Table of Contents:
  • Between the real and the fake. The kitschy world of "Zen in/and the art of--" ; The rock garden in New York ; The moving borderline
  • The mystery of Zen in the art of archery. The beginning of the story ; Spiritual archery and Herrigel's meeting with its teacher ; Becoming a disciple ; Breathing ; The release ; Purposefulness and purposelessness ; The target in the dark ; The riddle of "It"
  • Dissecting the myth. The spread of Zen in the art of archery ; The moment the myth was born ; What is Japanese archery? ; The great doctrine of the way of shooting ; What Herrigel studied
  • The erased history. The blank slate ; Herrigel's early years ; The Japanese in Heidelberg ; Homecoming and the Nazis ; From the end of the war to retirement
  • Are rock gardens really pretty? From the "tiger cubs crossing the river" to the "higher self" ; The neglected rock garden ; The rock garden in textbooks ; Unsightly stones and a weeping cherry tree ; Shiga Naoya and Murō Saisei ; Are rock gardens pretty? ; Popularization and the expression of Zen ; Proof of beauty
  • Looking at the mirror's reflection. Another Japan experience ; Bruno Taut and Ryōanji ; The people who introduced Zen and Ryōanji to the West ; Isamu Noguchi ; How Zen in the art of archery and Ryōanji were received ; Does Zen stink? ; Kyūdō, Zen, and the Olympics ; I knew it! it's Zen!
  • Postscript
  • Translator's afterword
  • Appendix: Herrigel's "defense"
  • Kanji for personal names
  • Kanji for Japanese terms.