Kaneko Daiei

Who was Kaneko Daiei?

Kaneko Daiei was a Japanese Buddhist philosopher of the early 20th century. He was born at to the priest of Saiken-ji, a Shin Buddhist temple in Jōetsu, Niigata Prefecture. He was a student Kiyozawa Manshi and taught for several years at Ōtani University. In 1928 he was excommunicated from Jodo Shinshu for having charged the organization had become shrouded in materialism. A decade later his excommunication was overturned and he was welcomed back.

Kaneko authored many essays on Shin thought that are held in very high regard today, helping to sculpt modern day Shin philosophy. He was a good friend of Soga Ryojin, another student of Manshi who likewise taught at Otani University.