The Japan Society Review

By Yokoyama Hideo Yokoyama was a journalist at a local newspaper in 1985 and was one of those who went to the JAL flight 123 crash site. It took him 17 years to reach a point where he could fully come to terms with his experiences. Review by Dr Christopher Hood

Directed by Hara Kazuo Hara’s film gives the briefest of briefings on the historical background before spending nearly all of its four hours following a group of ex-workers during their eight-year struggle to get compensation from [...] Review by Roger Macy

Directed by Yakumo Seiji The story is set in the prestigious all-girls Virgin Mary Christian academy where we find our main characters; the members of the literary club chaired by the principal’s daughter Itsumi. She is admired and [...] Review by Morgane Chinal-Dargent

By Jayne Joso It is difficult to say whether Joso’s masterful My Falling Down House is an advertisement for, or a warning against, isolation from society. It follows the thoughts, dreams and humble adventures of Tanaka Takeo [...] Review by Alice French

Edited by John Dougill,‎ Amy Chavez and Mark Richardson Echoes is a compilation of short stories (fact and fiction), poems and literary extracts which draw on individual experiences and the personal influence Kyoto has exerted on a selection of writers who have lived [...] Review by Harry Martin

Directed by Matsui Daigo The film focuses on the disappearance of Azumi Haruko (Aoi Yu), a 27 years old woman who lives in a suburban city and shares her house with her mother, father and grand-mother. She works as an office lady [...] Review by Morgane Chinal-Dargent

By Sophie Walker Those who have had the pleasure of visiting gardens in Japan will know what a wonderful experience it can be. Walker's focus is ‘not on the history or scholarship of the many types of Japanese garden, but [...] Review by Graham Hardman

By Saito Hiro The phantoms of Japan’s imperium, and the complex post-1945 landscape of commemoration and memorialization that Hiro Saito wrestles with in this thoughtful account, whose arguments span the [...] Review by Andrew Levidis

By Abe Kobo Kuki Kyuzo, the story’s teenage protagonist, is still in Manchuria, despite the fact that the vast majority of Japanese settlers have already been repatriated. He’s living among a group of Soviet officers, but soon [...] Review by David Boyd

By Shimazaki Satoko Satoko’s seminal work focuses on the developments and changes in kabuki since the 1825 premiere of Tsuruya Nanboku IV’s play Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan. She uses that play as a starting point and, contrary [...] Review by Trevor Skingle