Events
‘Haiku Prelude – Haiku Kami’ 2013 ExhibitionBy Carolina Khouri Haiku Prelude – Haiku Kami project is dedicated to the victims of the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake, 11 March 2011. An exhibition of the project in POSK Gallery in 2013 will mark a [...]
Books
Memoires of Japan, 1946 (A People Bowed But Not Broken)By Bernard T. Smith Bernard Smith describes in this memoir his life as an RAF officer on the staff of the British Commonwealth Air Force (BCAIR) Headquarters at Iwakuni in 1946. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Books
Japoniæ insulæ, The mapping of Japan: Historical Introduction and Cartobibliograhy of European MapsBy Jason C. Hubbard Jason Hubbard has identified 125 main maps of Japan and includes illustrations of every one. He also lists their subsequent issues and notes any alterations made. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Events
King James, the Shogun and Now: Celebrating 400 years of Japan-British Relations, 1613-2013Saturday 12 January 2013 marked four hundred years since a British ship sailed for Japanese waters to establish the first contact and start a mutually-beneficial relationship which prospers to this day. Japan400 Press Lunch is an occasion to celebrate Japan-British relations. Review by David Watts with photos by Sean Curtin
Events
50th Anniversary of East Asian Studies at Leeds UniversitySeptember 2013 marked fifty years of the department of Chinese studies, now morphed into the East Asian Studies (EAS) Department. To properly celebrate its Golden Jubilee, the department set up a series of lectures, talks and activities. Review by Sean Curtin
Books
All the Emperor’s MenBy Hiroshi Tasogawa During the two years of Kurosawa’s involvement in Tora Tora Tora Tasogawa worked as an interpreter for Kurosawa. In this book he details the events of those years and attempts to [...] Review by Michael Sullivan
Books
Matsumoto Shigeharu: Bearing WitnessBy Kaimai Jun Matsumoto came to prominence in 1936 as the journalist who broke the news of Chiang Kai-shek’s detention. Japan as it grapples with globalization and ‘diversity’ has much to learn from Shigeharu Matsumoto. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Books
People Who Eat DarknessBy Richard Lloyd Parry In People Who Eat Darkness we get to see a new perspective of the events surrounding the disappearance and murder of Lucie Blackman as we follow the author's investigation into what had occurred to her. Review by Michael Sullivan
Books
Asia for the Asians: China in the Lives of Five Meiji JapaneseBy Paula S. Harrell In this interesting study of five Japanese personalities of the Meiji era, who were closely involved with Chinese modernisation, Dr Harrell shows that the relationship between Japan and China was [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Events
In Conversation with Kazuo IshiguroThe Man Booker at Birkbeck, 7 November 2012 The evening’s talk was mainly about Never Let Me Go but touched other aspects of Ishiguro’s style of writing. Review by Susan Meehan