This portrait looks at doyen historian Arnold Toynbee's (1889-1975) cult status in Japan, detailing his three visits to the country.

The subject of this essay is Basil William Robinson, who became an expert on Japanese swords and helped to inspire interest in the Japanese sword and associated art and crafts.

Bertrand Russell had a brief but complicated relationship with Japan. This account provides a chronology of his visit as well as the Japanese reaction to his ideas and character.

This essay details the contribution of Frank Daniels (1900-83) towards teaching Japanese during the Second World War, and also his role in establishing a major centre for Japanese Studies at SOAS.

Scottish Doctor who lived in Japan treating Ainu communities. An amateur archaeologist and anthropologist who discovered evidence of the prehistoric people of Japan.

This portrait offers an intimate account of the life of the remarkably private Ivan Morris (1925-77) - scholar, teacher, writer and translator.

Kenneth Gardner (1924-95) held senior posts in the British Museum and British Library, and was instrumental in these posts in promoting Japanese culture and Anglo-Japanese relations. This essay charts his career and significance within his field and beyond, including his war service as part of Translators V.

This portrait details the life and career of scholar Louis Allen (1922-91), especially his wartime service and postwar reconciliation efforts.

This essay recounts Marcus Bourne Huish's (1843-1921) important role in the development of Anglo-Japanese relations, especially through his efforts to introduce Japanese art to British people.

This essay explores their relationship between Richard Storry - one of Britain's leading historians of Japan - and leading Japanese intellectual Marumaya Masao (1914-96), both of whom pioneered analysis of the Pacific War's implications for Japan. 

This essay considers the remarkable scholarly career of the brilliant but eccentric polymath Minakata Kumagusu (1867-1941), an expert in natural history, folklore and classicism, as well as an assessment of the significance of his time in London to his work.

This portrait considers historian Mutō Chōzō's (1881-1942) life and his pioneering work A Brief History of Anglo-Japanese Relations, the first of such works.

Ōtsuka Hisao (1907-1996) was a pioneering scholar of Western economic and political history and a celebrated intellectual in post-war Japan.

This essay recounts the scholarly career of Peter Lowe (1941-2012) in the field of Japanese history as it relates to Anglo-Japanese relations.

A portrait of Richard Storry's (1913-82) life-long affair with Japan as a teacher, writer and researcher.

Sir Edward James Reed (1830-1906) was a leading naval architect who built ships for the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Meiji period and became an advocate for treaty revision, clashing with Sir Harry Parkes. This essay details his illustrious but flawed career and role in Anglo-Japanese relations.

Sir Francis Ottiwell Adams (1826-89) was Secretary of the Legation in Edo from 1868 to 1872. This essay shows how his career in the legation was an important one in the history of modern Japan, having occurred at a time of much social upheaval.

This profile considers equally Sir George Sansom's (1883-1965) career as a diplomat, in which he pioneered the serious study of the Japanese economy, and historian. 

This profile considers equally Sir George Sansom's (1883-1965) career as a diplomat, scholar and historian. 

This chapter assesses the life of William George Aston (1841-1911), a diplomat and prominent scholar of Japan. Though Aston remains somewhat of a shadowy figure due to the lack of knowledge of his private life, this appraisal details how his scholarly works in the fields of linguistics and religion have stood the test of time.

This profile details William George Aston's (1841-1911) career in the consular service and his scholarly achievments as a writer of Japanese language learning books. 

William Beasley (1919-2006) was a pioneer in introducing Japanese history into British academic circles as a teacher, researcher and author. This essay recounts his career in academia.

The politically active part of Sir Winston Churchill's (1874-1965) life almost coincided with the emergence, decline and rebirth of modern Japan. This essay details Churchill's part in Anglo-Japanese relations both pre and post Second World War.

Dr. Wolf Mendl (1926-1999) was one of a small number of British academics focussed upon the history of regional conflict in East Asia, with a particular interest in China-Japan relations during the Cold War. This portrait looks at the impact of his time in Japan on his personal life and scholarly career.