The Japan Society Review

The September issue of The Japan Society Review presents a selection of six reviews that range widely in geography, period and form. Together, they explore how people make sense of the worlds they inhabit through history, architecture, literature, memory and the shifting realities of contemporary urban life.

By Hara Tamiki The final work of Japanese poet, novelist, and Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor Hara Tamiki, paired with full-page ink drawings by American artist Sandy Walker. Review by Thomas Caffrey

By Nandini Das Drawing on extensive archival research, attentive to the textures of daily life, yet alive to the sweep of history, This Little World offers a new, globally resonant vision of England's past and what it meant to be English Review by Thomas Lockley

By Stephen C. Mercado This book provides this first account in English on an intelligence organization little known outside Japan, the Noborito Research Institute, and how Noborito's scientists and technicians served in the Second World War and the Cold War. Review by David Rodenko

By Natsuki Shizuko Packed full of atmosphere and nostalgia, and with a dark, gritty mystery at its heart, Murder at Mt Fuji presents a rediscovered classic novel for fans of Japanese crime fiction. Review by Rio Julian

A bold reimagining of Butoh dance for today by New York-based butoh dancer Vangeline. Review by Alice Baldock

The celebratory tour by the "Queen of anime" LiSA and her band, the nYu-MeNs. Review by Maxine Stacey

By Tanimoto Kiyoshi A newly discovered firsthand account of the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath from one of the survivors. Review by Isabel Mermagen

By Michaela Nettell et al. This book documents a research project by London-based artist filmmaker Michaela Nettell, bringing together contemporary responses specially commissioned from 20 international contributors on the Umbrella House, designed by the Japanese architect Shinohara Kazuo in 1961. Review by Andrew Nishiyama Taylor

By Meg Tanaka Featuring 80 accessible recipes made for sharing, this is modern Japanese cooking at its best: thoughtful, nourishing and full of joy. Review by Laurence Green