The Japan Society Review

The March issue of The Japan Society Review opens with close attention to material culture and artistic practice, beginning with Nick Rowan’s Japanese Wine: History, Regions, Wineries (and Cheese).

By Yamazaki Nao-Cola The simultaneous translations of two books by Yamazaki Nao-Cola introduce to English readers a daringly honest portraitist of intense emotion across the peaks and troughs of life. Review by Jemma Rose

By Ogawa Yoko A coming-of-age novel set in 1972 Japan, this novel follows twelve-year-old girl Tomoko as she moves from Tokyo to Ashiya to live with her aunt's affluent family. Review by Rio Julian

By Jose Ando A darkly comic and provocative novel following a mixed-race, openly gay protagonist Jackson as he navigates a world that persistently defines him by his otherness. Review by Hester Mullen

Edited by Yamamura Takayoshi and Philip Seaton In this scholarly yet accessible edited volume, contributors give a comprehensive look at how "contents tourism" - the phenomenon of travel stimulated by narrative media - is reshaping our world. Review by Kiki Luk

By Tom Feiling Travelling from rural villages to vast cities, the author uncovers a distressing transformation. Japan remains prosperous and peaceful, yet fewer people are forming relationships or having children, and the population is shrinking dramatically. Review by Laurence Green

By Angus Lockyer A history of the Japanese archipelago through its material artefacts over fifteen millennia. Review by Laurence Green

Directed by Kei Ishikawa At its core, this is a film about the past we wish we could rewrite, a haunting reflection on memory and post‑war Japan. Review by Mayumi Donovan

By Nick Rowan This book offers a journey through the history, regions, and producers of wine in Japan. Review by Kylie Clark

By Marc Yamada This book provides an indispensable analysis of the world of Murakami cinema, from high-profile works to older, more obscure Murakami adaptations. Review by Thomas Caffrey