Youtube Discord
UNSEEN JAPAN

Book Reviews

Black Box, Ito Shiori's memoir

Review: “Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement”

Ito Shiori's arresting memoir, Black Box, has been credited with starting #metoo in Japan. Now her seminal book has a superlative new English translation.
The cover for Winifred Bird's Eating Wild Japan

Food from the Wild, Food for Thought: “Eating Wild Japan”

Winifred Bird's Eating Wild Japan is an in-depth, humanistic, and fascinating journey across the wilds of the country in search of foraging.
The cover of Chelsea Szendi Schieder's Coed Revolution.

Review: Coed Revolution: The Female Student in the Japanese New Left

Chelsea Szendi Schieder's new book deftly and fascinatingly reframes the history of Japan's New Left around the women who contributed so much to it.

Miyazaki Goro’s New Biography Sheds Light on Ghibli’s Successor

The son of Studio Ghibli's famous founder talks in a new book about the strange path he took to directing - and about his often strained relationship with his father.
TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 27: Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo members wearing their guru Shoko Asahara's masks parade on January 27, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan.

Underground: The Cult of Aum Shinrikyo

Author Murakami Haruki asked members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult what made them devote themselves to the group. Here are their answers.
Subway illustration

Underground: The Stories of Japan’s Sarin Attack Victims

How the Murakami Haruki book UNDERGROUND captured the impact of the Tokyo sarin subway attack on survivors.
Juban - shochu bar in New York City

Japanese Alcoholic Drinks: The Complete Guide

There's so much more to Japanese alcoholic drinks than sake and whisky. And this book gives a complete guided tour.

Before You Go...

Let’s stay in touch. Get our free newsletter to get a weekly update on our best stories (all human-generated, we promise). You’ll also help keep UJ independent of Google and the social media giants.

Want a preview? Read our archives.

Read our privacy policy