[Reprint (5th Printing)] 'Yankee and Monk', the Talked-About Book That Makes Difficult Buddhist Terms Easy to Understand: The Unique Comic by a Jodo Shinshu Monk is Doing Great!

KADOKAWA CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO: Takeshi Natsuno) has reprinted (5th printing) the comic essay 'Yankee and Monk' (Author: Maru Kondo) due to its strong sales. It is currently on sale at bookstores nationwide and e-commerce sites.

- The secret of its popularity, going through multiple printings, is the interesting aspect of Buddhism depicted from two contrasting perspectives Maru Kondo is an active monk of the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha sect and a manga artist. The manga 'Yankee and Monk', which gained attention when published on SNS, has received continuous response since the comic was released three years ago, leading to this 5th reprinting.

The unique structure is highly talked about, allowing readers to learn Buddhist teachings, which often have a somewhat stiff image, through interactions between contrasting characters: a Buddhism-loving delinquent and a theoretical monk. For example, in an episode themed around the Buddhist term 'Engi' (Dependent Origination)...

To the delinquent who is angry because he can't ride his motorcycle due to the snowfall, the monk preaches that 'all things are established by relationships (Dependent Origination)' and explains the importance of the snow's existence.