Sobin Yamada is the 26th abbot of Shinju-an, a subtemple of the important Rinzai Zen temple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Shinju-an is the memorial temple for Ikkyu. Yamada studied at Hanazono, a Rinzai university in Kyoto, and at Ryukoku University .

Books authored

• Unraveling Zen's Red Thread: Ikkyu's Controversial Way, Dr. John Carter Covell and Abbot Sobin Yamada, 1980, HollyM International, Elizabeth, New Jersey, ISBN 0-930878-19-1.
• Zen at Daitoku-ji, with Dr. Jon Carter Covell.