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The Japan Society Review

The Japan Society Review is an digital publication covering Japan-related books and films, as well as theatre and stage productions, tv series and exhibitions. Published since 2006, it is released now on a quarterly basis and is available online on our website and printed for members. 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.

To become a reviewer, please fill the form here and let us know a little about you, your professional or academic background, your interest, passion or expertise regarding Japan and the type of works you would like to review.

If you have any questions, please contact reviews@japansociety.org.uk.

Quaint, Exquisite: Victorian Aesthetics and the Idea of Japan

Books

Quaint, Exquisite: Victorian Aesthetics and the Idea of Japan

By Grace E. Lavery This account seeks to remind us of the excitement and promise Japan held for the Victorian populace in particular, when many of these notions were first introduced. Japan as the ‘Other Empire’ – the [...] Review by Laurence Green

Harunobu Triptych and Other Poems

Books

Harunobu Triptych and Other Poems

By Dorothy Britton Dorothy’s collection of poems illustrates her highly personal travels across three continents. In this volume her poems are accompanied by her own sketches; some of which were influenced by the works of [...] Review by Gordon Daniels

Noriko Smiling

Books

Noriko Smiling

By 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

British Royal and Japanese Imperial Relations, 1868-2018

Books

British Royal and Japanese Imperial Relations, 1868-2018

Edited 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

Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan

Books

Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan

By 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

‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms

Books

‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms

By 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

Oh, Tama!

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

Electrified Voices: How the Telephone, Phonograph, and Radio Shaped Modern Japan, 1868-1945

Books

Electrified Voices: How the Telephone, Phonograph, and Radio Shaped Modern Japan, 1868-1945

By 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

The Little House

Books

The Little House

By 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

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories

Books

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories

Edited 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