The Japan Society Review

By Christian Polak with Hugh Cortazzi The French artist Georges Bigot (1860-1927) is not a household name in France or in England, but he certainly is in Japan, for Japanese schoolchildren see some of his caricatures in their textbooks. Review by Peter Kornicki

Directed by Mori Tatsuya Samuragochi Mamoru is a figure buried in infamy in the Japanese media. He became a familiar name as the composer of music in a romantic style, but what really got him prominence in media stories [...] Review by Roger Macy

By Jennifer Robertson In the mid-1920s, the word “robot” (robotto) was coined as Japan began to embrace the possibilities and potential of human-robot coexistence. This book is an ethnography and sociohistorical analysis that [...] Review by Riyoko Shibe and Paul Tebble

By Christian Tagsold The title comes from Dr Tagsold's habilitation thesis and it has now been developed in a new book. It comprises nine chapters with each chapter starting with a ‘stroll through a garden’ – a delightful technique [...] Review by Ian Chrystie

By Gavan McCormack The present work brings his scholarship to bear on the successive governments of Abe Shinzo (2006-7 and 2012 to the present). He regards the rise to power of Abe as based on two right wing [...] Review by Arthur Stockwin

By Yamashiro Chikako The forced cohabitation with American forces, very unwelcomed by the Okinawans, is the main preoccupation of Yamashiro Chikako’s work, on show under the title of Shapeshifter at White Rainbow’s non-profit [...] Review by Silvia Caso

Edited by Barak Kushner and Sherzod Muminov A widespread view has been that the Japanese Empire became an entirely closed chapter after August 1945, when it collapsed abruptly at the end of World War II. The subject has gained renewed interest [...] Review by Roger Macy

By Kawakami Mieko The plot revolves around an unnamed boy and his everyday life in his family’s house. His father died when he was younger and he now lives with his bed-ridden grandmother and his mother, who is busy [...] Review by Morgane Chinal-Dargent

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham, written by Francis Turnly What at first appears to be a conventional family drama, soon develops into something of global significance in Japanese-Northern Irish playwright Francis Turnly’s latest work for the stage. The play begins [...] Review by Poppy Cosyns

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