Rev. Devon Matsumoto

Rev. Devon Matsumoto (he/him/his), Research Advisory Board

Reverend Devon Matsumoto is a senior program coordinator at the Asian Law Caucus, where he works to reimagine AAPI community safety by building preventative, restorative, and community-based alternatives to the punitive legal system. Devon is also a Tokudo-ordained Buddhist priest in the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha tradition, receiving his ordination in December 2023. He grew up in the Jodo Shinshu community and has a deep interest in understanding how his Buddhist teachings can inform social justice movements and movements toward liberation. Devon is also a founding member of The Young Buddhist Editorial, an organization that seeks to share the stories of young Asian American Buddhists while preserving the experiences and stories of their ancestors. He hopes that one day we can live in a world free of systems that oppress others and bring about suffering in this life. 

Devon currently lives in California with his partner Cori Kumamoto. In his free time, he enjoys spending time in the community or playing basketball and pickleball.  

Devon’s work with youth led him to Springtide. “I have a deep interest in the spiritual development of young people, specifically Japanese Americans, and how our complex history of being both the oppressor and the oppressed plays into that. I’m interested in deepening my knowledge of the spiritual formations of other communities.”