Providing Presence

Providing Presence: A Japanese Buddhist Womanʻs Journey into Interfaith Chaplaincy Wako Amano Translated by Nathan Jishin Michon ISBN 978-1-998248-21-6 / 180 pages, fully illustrated / 15.6 x 23.4 cm / Available July 2026 Providing Presence is a unique manga memoir fully illustrated and written by a Japanese female Buddhist priest who recounts her training and work as an interfaith chaplain in the years after the devastating tsunami of 2011, along with her personal trials and growth through such experiences. Amano leaves her heart on the pages, skillfully intertwining depictions of intense emotion and humour within both her drawing and writing. She begins with the story of how her toddler son’s month-long hospitalization and the resulting mental illness ultimately led to her interest in caregiving. This desire was only intensified as her family survived one of the world’s largest-ever recorded earthquakes and tsunamis in 2011. Living not far from the epicenter, her hometown university began one of Japan’s first interfaith chaplaincy programs. The book illustrates her experiences in training and some of the lessons she learns about listening skills, communication, and compassionate presence with others. Providing Presence shows how she encounters various sometimes awkward and difficult situations thereafter with a variety of hospice and hospital patients. She is directly confronted with patients her own age facing terminal illness, elderly dealing with various forms of dementia, and the loss of those she cared for. The memoir entwines Amano’s personal struggles and reflections related to these situations and the ways in which she grows and develops through them. Overcoming such personal struggles and facing her fears ultimately helps her to better be with not just the patients she serves, but with her own family and loved ones. Readers on the journey not only feel the emotion of the personal stories, but receive a subtle education in chaplaincy, personal development, and deep listening along the way. Wako Amano is a Pure Land Buddhist Priest and certified interfaith chaplain in Japan. She co-founded Minna-no Tera (“Everyone’s Temple”) in Sendai, Japan with her husband as a non-denominational Buddhist temple open to care and Dharma activities for all. She is the author of five books on Buddhism and temple life. Amano still volunteers in providing spiritual care and helps Tohoku University in training new chaplains. Nathan Jishin Michon is a Shingon Buddhist priest, adjunct professor in Japanese Religions, and the director of retreats and tours at Inward Journeys Japan, based in Kyoto, Japan. "Jishin" was previously a post-doc researcher in Buddhist chaplaincy at Ryukoku University in Kyoto and is the editor of A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community and Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care. Originally published as その悲しみに寄り添えたなら SONO KANASHIMI NI YORISOETA NARA by 天野 和公（Wako Amano) / ISBN: 978-4781617077 © Wako Amano 2018 / Original Japanese edition published by EAST PRESS CO., LTD. English translation rights arranged with EAST PRESS CO., LTD. through Japan UNI Agency, Inc., Tokyo. This book is published with the generous sponsorship of Tung Lin Kok Yuen’s Canada Society, a Vancouver based Buddhist organization with a vision to promote Buddhism globally. Advance Praise "Nathan Michon’s translation of Providing Presence allows us to journey alongside one woman’s exploration of chaplaincy as a meaningful career. The narrative, facial expressions, and beautiful manga illustrations draw us into the struggles of Wako Amano, a self-described “middle-aged woman in Sendai, Japan” and temple housewife who wants to learn how to provide spiritual care. I found it touching that through her endeavour supporting others who are sick and dying, she comes to a better understanding of herself, her own family history, and her direction in life. I was moved by Wako’s description of nearly losing her child and not knowing how he would recover from a serious illness. This is a remarkable contribution to the field of spiritual care as Wako’s story sheds light on recent chaplaincy training programs that have become established in Japan since the Great East Japan Disaster of 2011. The author’s courage to depict intimate spiritual care encounters in manga is commendable, and the utterances she records from her patients are profound and haunting. I am grateful to Nathan Michon for his easy-to-read English translation, which allows this unique work to reach a wider audience. Whether new to chaplaincy or veterans in the field, readers will benefit from hearing the wisdom and insights shared in Wako Amano’s story." Lilu Chen, Associate Professor of Spiritual Care and Interreligious Engagement, Director of Field Education, Institute of Buddhist Studies "This compelling and heartbreaking graphic novel by Wako Amano will have you fully engaged! The illustrations and translations offer a window into a chaplain’s journey through personal pain, human suffering, and deep listening. Readers will see chaplaincy adapting to Japanese culture, what it means to train and work as a chaplain, and the courage it takes meet in mutuality without proselytizing." Rev. Jitsujo Gauthier, Chair and Associate Professor of Buddhist Chaplaincy, University of the West