The author moved to Japan aged 21, immersing herself in language and culture with such success that she is now a literary translator. Her route there was by no means straightforward; this bo... read more
Had Mrs Gaskell lived in Japan and a century later, she might have written this intimate portrait of four sisters of good family living in Osaka in somewhat straitened circumstances. Their e... read more
Like all well-loved nursery creatures, Teddy has lost one of his button eyes. Surely it's somewhere in the garden? A charming picture book from Japan for ages 4-6.
A handful of stories about five women whose recent experiences of difficult or painful events are leavened by life-enhancing - even life-altering - moments.
The author's father was an American soldier who fell in love with a Japanese girl on the devastated island. This affecting book probes her own complex feeling and the attitudes among which s... read more
A young woman in Tokyo takes a few tentative steps outward after years of isolation. Kawakami's unsettling lyricism and candour about ordinary modern lives have made her one of Japan's most ... read more
An exuberant romp of a thriller: career-driven journalist Rika finds that the best way to secure an interview with a maybe-serial-killer is through her stomach, trying out the rich recipes t... read more
Strange and serene novel from the great Hungarian writer: for centuries the grandson of Prince Genji has been searching for a mythical garden and now wanders the grounds of an ancient Kyoto ... read more
In 1600 Adams was the first English man to step on Japanese shores - one of only nine survivors of a Dutch trading expedition. He became the shogun's advisor and ship builder, and a samurai.... read more
A remarkable work of research and skill, which brings to life Tsunemo, a country priest's daughter who defied conventions when her world was radically changing.
A fascinating introduction to one of the most important Buddhis texts, balanced by Kerr's experiences in Kyoto, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and India. Kerr has spent most of his adult life living... read more
These spirits and their bizarre manifestations are not taken straight from the Japanese but rather from the English collections of the Meiji and Taisho eras, including those of Lafcadio Hear... read more
Set in post-war Japan, this is a Chandleresque tale of murder, political corruption and black marketeering, with a heavy-drinking investigator out on a limb. Familiar tropes perhaps, but in... read more
There is no clear distinction between art, craft and design in Japan. This fascinating book focuses on 25 artisans whose work is intended for every day life.. and is it art?
A splendid guide to over a hundred museums not only in Tokyo but far beyond - in Kyoto, Hokkaido, Okinawa, Shikoku, Kyushu, etc. Includes museums of traditional arts and artist's houses, as... read more
Takes the reader from the earliest written accounts to the present in vivid portraits. The empress Masako is there, and presumably princess Murasaki Shikibu, whose diary is not only fascina... read more
This anthology of Japanese poetry dates from the C10th and became the basis of all later vernacular poetry including haiku. The early literary authors Shikibu and Shonagon drew from it too, ... read more
Shinichi Suzuki was a violinist who became more famous as an educator and philosopher; his ideas of language acquisition revolutionised musical training. He also did much to erode occidental... read more
An account by a London financier of her family in Japan over the last 150 years. The huge changes they have navigated are described with sympathy and careful research.
The Nuremberg Trials had their counterpart in Japan. This is a thorough investigation of that process, and its significance to what happened afterwards in Asia.
To accompany the exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery - a gallery that the first Yoshida visited in the late 1890s. Something of a hall a of mirrors is going on here, as Yoshida, aware of t... read more