Reconsidering the Samurai - with Rosina Buckland

Date
Monday 16 March 2026

Time
6.45pm

Venue
The Swedenborg Society
20-21 Bloomsbury Way (Hall entrance on Barter St)
London WC1A 2TH
[Map]

Booking Details
Free- Booking essential

Please note this event is now fully booked. Should spaces become available closer to the time, this will be announced on this page.

Please help us to keep this event free and open to all! The activities of The Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!

Within Japan’s history, the figure of the samurai is unique in its global intelligibility, reading as both symbol of Japan and a universal icon of the virtuous and fearless warrior. Although the term is now widely known, there is little understanding of that much of this image is based on myth or misunderstanding. The major special exhibition at the British Museum (3 Feb to 4 May 2026) will be the first to explore the historical reality of the people whom we call samurai (who were both men and women), the wide range of roles they played across the centuries, and the diverse ways in which the stereotype has been used over time, both in Japan and elsewhere. An exploration of the centuries-long trajectory of this icon fits perfectly with the British Museum’s mission to explore themes of identity, material culture and global interchange. In this lecture, Rosina Buckland will describe the thinking behind the exhibition and a sampling of the exhibits, and will explain the broader scope of the associated research project.

Dr Rosina Buckland is Asahi Shimbun Curator in the Department of Asia, where she heads the Japanese Section. She is Lead Curator on the major exhibition (3 February to 4 May 2026) examining the history and myths of the samurai, from their warrior origins in the 11th century to their pervasive presence in popular culture today, and has co-authored the accompanying book.

She received a BA degree in Japanese Studies from the University of Cambridge, an MA from SOAS, University of London, and a PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Her other publications include Shunga: Erotic Art in Japan (2010), Painting Nature for the Nation: Taki Katei and the Challenges to Sinophile Culture in Meiji Japan (2013), and The Splendour of Modernity: Japanese Arts of the Meiji Era. She worked previously at the National Museum of Scotland and at the Royal Ontario Museum.

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Image: Armour surcoat of silk, with embroidered image of Minamoto no Yoshiie, 19th century. Courtesy of SYZ Ltd. 

Supported by the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO)

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• Help us to keep this event free and open to all!
  If you are not a member of The Japan Society (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5.