the 20th century. Robert Aitken, a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage which was criticized by Victoria for the nationalist sympathies of its patriarch Hakuun Yasutani, writes that "Unlike the other researchers, Victoria writes in a vacuum. He extracts the words and deeds of Japanese Buddhist leaders from their cultural and temporal context, and judges them from a present-day, progressive, Western point of view." Further studies The issues of Japanese nationalism, individualism, and the justification of social inequality have been taken up by other authors as well. Japanese nationalism In 1995, the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture published Rude Awakenings. Zen, the Kyoto School, and the question of nationalism, which "examines the relationship between Japanese nationalism and intellectuals in the Kyoto school and the world of Zen." It places the development of the Kyoto school, and its alleged support for the Japanese militarism, in the larger context of the Meiji-restoration. Robert H. Sharf contributed to this volume, as a sequel to his The Zen of Japanese Nationalism, in which he extensively investigates the support of the Zen-institutions for the Imperial State, and the backgrounds of this support. Nam-lin Hur has described the support of the Sōtō for the occupation of Korea in the beginning of the 20th century. Individualism Peek argues that individualism, contrary to popular notions, is inherently supported by Buddhism. This inherent support made it possible to effect a transmission from authoritarian imperialism to democracy: Social inequality The Soto-school has taken up the issue of social inequality. According to Bodiford, the Soto-school has insisted that "the types of social discrimination found in Sõtõ rituals and temple practices" find their origin in "the medieval institutional regulations imposed by the Tokugawa regime, not in the religious attitudes, religious practices, or religious mission of Sõtõ Zen itself". The Soto-school has installed a Human Rights Division, to terminate the regulations which contribute to discriminatory practices. Enlightenment and authority Zen at War has contributed to discussions on the meaning of "enlightenment", and the role of Zen-teachers in the emerging western Zen-Buddhism. Bodhin Kjolhede, dharma heir of Philip Kapleau, says: Stuart Lachs has written several essays on this issue, connected to teacher-scandals in western sanghas. The issue has been taken up by others as well. Author The author, Brian Victoria, trained at the Sōtō monastery of Eihei-ji and is a fully ordained Sōtō priest. He received his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the