The Japan Society Review
The Japan Society Review is published on a quartely basis, both online and printed (members are entitled to receive a copy by post). Since the starting of the publication in 2006, each issue covers a selection of Japan-related books and films, as well as theatre and stage productions, tv series and exhibitions. Its purpose is to inform, entertain and encourage readers to explore the works for themselves.
The Japan Society Review is possible thanks to the work of volunteers who dedicated their time and expertise to help us to promote the learning and understanding of Japanese culture and society.
Books
Noriko SmilingBy Adam Mars-Jones Over the course of around 240 pages, writer Adam Mars-Jones sets to examining Late Spring with a fine-toothed comb, offering a surprisingly frank, and often humorous take on the film’s narrative and themes. Review by Laurence Green
Books
British Royal and Japanese Imperial Relations, 1868-2018Edited by Peter Kornicki, Antony Best and Sir Hugh Cortazzi Complemented by a significant plate section, with many rarely seen historical photographs and illustrations, together with supporting chronologies, this book will become a benchmark reference on [...] Review by Ian Nish
Books
Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern JapanBy Philip Hu, Rhiannon Paget, Sebastian Dobson, Maki Kaneko, Sonja Hotwagner and Andreas Marks This publication showcases the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection of Japanese military prints and related materials-one of the largest collections of such works in the world. This body of visual works [...] Review by Laurence Green
Books
‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s BlossomsBy Abe Naoko At once both a cracking story and a serious work of scholarly ambition, Naoko Abe’s account of Ingram’s life succeeds through virtue of being more than simple biography. It is a love letter to the joys that life [...] Review by Laurence Green
Books
Oh, Tama!By Kanai Mieko Oh, Tama! takes the reader deep into the haphazard lives of Natsuyuki, the protagonist, and his loosely connected circle of dysfunctional acquaintances and family. Review by Poppy Cosyns
Books
Electrified Voices: How the Telephone, Phonograph, and Radio Shaped Modern Japan, 1868-1945By Yasar Kerim In Electrified Voices, Kerim Yasar traces the origins of the modern soundscape, showing how the revolutionary nature of sound technology and the rise of a new auditory culture played an essential role in the [...] Review by Francesco Cioffo
Books
The Little HouseBy Nakajima Kyoko The Little House is set in the early years of the Showa era (1926-89), when Japan’s situation is becoming increasingly tense but has not yet fully immersed in a wartime footing. Review by Robert Paul Weston
Books
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short StoriesEdited by Jay Rubin A varied collection celebrating the great Japanese short story, from its modern origins in the nineteenth century to the remarkable examples being written today. Review by Jill Dobson
Books
Tokyo Ueno StationBy Yu Miri Tokyo Ueno Station follows the ghost of one unfortunate young man, Kazu, whose fate is tragically linked to Ueno Park. Through dialogues with himself and the reader, the protagonist reveals the widening [...] Review by Morgane Chinal-Dargent
Books
Picnic in the StormBy Motoya Yukiko This book is a collection of short stories examining the wide range of issues Japan faces in its continuing mission to remain amongst the world’s superpowers. Review by Beau Waycott