Roujin Z
Directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo Focusing on the problem of Japan’s ageing population, the film satirically reproduces the mech-orientated glory days of Japanese animation, placing this camp and overblown genre within a serious moral construct. Review by Chris Corker
An interview with Micha Colombo
Susan Meehan interviews Micha Colombo, director of the play 'Woman in the Dunes' Interview by Susan Meehan
To The Kwai – And Back: War Drawings 1939-1945
By Ronald Searle The book tells his story from the fall of Singapore to his survival against the odds and eventual liberation. The text is fairly limited allowing the many finely drawn sketches to tell their own gruesome tale. Review by Sean Curtin
‘The Battle for China’ and ‘Clash of Empires in South China’
By Mark Peattie, Edward Drea & Hans van de Ven (eds); Franco David Macri Apart from expert analyses of the Chinese and Japanese armies in 1937, the studies concentrate mainly on the war in the north and central belt of China, where Chinese industry and population were [...] Reviews by Ian Nish
Snow Falling on Cedars
Directed by Scott Hicks This is a story about the trial of a Japanese American, Kabuo Miyamoto, accused of murdering a white American, Carl Heine, over a land dispute. Review by Michael Sullivan
Rivers
By Miyamoto Teru These three stories – spanning decades but always set in Osaka, each by the side of a river – show the daily struggles of a proletariat population, suffering not only from the squalor of poverty but also suffering [...] Review by Chris Corker
The Railway Man
Directed by Jonathan Teplitzy The Railway Man is a powerful film based on Eric Lomax’s book of the same name, featuring particularly wonderful performances by Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine as, respectively, the young and older Lomax. Review by Susan Meehan
Sushi Slim
By Makiko Sano The book came out in 2013, it is a lovely looking book and a quick flick through reveals many beautiful photos. Before going into the specifics of making sushi, Makiko provides a very thorough explanation of [...] Review by Mike Sullivan
The British Courts and Extra-territoriality in Japan, 1859-1899
By Christopher Roberts In this meticulously researched book, Dr Roberts presents a detailed account of the work of the British courts operating in Japan under the terms of the 1858 Treaty. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Japonisme and the Rise of the Modern Art Movement: The Arts of the Meiji Period
Edited by Gregory Irvine This book is much more than another book on Japonisme in late ninetenth century Europe. Gregory Irvine describes the way in which Japanese art objects reached the west in a chapter headed [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi