Exhibition - Samurai
Structured chronologically, British Museum's exhibition traces how the samurai shaped Japan’s social order, cultural identity, and international presence over nearly a millennium. Review by Vittorio Cimino
Sisters in Yellow
By Kawakami Mieko An epic running to nearly 600 pages in the Japanese original, it's full to the brim with the stuff of life, feeling like a straight shot of hard-edged impact. Review by Laurence Green
At the End of the Matinee
By Hirano Keiichiro There is nothing that will prepare you for the rollercoaster that is At the End of the Matinee.This isn’t just a love story but a testament to fate and how what is meant for you, will undoubtedly reach you. Review by Azmina Sohail
Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Find your own way to inner peace with the wisdom of Japan
By Yoda Hiroko A wise and joyful journey through Japan's spiritual traditions, and how they can help bring us comfort and happiness today. Review by Laurence Green
Summer at Mount Asama
By Matsuie Masashi A group of architects compete to design Tokyo’s new National Library of Modern Literature in a novel that elegantly brings together love, art, and life in the shadow of Mount Asama. Review by Tabitha Carver
Edogawa Ranpo's Mystery Storehouse (vol.2)
By various authors Second volumen of thise anthology of short stories written by authors contemporaries of Japan's master of the macabre, Edogawa Ranpo, who kept a vast book collection in an old storehouse on the grounds of his property in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Review by Shehrazade Zafar-Arif
A Modern Economic History of Japan: Sho Ga Nai (It Is What It Is)
By Russell Jones This book offers a concise and accessible overview of Japan’s economic development from the late nineteenth century to the present, examining both its remarkable growth and subsequent challenges. Review by Sanae Inagaki
The Woman Dies
By Matsuda Aoko Bold, electrifying, and wickedly funny, Matsuda Aoko’s The Woman Dies slices with razor-sharp deftness through the everyday sexism woven into modern Japanese life. Review by Laurence Green
The Devil’s Disciple
By Hamao Shiro With this volume, Hamao can be well and truly added to the pantheon of other classic Japanese crime writers gradually being resurrected from the mists of the past. Review by Laurence Green
Popular Hits of the Showa Era
By Murakami Ryu In Popular Hits of the Showa Era, Murakami Ryu presents to us a bizarre and violent conversation between generation and gender in post-war Japan. Review by Tabitha Carver