Background
Hakuju Ul was born in 1882 in Aichi Prefecture and in childhood went by the name Moshichi.
Hakuju Ul was born in 1882 in Aichi Prefecture and in childhood went by the name Moshichi.
After finishing Aichi Middle School and the First High School, he entered the literatuie department of Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied Indian philosophy under Takakusu Junjiro. He was a fellow student of Kimura Taiken (1881-1930), who likewise in time became a distinguished scholar. He graduated in 1909 and during the years from 1913 to 1917 studied in Germany and England.
Upon his return to Japan he successively held posts as lecturer of Sotoshu University (present-day Komazawa University) and of Tokyo Imperial University; in 1923 he became a professor of Tohoku Imperial University. In 1930, with the sudden death of Kimura Taiken, he replaced Kimura as a professor of Tokyo Imperial University.
In 1931 he received a Japan Academy prize for his six-volume study of Indian philosophy, In do tetsvgaku kenkyu. He retired from teaching in 1943 and in 1945 became a member of the Japan Academy. In 1953 he received a Cultural Medal.
In 1893 he entered the clergy under the direction of Katsuzan Manju of Tozen-ji, a temple of the Soto branch of the Zen sect; he changed his name to Hakuju and went by the literary name Katsuo.
In contrast to Kimura Taiken, whose scholarship was marked by boldness and freedom of speculation, Ui’s work was based upon meticulous examination of the sources. He produced numerous basic studies covering a wide range of topics in Indian philosophy and Buddhist history and thought and exercised an important influence upon younger scholars in the field.