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.
Films & Series
Zero FocusDirected by Isshin Inudo Zero Focus, set for the most part in photogenic Kanazawa is a slick and classy film made by Isshin Inudo. It is based on the best-selling crime novel of [...] Review by Susan Meehan
Books
World Film Locations: TokyoEdited by Chris MaGee For any fan of Japanese cinema, and with time to spare in Tokyo, this book is a must as it charts a journey of eighty years of movies being filmed in [...] Review by Michael Sullivan
Theatre & Stage
Anjin: The Shogun and The English SamuraiBy Mike Poulton with Sho Kawai This inspiring play brings his story to life in a production written by Mike Poulton and Shoichiro Kawai, and directed by Gregory Doran (Royal Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director). An international supporting cast includes [...] Review by Michael Sullivan
Theatre & Stage
Anjin: The Shogun and The English SamuraiBy Mike Poulton with Sho Kawai This production opened on 31 January, the date of Ieyasu Tokugawa’s birthday, marking 420 years since his birth. It is a completely bilingual production combining the talent of [...] Review by Susan Meehan
Books
Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Volume VIIICompiled & Edited by Sir Hugh Cortazzi As in the previous editions, the individuals profiled cover a broad spectrum of professions, in this particular volume ranging from the art world to [...] Review by Sean Curtin
Books
Holme, Ringer & Company, The Rise and Fall of a British Enterprise in Japan 1868-1940By Brian Burke-Gaffney The dominant British firm in Nagasaki in the Meiji period was Holme, Ringer & Company which was controlled by Frederick Ringer (1838-1907). Burke-Gaffney in this book tells the story of [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Events
Celebrating 50 years of Japanese Studies at the University of SheffieldTo celebrate half a century of achievement, former staff and students were invited to two special golden jubilee events hosted in collaboration with the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation at Daiwa House in London on Thursday 3 October 2013. Review by Sean Curtin
Books
Hard Times in the Hometown, A History of Community Survival in Modern JapanBy Martin Dusinberre Martin Dusinberre first went to Kaminoseki as an English language teacher. He found the town of great interest and returned there to undertake sociological research. In this well researched book he traces the [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Events
‘Haiku Prelude – Haiku Kami’ 2013 ExhibitionBy Carolina Khouri Haiku Prelude – Haiku Kami project is dedicated to the victims of the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake, 11 March 2011. An exhibition of the project in POSK Gallery in 2013 will mark a [...]
Books
Memoires of Japan, 1946 (A People Bowed But Not Broken)By Bernard T. Smith Bernard Smith describes in this memoir his life as an RAF officer on the staff of the British Commonwealth Air Force (BCAIR) Headquarters at Iwakuni in 1946. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi










