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. 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.
Books
Life for SaleBy 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
Books
My Year of MeatsBy 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
Theatre & Stage
HamletineDirected 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
Books
Quaint, Exquisite: Victorian Aesthetics and the Idea of JapanBy 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
Theatre & Stage
EmilyDirected 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
Books
Harunobu Triptych and Other PoemsBy 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
Books
Noriko SmilingBy 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
Theatre & Stage
Origami Soundscapes / The CraneMusic and Libretto by Verity Lane Origami Soundscapes/ The Crane brings music traditions from various parts of the world and combines them with other art forms. Review by Alice Baldock
Books
British Royal and Japanese Imperial Relations, 1868-2018Edited 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
Theatre & Stage
Scored in SilenceDirected and performed by Chisato Minamimura Scored in Silence was a mixture of performance, lecture, history lesson, and an experiment with new technology shedding light on the deaf experience of the Hiroshima bombing. Review by Alice Baldock










