Issue 114 (September 2026, Volume 21, Number 3)

The September issue of The Japan Society Review presents a selection of six reviews that range widely in geography, period and form. Together, they explore how people make sense of the worlds they inhabit through history, architecture, literature, memory and the shifting realities of contemporary urban life.

The issue opens with Nandini Das’s This Little World: A New History of Tudor and Stuart England, a book that re-examines early modern England through the lens of global connections, revealing a society far more entangled with the wider world than traditional narratives suggest. At a different scale, Michaela Nettell’s Encounters with Kazuo Shinohara’s Umbrella House offers a thoughtful meditation on one of post-war Japan’s most influential architectural works, exploring how a modest domestic building continues to inspire reflection on design, space and everyday life.

The enduring legacy of Hiroshima is addressed through two deeply moving works. My Deepest Desire by Hara Tamiki brings readers into the emotional and psychological aftermath of the atomic bombing through the voice of one of Japan’s most important post-war writers. Complementing this literary perspective, Hiroshima, 8:15 by Tanimoto Kiyoshi provides a powerful first-hand account from a survivor whose testimony continues to resonate across generations.

Contemporary Japan is represented by two strikingly original works that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination. Qudan Rie’s Akutagawa Prize-winning Sympathy Tower Tokyo examines technology, language and social change in a near-future metropolis, while Kawamura Genki’s Exit 8, adapted from the acclaimed independent video game, transforms the familiar experience of navigating public spaces into a compelling and unsettling exploration of perception itself.