The Japan Society Review

By David Watts Barton Japan from Anime to Zen is the latest in a long line of guidebooks and travelogues that attempt to answer that eternal ‘why?’ we have all posed at one point or other when considering what exactly it is that fascinates us so much about Japan. Review by Laurence Green

By Hashizume Bun The Day the Sun Fell is an accessible emotional thriller through which we follow Hashizume and her family and friends as they try to recover from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Review by Elizabeth Chappell

By Robert Morton In this well-illustrated biography of Harry Parkes, Robert Morton records his life and achievements, as well as his personality in a balanced and judicious way, and with a biographer’s voice that is an attractive mixture of chatty enthusiasm and rigorous scholarship. Review by David Warren

By Antony Best This is an extremely well-researched book which charts the relationship of Britain and Japan from its earliest days until the demise of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in the early 1920s. Review by Robert Morton

By Seiichi Takeuchi The Japanese philosophy of impermanence is the subtitle and the core of the book, but I felt the meat of the content only spoke to one aspect of impermanence, the vicissitudes of life buffeting our self-determinations. Review by Chris Arning

By Dan Pearson with Midori Shintani This book charts the design, creation and evolution of the Tokachi Millennium Forest, which the author has been involved with for the last 20 years. Review by Katie Croft

By Tatiana Linkhoeva 'Revolution Goes East' is a remarkable study that aims to deepen our understanding of both Japanese modern history and the global history of the Russian Revolution. Review by Francesco Cioffo

By Tanaka Akemi 'The Power of Chowa' manages to share something functional yet provocative, centring the importance of the concept of chowa as a key notion to find balance and harmony in our lives, relationships, and society. Review by Yuka Harada-Parr

By Andrew Kojima This is an interesting and enjoyable book, following one man’s journey to becoming a successful chef and restaurateur, now sharing his Japanese food heritage with his customers. Review by Ann Morrison

By Hans Brinckmann Part personal memoir, part professional flashback, part socio-cultural commentary, The Call of Japan chronicles the author’s experiences during his 40 years of living in Japan, from 1950 to 1974 as a ‘reluctant banker’, and from 2003 to the present as a writer. Review by Roger Buckley