Books / Reviews Nov 28, 2020

‘Tokyo Before Tokyo’: A guided tour through Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Edo

Timon Screech details how Tokyo, formerly known as Edo, developed from a backwater town to the seat of a warlord and, eventually, Japan’s modern capital.

Books Aug 29, 2020

The books that explain Japan's path to war in the Pacific and its denouement

Ronald H. Spector, S.C.M. Paine and Eri Hotta's texts on Japan's involvement in Asia help to understand the origins of the war.

Books / Reviews Jun 27, 2020

'The Art of Persistence': Toshiko Akamatsu and the ghosts she couldn't forget

Artist Toshiko Akamatsu's depiction of the horrors of World War II earned her renown, but it was her earlier work that came back to haunt her.

Books / Reviews Jun 20, 2020

‘Agents of World Renewal’: More than you need to know about short-lived deities

If you’re curious about “world-renewing” gods, Takashi Miura’s “Agents of World Renewal: The Rise of Yonaoshi Gods in Japan” has you covered.

Books May 16, 2020

‘The Tatar Whirlwind’: A regional romp of pirates and princesses

The 17th century provided boundless material for the setting of Ryotaro Shiba’s final novel, “The Tatar Whirlwind.”

Books Apr 25, 2020

'The Dutch East India Company in Early Modern Japan': Water buffaloes, cassowaries and Arabian horses

From exotic animals to spectacles and chandeliers, Michael Laver’s “The Dutch East India Company in Early Modern Japan” shows how well-placed gifts were essential in opening up Japan to early European traders.

Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Feb 22, 2020

'The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction': A literary classic's outsize impact on Japan

In "The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction," William C. Helberg delves into Japan's fascination with "The Water Margin," and how its influence spread beyond the confines of pure literature.

Art Feb 3, 2020

The battle of ukiyo-e: Hokusai vs. his pupils

Refusing to be bound by tradition or convention, Hokusai bent rules and sought inspiration from all corners — but how did such audacity influence his own students and followers?

Books Jan 11, 2020

'Japanese Woodblock Prints': Mass entertainment began with the humble woodblock

"Japanese Woodblock Prints" exhibits classic ukiyo-e artwork in near-original size, allowing readers to examine them in all their splendid detail. Its 200 reproductions embrace the entire history of the genre and also cover the new print movements of the early 20th century.

Art Nov 18, 2019

Japan's Showa flash flood of photography

The National Gallery of Canada showcases Showa Era (1926-89) photographers, whose documentation and interpretation of politics, culture, social issues and even the quotidian changed the face of modern photography in Japan.