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Iain Maloney
For Iain Maloney's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Dec 14, 2019
'Zen in Japanese Culture': An astute explainer of Japan's spiritual aesthetics
With 'Zen in Japanese Culture,' Gavin Blair deftly sidesteps superficial how-tos and Orientalism to deliver a in-depth explainer that leaves readers wanting to dig even deeper.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 7, 2019
'Japan's Infamous Unit 731': Testament to the very worst of human experimentation
The recent reprint of Hal Gold's book, 'Japan's Infamous Unit 731,' keeps alive the memory of human rights atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Nov 30, 2019
'Kojiki: The Birth of Japan': Picture this, a nation's creation myth
Artist Kazumi Wilds retells Japan's creation myth, the 'Kojiki,' through vivid and accessible illustrations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2019
'Family': Masahisa Fukase's portrait parodies detail the decline of a Japanese clan
Masahisa Fukase's 'Family,' reissued with essays by Fukase himself and Tomo Kosuga, turns the idea of the family portrait on its head, simultaneously reinvigorating and ridiculing it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Oct 6, 2019
'The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks': A compendium of Japan's alcohol traditions
Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting's 'The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks' is a beautiful, carefully put together coffee-table book full of insights, anecdotes and thirst-inducing pictures of Japan's various alcohols.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Sep 21, 2019
'The Swords of Silence': Hidden Christians, vengeful daimyo and a few miracles thrown in
Set in the early 17th century, 'The Swords of Silence' focuses on the plight of Japan's hidden Christians and the closing of Japan to foreign trade and relations — with a fantasy twist.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 6, 2019
Hot new Japan book releases for the sweltering summer
Time travel, yakuza, street photography and more feature in the best upcoming J-Lit releases for this summer (and beyond).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jul 6, 2019
'Inhabitation': A boy and a lizard, both down on their luck
Set in 1970s Osaka, 'Inhabitation' is a surrealist, symbolic novel about one man's attempt to run from his past and build his own future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jun 22, 2019
'Backlight': All alone in the wilds of Hokkaido
Based on a real-life incident in which a 7-year-old boy was abandoned in the woods by his parents, 'Backlight' examines the search and rescue operation through a philosophical lens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Apr 6, 2019
'Falling From the Floating World' review: A fast-paced underworld thriller with a twist or two
Readers who like their yakuza with a dash of morality, lead characters out of their depths and their cops dumb and bent will find much to enjoy in Nick Hurst's thriller, 'Falling From the Floating World.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Mar 30, 2019
Kyoko Nakajima's 'The Little House': Secrets hiding secrets, and much left unsaid
Kyoko Nakajima's 'The Little House' is the story of how generations in Japan talk — or don't talk — to each other, and their inability to connect across eras.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 26, 2019
'Murder in the Crooked House': Behind the mask of a classic Japanese murder mystery
Japanese-English translator Louise Heal Kawai reveals the challenges of sourcing translation commissions and how one text — Soji Shimada's 'Murder in the Crooked House' — was more intellectually rewarding than she initially assumed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 1, 2019
Japan's most exciting book releases in 2019
2019's impressive lineup of books on Japan, include classic reprints, new fiction and studies of the nation's international relations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Oct 6, 2018
'When I Was a Wolf': Western fairy tales reinterpreted, for better or for worse
Shuji Terayama's 'When I Was a Wolf' is a collection of essays that reappraise Western fairy tales, fables and literature and flips them head over heels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Sep 22, 2018
There's a story for every taste in 'Speculative Japan 4'
'Speculative Japan 4' is the latest in Kumamoto-based Kurodahan Press' mission to bring the best of Japanese science fiction and fantasy to the English-speaking world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Sep 1, 2018
'Isako Isako': No punches pulled when confronting internment
Mia Ayumi Malhotra's collection of poetry, 'Isako Isako,' is a carefully controlled whirlwind of ideas and impressions that reminds us that the scars laid down today will still be visible generations from now
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 21, 2018
Lifetime devoted to haiku nets Scottish poet prestigious honor
Haiku poet and novelist Alan Spence was honored with an Order of the Rising Sun for 'contributions to developing haiku poetry in the United Kingdom and promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 2, 2018
'Japanese Whisky' puts the ambrosial spirit in its place
In his new book, Brian Ashcraft explores the phenomenal success of Japanese whisky and what has led it to becoming the world's most desirable spirit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
May 26, 2018
'Cult X': The Fuminori Nakamura novel we've been waiting for
'Cult X' is a fast-paced thriller that shows off Nakamura's ability to explore the lives of those on the fringes of Japanese society at its best.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
May 19, 2018
Hideo Yokoyama's 'Seventeen': A plane crash, a newsroom, an all-engrossing thriller
Based on the author's own experiences as an investigative reporter at a local paper in Gunma Prefecture, 'Seventeen' uses the 1985 crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 as the catalyst for a gripping newsroom drama.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces