Eiji Yoshikawa (1892--1962) was born in Kanagawa, Japan. Despite receiving little more than a primary school education, he became Japan's most popular writer and authored some 80 novels and over 180 short stories. Credited with elevating popular fiction to an artform. Yoshikawa was the first writer of such works to be awarded the Imperial Order of Culture.

Fuki Wooyenaka Uramatsu was a writer, translator, editor, and teacher. She was a columnist for the English-language Yomiuri newspaper. She graduated from Wellesley College and her many publications include the book A Bowl of Tea.

Alexander Bennett is a professor of Japanese history and Budo theory at Kansai University. He co-founded and continues to publish Kendo World, the first English-language journal dedicated to Kendo. He holds black belts in several martial disciplines including Kendo Kyoshi 7-dan, Iaido 5-dan, and Naginata 5-dan. His published works include The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works and Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai.