤解 | The truth of teaching in Buddhism - Understandings and misunderstandings in India, China, and Japan | 2011 | Chuokoron Shinsha |

#### Columns

『仏教５０話』(50 Buddhist stories) (2017) Nishinippon Shimbun.
50 Buddhist stories :
| No. | Original title | Temporary English title | Date |
| 1 | 紆余曲折 | Twists and turns | 2017/9/12 |
| 2 | 自分で考える | Thinking by yourself | 2017/9/13 |
| 3 | 乞眼のバラモン | Eye-begging Brahman | 2017/9/14 |
| 4 | 言葉が出来上がる！ | Words developed! | 2017/9/15 |
| 5 | 中村先生の励まし | Encouragement by Prof. Nakamura | 2017/9/18 |
| 6 | "人間ブッダ"の探求 | Seeking "the Buddha as a human" | 2017/9/20 |
| 7 | 釈尊の平等思想 | Shakyamuni's idea of equality | 2017/9/21 |
| 8 | 悟りを表明する女性 | Women expressing her enlightenment | 2017/9/22 |
| 9 | 女性の自立と財産権 | Independence of woman and property rights | 2017/9/25 |
| 10 | 女性の知恵第一 | A woman of a top master of Wisdom | 2017/9/26 |
| 11 | "無我"という誤訳 | "Anatta(non-self)" as a misinterpretation | 2017/9/27 |
| 12 | 自己との対決の必要性 | Necessity to confront one's self | 2017/9/28 |
| 13 | "真の自己"の探求 | Seeking "the true self" | 2017/9/29 |
| 14 | インド訪問 | Visiting to India | 2017/10/2 |
| 15 | 「成仏」は人格の完成 | "Enlightenment" as a perfection of character | 2017/10/3 |
| 16 | タゴールの思想 | Tagore philosophy | 2017/10/4 |
| 17 | 如実知見の困難さ | Difficulty of "perceiving reality as it is" | 2017/10/5 |
| 18 | 過去を引きずらない | Overcoming the past | 2017/10/6 |
| 19 | 盲信を否定する | Deny of blind faith | 2017/10/11 |
| 20 | 釈尊の遺言 | Shakyamuni's testament | 2017/10/12 |
| 21 | 民主的な会議 | Democratic meeting | 2017/10/13 |
| 22 | ブッダの神格化 | Deification of the Buddha | 2017/10/16 |
| 23 | 教団の権威主義化 | Authoritarianism by the order | 2017/10/17 |
| 24 | 莫大な布施と蓄財 | Enormous donation and savings | 2017/10/18 |
| 25 | 大乗の"差別思想" | Discrimination by "the Great Vehicle" | 2017/10/19 |
| 26 | 法華経の平等思想 | Equality preached in the Lotus Sutra | 2017/10/20 |
| 27 | 怨みを捨ててこそ | Throwing away a grudge | 2017/10/23 |
| 28 | 最後の講義 | The last lecture | 2017/10/24 |
| 29 | 自作の戒名 | A posthumous Buddhist name by themselves | 2017/10/25 |
| 30 | 法華経の導きか？ | A guidance by the Lotus sutra? | 2017/10/26 |
| 31 | 日系二世の菩薩道 | A life as the Bodhisattva by a second generation Japanese | 2017/10/27 |
| 32 | 龍女の成仏 | Enlightenment of Naga princess | 2017/10/31 |
| 33 | ジェンダーフリー？ | Gender free? | 2017/11/1 |
| 34 | 葬式のおまじない？ | Incantatory for funeral? | 2017/11/2 |
| 35 | 納得できる訳を | Translation with full understanding | 2017/11/3 |
| 36 | 掛詞が表す寛容思想 | Tolerance expressed by pivot words | 2017/11/6 |
| 37 | 宗派を超える視点 | The viewpoint beyond each sect | 2017/11/7 |
| 38 | 仏塔か経典か？ | Stupa or sutra? | 2017/11/8 |
| 39 | 聖地信仰への反省 | Reflection to holy land faith | 2017/11/9 |
| 40 | 人と法 | People and the law | 2017/11/10 |
| 41 | 巨大化した如来 | Giant growth of Thus come one | 2017/11/14 |
| 42 | ブラックホール | Black hole | 2017/11/15 |
| 43 | ゼロと巨大数 | Zero and large numbers | 2017/11/16 |
| 44 | 白川義員さん | Mr. Yoshikazu Shirakawa | 2017/11/17 |
| 45 | 報恩 | Repaying kindness | 2017/11/20 |
| 46 | 菅原文太さん | Mr. Bunta Sugawara | 2017/11/21 |
| 47 | 偶然的必然 | Accidentally but the inevitable | 2017/11/22 |
| 48 | 『等伯』 | Tohaku | 2017/11/23 |
| 49 | 忘れ去られた詩人 | A forgotten poet | 2017/11/27 |
| 50 | 今を生きる | Living now | 2017/11/28 |

#### Others

See Japanese profile

## Footnotes

* ↑ "Theses | Ochanomizu University, The graduate school of human cultures（Ph.D.）Gender studies". www.dc.ocha.ac.jp. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
* ↑ He is the first man who was conferred Ph.D. from Ochanomizu University
* ↑ "梵漢和対照・現代語訳　法華経".
* ↑ This includes a large number of notes which discussed more than 500 issues in the previously published Lotus Sutra Japanese translation published by Iwanami and Chuo Koron Sha
* ↑ "World of Literary prize".
* ↑ "梵漢和対照・現代語訳　維摩経".
* ↑ "The Papyrus Award". www.sekizaidan.sakura.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-02-01.
* ↑ "Next column series:「50 Buddhist stories」Masatoshi Ueki".
* ↑ 法華経 2018年4月 (100分 de 名著).
* ↑ "木魂（こだま）する科学とこころ".
* ↑ He influenced on the poets in Edo period, including Matsuo Bashō.
* ↑ "Soka Kyoiku No7, pp.27-61" (PDF).
* ↑ Robin., Wang (2003). Images of women in Chinese thought and culture : writings from the pre-Qin period through the Song dynasty. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub. Co. ISBN 9780872206519. OCLC 51878289.
* ↑ Ueki, Masatoshi (2001). Gender equality in Buddhism. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 9780820451336. OCLC 44516683.
* 1 2 3 4 5 Democracy times. "Vivid Women of Primitive and Mahayana Buddhism by Dr. Masatoshi Ueki No.68 2022.8.16".
* ↑ "テーリー・ガーター 尼僧たちのいのちの讃歌".