Issue 97 (February 2022, Volume 17, Number 1)

This issue of The Japan Society Review marks the opening of an exciting new year of Japan-related books, films and events. In 2022 this publication will reach a landmark 100 issues, an inspiring moment in our ongoing mission to celebrate the vibrancy and variety of Japanese culture, history, politics and much more. As we advance toward that milestone, this issue also brings together a interesting selection of reviews focusing on Japanese art, gardens, literature and cinema.

The first review discusses the catalogue of an exhibition on Japanese Buddhist art hosted by the Newark Museum in 2019-2020. Beyond Zen: Japanese Buddhism Revealed offers a fascinating visual history of this rich artistic tradition from the Edo period to the present day.

Following this art review, we feature an overview of the publication Of Arcs and Circles: Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art written by landscape architect and artist Marc Peter Keane. In this collection of personal essays, Keane explores topics such as modern Japan’s approach to architecture, the history of torii gates and the traditional methods of making charcoal.

This issue also includes reviews of two fiction books recently published in English, The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Imamura Natsuko and Fish Swimming In Dappled Sunlight by Onda Riku. The first one offers an original take on working-women, social alienation, and sexual violence in contemporary Japan. The latter is a psychological thriller/murder mystery novel, in the style of Onda’s previously translated work The Aosawa Murders.

The last review of this issue is dedicated to the film 37 Seconds written and directed by Hikari and currently available to watch in Netflix UK. A sensitive exploration of the reality of being disabled, the film presents a coming-of-age story focusing on Yuma, a woman with cerebral palsy and her quest to become more independent.

Contents

• Beyond Zen: Japanese Buddhism Revealed edited by Katherine Anne Paul
  
  
• Of Arcs and Circles: Insights from Japan on Gardens, Nature, and Art by Marc Peter Keane
  
  
• The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Imamura Natsuko
  
  
• Fish Swimming In Dappled Sunlight by Onda Riku
  
  
• 37 Seconds written and directed by Hikari

Contributors