The Japan Society Review

By Shibasaki Tomoka Recently divorced after a short-lived marriage and still reeling from the death of his father, Taro lives on his own in a one-bed flat in a condemned apartment block. The story follows him and his two [...] Review by Eluned Gramich

Edited by Sir Hugh Cortazzi, James McMullen and Mary-Grace Browning Carmen Blacker was an outstanding scholar of Japanese culture, known internationally for her writings on religion, myth and folklore. A third of the volume comprises significant extracts from the author's diaries [...] Review by Jim E Hoare

By Kawakami Hiromi The book incorporates three short stories of an abstract and surreal nature.The stories are distinctly different from one another but follow a unifying theme of yearning, desire and longing in the minds of young [...] Review by Harry Martin

By Kittredge Cherry Three decades after its original publication, the book remains a rare resource for Japanese learners and those who wish better to understand how the Japanese language expresses womanhood. Review by Charlotte Goff

By Kumagai Naoko Kumagai Naoko goes on to discuss the facts that can be firmly established. She asks ‘how much free will did the comfort women have’ and the extent of coercion exercised by the Japanese military [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

Directed by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams In Kim Longinotto’s observational documentary the line between reality and staging in the profession of female wrestling (joshi puroresu) is addressed with ambiguity. On the one hand, the training regimes [...] Review by George Barker

Directed by Martin Scorsese Scorsese has adapted the famous novel of Endo Shusaku. The novel is set mainly around the 1630s at a time when the violent eradication of Christianity in the early Tokugawa era was mainly achieved, apart [...] Review by Roger Macy

By Mari Ono Mindfulness has come into popular culture in recent years but it is a concept which is centuries old. Mari’s beautiful book is a joy for the senses and a perfect companion to practice mindfulness. Review by Margaret Russo

By Gordon Daniels In this piece of detailed research, Dr Daniels has brought into focus the role of the Japanese Red Cross Relief Mission to Britain during the 1914-1918 war. For most of 1915, a team of highly qualified nurses and [...] Review by Gill Goddard

Directed by Shinkai Makoto Your Name tells the story of teenagers Mitsuha and Taki, who have the humdrum of their daily lives disrupted when they mysteriously swap bodies. We see Taki going through the experience of living in the [...] Review by Poppy Cosyns