The Japan Society Review

This issue of The Japan Society Review highlights the breadth and nuance of Japanese cultural narratives, from speculative fiction and independent film to historical biography and contemporary art. Covering literature, cinema, and more, the September issue offers a diverse and engaging set of reviews that reflect both enduring traditions and fresh creative perspectives.

This exhibition was an excellent introduction to Shibuya’s work, and offered a tranquil meditation on the importance of fleeting moments of beauty against an ever-shifting backdrop of bad news. Review by Lucy Farley

By Hamao Shiro With this volume, Hamao can be well and truly added to the pantheon of other classic Japanese crime writers gradually being resurrected from the mists of the past. Review by Laurence Green

By Murakami Ryu In Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Murakami Ryu presents to us a bizarre and violent conversation between generation and gender in post-war Japan. Review by Tabitha Carver

By EnJoe Toh Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Harlequin Butterfly takes us on a Möbius strip-shaped journey about language, creation, writing and imagination. Review by Conor Hodges

By Miyamoto Teru Phantom Lights is a short story collection comprised of eight stories linked thematically by personal hardship, all employing a nonlinear narrative structure to describe how these hardships affect characters on a lifelong timescale. Review by Lachlan Evans

Directed by Clair Titley The Contestant is a documentary film that revisits a reality TV programme that aired in Japan in 1998, blending original footage with recent interviews with those involved. Review by Mayumi Donovan

By Hirano Keiichiro Part historical odyssey, part philosophical meditation, Eclipse immerses readers in the mysticism of medieval Europe while asking probing questions that still haunt us today. Review by Laurence Green

By Fern Jean-Joseph Life in 3 Lines presents a deeply reflective exploration of life, love, loss, and resilience through the prism of haiku poetry. Review by Annabelle Bouji

By Ringo Gomez and Rob Walbers In this book, journalist Ringo Gomez and photographer Rob Walbers portray 12 Japanese makers from different regions. From a bamboo weaver to a tatami mat maker, from a ceramist to a Zen monk. Review by Azmina Sohail