The Japan Society Review

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki The story is based on a Japanese children’s book written in 1985 by Eiko Kadono and was adapted by the master of animation Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. The English release [...] Review by Lucy Searles

By Lesley Downer This book centres on the story of Saigo Takamori, one of the most romanticised and pivotall samurai of the 19th century, who also provided a model for [...] Review by Christopher Searle

This was an absolutely brilliant evening of uplifting music, verse and spectacle to mark four centuries since the UK and Japan initiated official ties. Review by Sean Curtin

By Shiba Ryōtarō This book, considered to be the author's most popular work, centres on the lives of two brothers, Akiyama Yoshifuru and Akiyama Saneyuki, and their friend, the poet [...] Review by Mark Headley

By Haruki Murakami On her way to kill a man in a Shibuya hotel, Aomame is forced to take a shortcut from the bridge, climbing down a ladder. After the man is dead, Aomame begins to notice subtle differences [...] Review by Chris Corker

By Frederik l. Schodt The author, who has written other books about popular Japanese culture, gives a colourful account of the life and travels of Richard Risley Carlisle, who [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Yamaguchi Yoshiko The dramatic life the author describes in this memoir illustrates the fate of a beautiful and talented girl who grew up in Manchuria when Japan established a puppet state there in 1932. Review by Fumiko Halloran

Edited by Ruth Taplin and Sandra J. Lawman This impressive multi-authored work comprehensively examines the current state of the mental health system in Japan. It furnishes an excellent overview of [...] Review by Sean Curtin

Directed by Akio Kondo The film is based on the autobiographical book written by Shigeru Nishimura in 1975, telling the story of an orphaned boy sent to [...] Review by Mike Sullivan

By Shinya Tsukamoto; Sang-il Lee; Hirokazu Kore-eda. This year, The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is showing (among others) three films of the ‘Kaidan Horror Classics.’ All three are based on [...] Review by Lucy Searles