Book Review: ‘Things Remembered and Things Forgotten’ By Kyoko Nakajima

More usually a fan of non-fiction books about Japan it was with some uncertainty that this book was purchased on the back of the author’s reputation alongside a love of Japanese mystery in the vein of Studio Ghibli’s air of other-worldly imagination and incipient magic, and Kwaidan’s and Lafcadio Hearn’s tales of the Japanese supernatural.

An English translation of ‘Meiji Gekidan: Ranpu No Moto Ni Te’ (Talks On Meiji Era Theatre: Under The Lamp) By Okamoto Kidō

Translation was undertaken for Kabuki fans who are unable to read Japanese!

Born October 15^th 1872 to Okamoto Keinosuke (a samurai retainer of the Tokugawa Shōgunate who, after the Meiji Restoration, went to work for the British Legation as an interpreter) Okamoto Kidō is best known outside of Japan for his mystery novel ‘The Curious Casebook of Inspector Hanshichi’. His family were avid Kabuki fans and well-connected in the theatre world. Though Kidō announced his intention at an early age to become a Kabuki playwright as a consequence of his father’s bankruptcy he had to skip University and

Book Review: The Thief By Fuminori Nakamura

Translated by Satoku Izumo and Stephen Coates.

Nishimura is a seasoned pickpocket, weaving through Tokyo’s crowded streets, in search of potential targets. He has no family, no friends, no connections… But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when his old partner-in-crime reappears and offers him a job he can’t refuse. Suddenly, Nishimura finds himself caught in a web so tangled and intricate that even he might not be able to escape.

When seen on the bookshelf the cover of black printed letters on bright yellow jumps out so it’s impossible to miss. The effect it has is perfect, and