The Japan Society Review

By Stephen Turnbull The book’s narrative revolves around the Higo-kunishu Ikki (Higo People’s Revolt), the conflict which helped trigger the katanagari sword hunt in 1588, commonly referred to as the Taiko’s Sword Hunt, to [...] Review by Trevor Skingle

By Miyamoto Teru Kinshu is an epistolary novel, told in a series of letters between a divorced and thoroughly estranged couple. Aki and her former husband, Yasuaki, have neither spoken nor seen each other in over a decade. Review by Robert Paul Weston

By Edward Marx Edward Marx has clearly done extensive research and has presented the most well-documented account of Yone Noguchi’s life so far. Review by Peter Kornicki

By Mishima Yukio A welcome addition to the English language translations of Yukio Mishima’s work in the lead-up to the fiftieth anniversary of his death, it is an exuberant if patchily saucy read and reveals a different angle to [...] Review by Susan Meehan

By Ruth Ozeki My Year of Meats is essentially a story of the human life and the human body. It asks us to question what it means to be a woman, what we put in our bodies and how our offspring will value themselves in a world [...] Review by Azmina Sohail

Directed by Bart Price and 2021 Though not for the faint-hearted, Hamletine is a piece that can provoke a huge array of emotional and intellectual responses, drawing on a refreshing mixture of pop culture and canon literature to create [...] Review by Alice Baldock

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

Directed by Matsui Akira, Richard Emmert, Ashley Thorpe Not only is Emily visually and aurally beautiful, it also makes clear arguments for Noh’s relevance to the contemporary world. Review by Alice Baldock

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

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