Samurai Archives Journal of Japanese History Staff:
Christopher West is the developer and publisher of the Samurai Archives Journal of Japanese History. He is an independent scholar of Japanese history with interests that include the military history of the 15th and 16th century, the political intruiges of the late Edo and early Meiji periods, as well as the translation of primary historical documents. He has a degree in Japanese Language from Nagasaki Wesleyan University in Isahaya, Japan, and a degree in International Relations from Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.
Mike "Maikeru" Baker is an undergraduate from Quinsigamond College of Worcester, where he studies Art History and Cultural Anthropology. He is also a 6th Kyu Aikidoka at the Zenshinkan Zen center, where he also studied Zen Buddhism and Japanese language. Mike is an amateur historian and aspiring film maker. His main interest are in Sengoku and Edo period Japan, historical reenactment and Japanese cinema.
Anthony J. Bryant is a Japanese historian and holds a master's degree in Japanese from Indiana University. He has written several books for Osprey on samurai history, and been consulted by the BBC and other production companies doing documentaries and films on Japan's history. He is a former editor at the Mainichi Daily News and Tokyo Journal.
Lonny Chick is a longtime resident of Japan and travels extensively in the Asia Pacific region working within the automotive industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the George Washington University and has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. His main areas of scholarly interest include the Sengoku and Bakumatsu periods.
Nathan Ledbetter is a US Army officer, currently serving as a liaison officer with the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force in Kumamoto, Japan. He has dual degrees in Japanese Language and in Government from the University of Notre Dame. His primary interests include military and economic history, with a special focus on the Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama periods.
Jonah Matheson is a student of history who finds interest in the Edo and Bakamatsu periods of Japan. Currently he is enrolled as an undergraduate in the Business Department of the University of North Carolina where he is making strides to earn a degree in Marketing and a minor in Japanese, and hopes to one day make use of said degree to become an integral part of the Japanese business world. Matheson is also a student of a koryu (old style) of Japanese swordsmanship.
Joseph Ryan is a proud alumnus of the Reischauer Scholars Program and encourages high school students with similar interests to investigate this very rewarding program. He is currently an undergraduate majoring in Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Within the broad subject of ancient Japanese history, his interests include kofun, pre-Heian society, and foreign relations with China and Korea.
Randy Schadel is a University Of Cincinnati alumnus who is part of the National Office of the US Treasury Computer Crimes Unit. Temple and castle architecture along with the Kamakura era are his areas of interest. He is involved with Kyoto area re-enactment groups and is currently working on a history of the Chiba using the clan’s archives.
Travis Seifman is an aspiring historian of pre-modern and early modern Japan. He holds an MA in Japanese Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and is looking forward to a PhD. His primarily interests are in Edo period urban culture and regional or local histories within Japan, with a particular focus on Ryukyu, the ports of Southeast Asia, areas on the Japanese peripheries and sites of intense cultural exchange. He hopes for a museum career in the future.
M. Ryan Williams is a telecommunicator with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. He currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Florida Gulf Coast University and is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Public History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His current focus is on 19th century naval warfare and the birth of the Imperial Japanese Navy.