Issue 52 (August 2014, Volume 9, Number 4)
In this issue of the Japan Society Review, we focus on five books and a film.
We begin with Murakami’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, another great success from the author focussing on isolation and disconnection.
We then move onto the theme of Japanese and international relations with Sir Hugh Cortazzi’s review of British Courts and Extra-territoriality in Japan, 1859-1899.
Remaining on this subject, we offer a review by Ian Nish of two works centered on China as the site of conflict between Japan and the Allied Nations. Both books provide assessments of Japan’s more aggressive foreign policy before and during the Second World War and address the darker side of Japanese international relations.
Chris Corker moves on to look at Murakami Haruki’s Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. As ever, the question is, can it possibly live up to the hype?
Our final review continues this consideration of social issues in Japan as Mike Sullivan examines Hara Keichii’s animated film, Colorful, as part of a film festival on the theme of ‘youth’. With sumptuous visuals and strong characters, Colorful considers issues of bullying, hikikomori, dysfunctional families and suicide.
Contents
- Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
- British Courts and Extra-territoriality in Japan, 1859-1899
- The Battle for China: Essays on the Military History of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45 and Clash of Empires in South China: The Allied Nations’ Proxy War with Japan, 1935-41
- Sushi Slim
- Colorful
Contributors
Guest Editor
William Cottrell
Managing Editor
Isabel Barne
Special Reviewer
Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Reviewers
Ian Nish, Chris Corker & Mike Sullivan