The Buddha Tree tells the story of Soshu, and effete and handsome Buddhist priest whose hypocrisy and addiction to sensual pleasures lead him to carry on an affair with his own mother-in-law, even as his offers pious counseling to his parishioners. Ridden with guilt, Soshu tries to reform after his wife leaves him but becomes enmeshed in his own web of deceit. Throughout he Buddha Tree Niwa reveals remarkable insight into human weaknesses, his sensitive sketches of the Japanese countryside, and his revelation of the materialism of the modern Buddhist church in Japan, make this a book of unusual distinction.