Louella Matsunaga was senior lecturer in the anthropology of Japan at Oxford Brookes University from 2011 until her retirement in 2024. She currently has a research attachment to Oxford Brookes University and is an academic visitor at the University of Oxford. She received her PhD in anthropology in 1995 from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her research focuses on ritual and the globalisation of JÅdo ShinshÅ«, in particular ritual and embodiment. She was ordained as a JÅdo ShinshÅ« priest in 2019. Enrique Galvan-Alvarez is Full Professor at the all-online Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (Spain). He received his PhD in modern languages in 2011 from the Universidad de Alcalá (Spain) and his research has an interdisciplinary focus with an interest in post-colonial contexts, Buddhism and narrative constructions of identity. He was ordained as a JÅdo ShinshÅ« priest in 2019 and has been actively involved since in Spanish-speaking and English-speaking Buddhist communities.

Mitsuya Dake is Full Professor in Shin Buddhist Studies at Ryukoku University (Japan). He completed his PhD coursework in 1989 at Ryukoku University. His areas of research include: Shinran Thought, Engaged Buddhism, and Inter-faith Dialogue. Currently, he is the president of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies. He serves on the editorial board of several journals, including Contemporary Voices of Dalit (Sage) . He was ordained as a JÅdo ShinshÅ« priest in 1984.