This fascinating first-hand account of the impact of the declaration of war by Japan upon Britain in 1941 provides reflections upon the diplomatic and personal situaions of the staff engaged in Anglo-Japanese relations at the time.

Officers from all three services have done stints in post-war Japan as advisers during the Occupation years. Their tasks were to observe the demilitarization of Japan and then to develop contacts with the Self-Defense Forces, and more recently to promote defence sales from British manufacturers. Here a number of previous service attachés recount their experience in Japan. 

Former ambassador John Whitehead's Canterbury address marking the fiftieth anniversary of VJ Day.

Charles Alfred Fisher (1916-82) was an ex-prisoner of war, who played a significant, if forgotten role, in the rise of Japanese Studies.

This essay charts Charles Boxer's (1904-2000) abiding love for Japan throughout the Second World War and his internment as a POW, his position as chair of Portugese studies at London University, and his authorship of The Christian Century in Japan.

This essay details Ernest Bevin's (1881-1951) role in Britain's post war attitudes and policies towards occupied Japan at the start of the Cold War, as Britain strived to remain a global power and public oppinion of Japan remained poor.

Lewis Bush was a POW who had lived in Japan prior to the war. This chapter comprises extracts from his account, The Road to Inamura.

This portrait details the controversial career of the journalist George Gorman (1888-1956) as a propagandist during the inter-war years and beyond, and his complicated and contradictory relationship with both sides of the conflict.

Hisaakira Kanō's (1886-1963) family rode the tide of a rapidly changing Japan, being open to Western ways and modern thinking, but responding in ways that were rooted in his traditional samurai background.

Peter Lowe's Introduction to Part III of British Envoys in Japan: The Post-war Years.

Laurens van der Post was in Japan before the war and had been a Japanese POW in Java. He was commissioned by Hogarth Press to write A Portrait of Japan, published in 1968, and also wrote a number of other books relating to his experiences in Japan.

Major C.A.L. Yate VC (1872-1914) had extensive dealings with Japan, and absorbed much of its culture and in particular the 'warrior spirit' of the country. This portrait traces his time in Japan, and its influence as a possible factor in his suicide to evade recapture during the First World War.

As a prisoner of war, Peter Dean was one of the first westerners to experience Japan after the surrender.

This portrait details Philip Malins' (1919-) military career and key role of  in postwar reconciliation between Britain and Japan.

R.H. Blythe (1898-1964) was not a scholar, but his writing had a profound influence upon the popular British understanding of Zen Buddhism, haiku and the Japanese monarchy.

This portrait charts the career of Ron Duckenfield (1917-2010) throughout the Second World War, as a fighter pilot and as a prisoner-of-war under the Japanese, and subsequently as air attaché to the British Embassy in Tokyo.

This essay considers how the missionary career of Samuel Heaslett (1875-1947) - his experiences and struggles - mirrors the general decline of British influence in Japan.

Robert Scott’s (1905-82) career goes some way to illustrate Japan’s impact on the world in the 20th Century, particularly with regard to British and American foreign policy in South East Asia following the Second World War.

Vere Redman was a notable eccentric, but devoted to Anglo-Japanese relations. This chapter comprises extracts from a talk given by Redman, 'Things I have learned in and From Japan', covering both the pre- and post-war.

This portrait examines the six year internment of businessman Takayuki Eguchi in Pentonville prison during the Second World War.

This essay uses the tragic death of Melville James Cox (1885-1940) in Tokyo to assess the misconduct of the Kempeitai in arresting British citizens during the Second World War.

This essay provides an account and analysis of The Shōwa Emperor's (Hirohito's) visit to Britain in 1970. It marked the first Japanese state visit to Britian, as well as the first time a Japanese emperor had ever made a visit abroad.

This essay details Urushiba Mokuchū's (1889-1953) life and career in Britain as a print artist, including his close collaboration with Frank Brangwyn.

This essay details the role of William Patrick - Britain's appointed judge - in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 1946-48, along with the problems faced by the Tribunal.