The Japan Society Review

By Giles Milton, Hodder and Stoughton, 2003, 399 pages, £7.99, ISBN 0340794682. Review by Michael Sullivan. Using extensive research of letters and other documents of the seventeenth century, this book tells the fascinating story of the first Englishman and the first English factory in Japan. In 1620 William Adams, otherwise known as Miura Anjin [三浦按針], […]

Directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki (川﨑博嗣), 2011, 98 minutes Review by Susan Meehan This anime opens with scenes of verdant ancient Japan. Amidst scenes of temples, shrines, mountains, paddy fields and old towns samurai, representing humanity, are fighting huge monsters with blazing red eyes otherwise known as “oni.” One is enormous, rivalling Godzilla in terms of […]

Directed by Yuya Ishii (石井裕也), 2011, 110 minutes. Review by Susan Meehan Director Yuya Ishii is only 27 and has already released a number of films including last year’s hit, the hilarious and poignant Sawako Decides (川の底からこんにちは). A Man With Style is a bittersweet family drama which has at its centre two fifty-something school friends […]

Directed by Shinji Aoyama (青山 真治), 2011, 119 minutes. Review by Susan Meehan. Tokyo Park, based on a novel by Shoji Yukiya [小路幸也], opens with university student and aspiring photographer Koji, played by rising heart-throb Haruma Miura (三浦 春馬), taking photos in a Tokyo park. He directs his lens towards a beautiful woman pushing a […]

Review by Michael Sullivan. This film is based on the manga by Aoi Hiiragi [柊 あおい] and was the first Studio Ghibli film to be directed by Yoshifumi Kondō [近藤 喜文]. Sadly Yoshifumi passed away in 1998 at the age of 47. This movie was number one in Japanese cinemas in 1995 and has now […]

Review by Ali Muskett. A Gaijin’s Guide to Japan is a fine place to start if you have a mild interest in Japan which needs nurturing. However, if you’re already a bit of a Japanophile, it might not be the best book for you to read. It is written in an A-Z format, and doesn’t […]

Review by: Sean Curtin. This beautifully illustrated work by the renowned Japanese artist Yukinobu Hoshino (星野 之宣) manages to perfectly capture the unique atmosphere of the British Museum. Hoshino’s meticulous artwork successfully transports the world famous institute, plus several of its curators, into the alternate reality of the manga world. Hoshino places Professor Munakata (宗像教授), […]

Review by: Susan Meehan. Talking about The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn at the Oriental Club in London on 24 October 2011, its author, Roger Pulvers, gave a measured account of Lafcadio Hearn, crediting him for his incredibly well-written yet fairly unknown journalistic work carried out mainly in the USA, his extraordinary insights into Japan and […]

Review by : Sir Hugh Cortazzi. This copiously illustrated book has been produced to mark 150 years of friendship between Germany and Japan. Dr. Volker Stanzel, the German ambassador in Tokyo, in his message at the beginning notes that many of the materials collected in this book were long presumed to have been lost. His […]

Review by Fumiko Halloran. Strong Arm Restoration (Gowan Ishin) is a collection of newspaper columns written by Ichiro Ozawa that first appeared in the Evening Fuji [夕刊フジ] newspaper between 2003 and 2006. His weekly column touches on politics, the economy, foreign policy, education, and crime. As for the book’s title, “Strong Arm” [剛腕] is an […]