Naoko Komagata Moller is a senior researcher at Japan Food Studies College, a dedicated food activist, a Japanese cooking connoisseur, and an ESL educator. Born in a Soto Zen Buddhist temple in Niigata, Japan, and raised in both Hawaii and Japan, she learned to cook by assisting her mother and as a minister’s wife, preparing meals for large groups at temples.  Naoko operated an English school in Japan for over 20 years, working as a teacher-trainer for Japanese teachers of English while managing the temple. Around 2010, she moved back to Hawaii and taught Japanese language and English as a second language at the Honolulu Waldorf School. Currently, Naoko lectures on Japanese food history and culture, focusing on immigrant-plantation food of Hawaii and Shojin Ryori (Zen Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) at schools, colleges, and temples. She also conducts Shojin Ryori workshops and cultural and educational workshops worldwide. Naoko enjoys life in both Hawaii and off-the-grid in Northern California with her husband.