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Bonze Days
by 杜康潤 Tokō Jun

You Should Know It's Just A Manga
Date ： 16, Nov, 2015
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei

https://mij-only.com/books/en/bonzedays-tokojun.html?cv=Manga

A Japanese female manga artist, Toko Jun has written and illustrated her essay manga “Bonze Days.” She mentioned about her parental home, a temple of Rinzai Sect. Her elder brother is the Buddhist monk and they give us the real situations in a temple.

The greatest point of the essay manga is supposed to be her objectivity. Toko Jun doesn't show favor to temples or Rinzai School although born at the temple. “Bonze Days” plainly describes about her family, then. Readers will feel so smooth and comfortable by her objectivity. It is also going to work as a practical manual, since includes how to do at a funeral on Rinzai School.

Manga is manga, however. No matter how objective it tries to stay, no matter how much she collects the news, it becomes trash if cannot make the readers be the prisoners. First of all, manga has to be read easily. In other words, comics must be kind of fascinating. “Bonze Days” is great also as manga.

Now, let me give you an actual example. About Japanese history and temples, a part of the volume 1 mentions. There is described the Meiji Government declared Shinto was set as the Japanese state religion. But Shinto has never been enacted duly. Japan was so much confused totally at the time. Then, I guess she had to make comprehensibility come first.

It is concluded that “Bonze Days” is an excellent piece because it includes something true and also something false. Great is the balance. Needless to say, it also shows a serious problem that most Japanese are not taking an interest in their history and faith.

 

Brief bio of Ms. 杜康潤 Tokō Jun

Ms. Toko made her manga debut by Bonze Days in Unpoko manga magazine, #9, published by Shinsho-kan in 2007. Bonze Days, the  essay manga depicting ascetic practices of her brother, a chief priest of Rinzai school temple, and a priest's daily life, has drawn attention as a hallmark bonze manga by a female author. Her two books have been published by Shinso-kan. Currently, she is writing a series of essay manga, Chugoku Totsugeki Kenbunroku [The Book of Marvels of China] on the theme of  Records of Three Kingdoms.

 

坊主 days / Bōzu days
Bouzu days / comic by Jun Tokoh
by 杜康潤 Tokō Jun
新書館, Tokyo: Shinshokan, 2009. 153 pages
http://otakuisme.blog78.fc2.com/blog-entry-428.html

坊主DAYS（１） (ウィングス・コミックス)
by 杜康潤 (著)
日本では禅の宗派に属する、臨済宗。（一休さんなどが有名☆） その寺の住職である著者の兄の修行僧時代を中心に、お寺のこと、お坊さんの衣食住などを わかりやすく描いた、日本初の坊主コミック・エッセイが登場！ さらに、急にお葬式に行かなければならない時、 またはお葬式を出す側になった時に知りたい、マナー、お葬式やお墓の金額相場、仏壇の祀り方など 『すぐに使える！ お役立ち仏教マナーガイド』も収録！ 知っているようで知らなかった、お坊さんの世界がここにある……!!

 

 

坊主 days. / Bōzu days.
2, お寺とみんなの每日
2, Otera to minna no mainichi
by 杜康潤 Tokō Jun
新書館, Tokyo: Shinshokan, 2011. 140 pages 

坊主DAYS（２）　お寺とみんなの毎日 (ウィングス・コミックス)
by 杜康潤 (著)
「お前どうする？　この寺継ぐか？」禅の宗派のひとつ・臨済宗（一休さんなどが有名☆）のお寺の跡継ぎに生まれた著者の兄。子供の時に得度式（出家のための儀式）を済ませてはいたものの、住職になる日は、ずっと遠い未来に感じていた。だが14歳のある日、その“未来”の決断を突然迫られる事態が……。兄の幼少時代から住職になるまでのエピソードのほか、お寺の娘に生まれた著者の悩み、住職のお仕事、“寺庭”と呼ばれる住職の妻の三代記や、尼僧のことなど13篇を収録。『坊主DAYS』の杜康 潤が描く、お寺と家族にまつわるコミック・エッセイ！！

 

Cf.
PDF: “Down-to-Earth Zen: Zen Buddhism in Japanese Manga and Movies”
by Elisabetta Porcu
Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol. 16 (2015): 37-50

Sōtō Zen Etiquette Manga-style

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