Books
The Devil’s DiscipleBy Hamao Shiro With this volume, Hamao can be well and truly added to the pantheon of other classic Japanese crime writers gradually being resurrected from the mists of the past. Review by Laurence Green
Books
Popular Hits of the Showa EraBy Murakami Ryu In Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Murakami Ryu presents to us a bizarre and violent conversation between generation and gender in post-war Japan. Review by Tabitha Carver
Books
Harlequin ButterflyBy EnJoe Toh Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Harlequin Butterfly takes us on a Möbius strip-shaped journey about language, creation, writing and imagination. Review by Conor Hodges
Books
Phantom LightsBy Miyamoto Teru Phantom Lights is a short story collection comprised of eight stories linked thematically by personal hardship, all employing a nonlinear narrative structure to describe how these hardships affect characters on a lifelong timescale. Review by Lachlan Evans
Books
EclipseBy Hirano Keiichiro Part historical odyssey, part philosophical meditation, Eclipse immerses readers in the mysticism of medieval Europe while asking probing questions that still haunt us today. Review by Laurence Green
Books
Life in 3 Lines / La Vie en 3 LignesBy Fern Jean-Joseph Life in 3 Lines presents a deeply reflective exploration of life, love, loss, and resilience through the prism of haiku poetry. Review by Annabelle Bouji
Books
Shosa: Meditations in Japanese HandworkBy Ringo Gomez and Rob Walbers In this book, journalist Ringo Gomez and photographer Rob Walbers portray 12 Japanese makers from different regions. From a bamboo weaver to a tatami mat maker, from a ceramist to a Zen monk. Review by Azmina Sohail
Books
Splendours of Japan: Highlights from the Bodleian LibraryBy various contributors The Bodleian Library’s Japanese rare books and manuscripts, among Europe’s oldest institutional collections, are explored by leading scholars in a celebration of five centuries of collecting. Review by Sanae Inagaki
Books
Embodied Performance: Warriors, Dancers, and the Origins of Noh TheaterBy Matsuoka Shinpei In this book renowned Noh scholar Matsuoka Shinpei reimagines the origins of Japan’s iconic theater tradition, not as an elite pastime, but as a vibrant fusion of popular culture, religious ritual, and bodily expression. Review by Laurence Green
Books
Tokyo SwindlersBy Shinjo Ko This contemporary Japanese crime thriller weaves a complex tale of deception and greed, drawing inspiration from recent land-fraud scandals. Review by Shaun English