Kuroda Classics in East Asian Buddhism

The Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism is an independent, nonprofit organization that seeks to promote scholarship on Buddhism and its various historical, philosophical, and cultural ramifications. The Institute is run by scholars of Buddhism, for scholars and serious students of the religion. It was established in 1976 by Taizan Hakuyū Maezumi, Roshi (1931–1995), founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles, who endowed it in the name of his father, Rev. Baian Hakujun Kuroda Roshi. 

The Institute oversees two book series in collaboration with the University of Hawai‘i Press: “Studies in East Asian Buddhism” and “Classics in East Asian Buddhism.” Both series have published monographs by many of the most distinguished scholars in the field over the last two generations.

The “Studies in East Asian Buddhism” series publishes books and monographs that engage with the Buddhist tradition on all levels. This series also considers multi-author and conference volumes that demonstrate a strong cohesion among chapters and include an extended synthetic introduction by the editor. The series is open to border-crossing and cross-cultural studies that will place the different traditions of Buddhism in their wider geographical, religious, and cultural contexts. 

The “Classics in East Asian Buddhism” series offers philologically grounded and extensively annotated English translations of important works in the East Asian Buddhist tradition. The translations are accompanied by a substantial introduction that places the work in its historical and cultural contexts.

Because both of our series are run by specialists in the field, we are able to offer our authors a degree of feedback on all aspects of the manuscript that is unusual in academic publishing today. We publish the works of scholars at all stages in their careers and are proud to have published many first books. Our rigorous review process, which includes both extended board feedback over different iterations of the project and at least two substantial external reviews of the complete manuscript, helps to ensure that authors get the very best book they can out of their material. This process is meant to ensure that our books all adhere to the most rigorous of scholarly standards. Our renowned backlist, and the number of our books that have won prestigious scholarly awards, testifies to the quality of our review process. 

Because the Kuroda Institute has its own endowment and has complete editorial control of the series, we are not pressured by the marketing issues that drive so much of academic publishing today. The board decides which books to pursue based on scholarly quality and potential influence on the field; issues of economic viability are secondary. For these reasons, unlike many presses, we are able to make determinations about page length, inclusion of images and Sinographs, and the like on the basis of what best serves the scholarly interests of the volume and the field.

Kuroda Institute Editorial Board 

Heather Blair (Indiana University)
William Bodiford (University of California, Los Angeles)
Eric Greene (Yale University)
Natasha Heller (University of Virginia)
Hwansoo Kim (Yale University)
Lori Meeks (University of Southern California)
James Robson (Harvard University)
Robert Sharf (University of California, Berkeley)
Jacqueline Stone (Princeton University)
Robert E. Buswell, Jr. (University of California, Los Angeles), Executive Director and President Emeritus, ex officio
Peter N. Gregory (Smith College), Executive Director and President Emeritus, ex officio