The Japan Society Review

The June issue of The Japan Society Review brings together works that explore Japan through history, literature, biography, landscape, and cultural encounters.

By Okazaki Manami This book covers all aspects of Japanese tattooing: its history, its modern practice and the traditions and meanings surrounding this art form, from its origins in the Edo period until the art form we know today. Review by Alex Whiley

Edited by David Desser and Earl Jackson This collection of essays is the first book in English to discuss the work of JApanese filmmaker Kinoshita Keisuke, making it an important step into his wider recognition outside Japan. Review by Electra Pappa

By Pierre Loti The novel at the origin of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in a new English translation. Review by Miki Hosaka-Green

By Kunimoto Namiko This book explores how the legacy of the Japanese Empire continues to shape the modern world, how after echoes of Japanese colonialism have perhaps never truly died away. Review by Laurence Green

By Emily Midorikawa This book is a mystery set in Osaka, where Anna, a naïve English teacher searching for her half-Japanese heritage, is drawn deeper into a world whose very real dangers she does not fully understand after her enigmatic friend Loll disappears. Review by Isabel Mermagen

By Ogawa Ito Set in the quiet town of Kamakura, The Tsubaki Stationery Store follows Poppo and rewards pensiveness with vibrant characters and a homely setting. Review by Rio Julian

Torikaebaya Monogatari is a boundlessly entertaining and surprisingly forward‑thinking Heian‑period novel, remarkable for its intense psychological complexity. Review by Thomas Caffrey

By Christopher Green The book is a collection of seventeen short stories inspired by Green’s experiences in Japan and at other periods of his life. Review by Maxine Stacey

By Muriel Barbery Barbery gives herself full rein to explore the Japanese sensitivity towards nature and in particular, the beauty of Kyoto. Review by Isabel Mermagen