The Japan Society Review

By Anna Sherman This book by Anna Sherman, her debut travelogue, is conveniently broken down into chapters and almost all of them focus on particular city locales. The details which follow are explained in such a way [...] Review by Trevor Skingle

By Deborah Install In Install’s futuristic world, androids drive your car, wash your clothes, cook for you. Ben, however, refuses to have an android in the house, preferring for Amy to do most of the domestic chores. Amy is a [...] Review by Eluned Gramich

By Robert S.G. Fletcher In 1862 a British merchant was killed by samurai, in uncertain circumstances, at Namamugi – a quiet village near Yokohama. One year later, a British fleet bombarded the port of Kagoshima to extract [...] Review by Trevor Skingle

By Hiroko Sherwin Hiroko Sherwin’s book Japan’s WWII Legacy is a well-timed contribution to help the reader re-discover how WWII has shaped, and still shapes, the lives of many. Written from the perspective of Japanese [...] Review by Francesco Cioffo

By John T. Carpenter, Melissa McCormick with Monika Bincsik, Kyoko Kinoshita It is customary to refer to the Tale of Genji as the world’s first psychological novel. The case can be argued, for over the course of its 54 chapters, the reader follows the lives, states of mind and [...] Review by Timon Screech

By Andrew Thomson To the collection of published, and generally scholarly, books on Kyushu comes this welcome addition of Andrew Thomson’s non-academic 2018 memoir, Bridge to the Gods. Andrew, son of the Australian golfer [...] Review by Trevor Skingle

By Kishimi Ichiro and Koga Fumitake The Courage to Be Disliked promises to show readers ‘How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness’. This book fits most neatly into the self-help genre. It would, however, not be out of [...] Review by Charlotte Goff

By Dazai Osamu The short novella follows the inner confessions of an outwardly jovial, but deeply troubled protagonist. Readers are transported behind the façade of young Oba Yozo, an alcoholic Tokyoite that fails to relate [...] Review by George Mullins

Edited by Anthony Gardner Much effort went into this book. Candidate towns were recommended by each of Japan’s 47 prefectures and also by a selection committee. Over 150 towns were visited and researched by a team of foreign [...] Review by Susan Meehan

Edited by Antony Best and Hugh Cortazzi The essays in this book, written by the two editors and by others including Ian Nish and Thomas Otte, show us how the Anglo-Japanese relationship played out in Whitehall through the careers of [...] Review by Peter Kornicki