Providing Presence

By Wako Amano

Providing Presence: A Japanese Woman's Journey into Interfaith Chaplaincy 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 humor within both her drawing and writing.

"This compelling and heartbreaking graphic novel by Wako Amano will have you fully engaged The illustrations and translations o er 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

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 (c) 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1998248216
• ISBN13: 9781998248216
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Sumeru Press Inc.
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"