William M. Bodiford is a specialist in Buddhist Studies, with a focus on religions life in Japan from medieval times to the present. He is a co-translator of, and wrote the introduction to, the /Record of the Transmission of Illumination/, a 2-volume translation of the /Denkōroku/ by Keizan Jōkin (University of Hawaii Press, 2021). He has published widely on topics related to Zen Buddhism, monasticism and vinaya rules, Tendai Buddhism, and the social roles of Buddhist institutions. He is best-known for his history of /Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan/ (1993; 2008 paperback).
