Duncan Ryuken Williams

Duncan Ryuken Williams is a Soto Zen priest and Director of the Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture at the University of Southern California.

Magazine | Special Section

Masatoshi Nagatomi Remembered

“You bow like a Japanese,” Masatoshi Nagatomi told me with his characteristic giggle. Thus began nine years of mentoring in Buddhist studies until his passing last year. He assured my worried Japanese mother that I would…

By Duncan Ryuken Williams

Fall 2001

Magazine | Special Section

Where To Study?

AS INTEREST IN BUDDHISM continues to grow in America, many people are choosing to deepen their understanding of this tradition through graduate level study. If you are contemplating this route, one of the first things to…

By Duncan Ryuken Williams

Spring 1997

IdeasMagazine | Ancestors

A Successful Encounter

A magazine that bridged world views

By Duncan Ryuken Williams

Summer 1994

Podcasts

Feb 15, 2019 Tricycle Talks — Episode #27

When Buddhists Were a “National Security Threat”

With Duncan Ryuken Williams

On February 19th, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order designating military zones along the West Coast and laying the groundwork for US authorities to remove citizens of Japanese descent from their homes and imprison them in camps. While it is widely acknowledged that racism was central to this shameful chapter of American history, the role of religious discrimination cannot be overlooked, says scholar and Soto Zen priest Duncan Ryuken Williams.

Here, Williams joins Tricycle Editor and Publisher James Shaheen to discuss his new book, American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War, how Japanese Americans in internment camps stood up for religious freedom, and how this disturbing legacy of persecution has taken on new relevance.

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