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 portrait covers the life and intellectual career of Freda Utley, aetheist, idealist, and writer, particularly as it related to Japan as an emerging power.

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. 

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

Malcolm MacDonald (1901-81) presided over an era of Anglo-Japanese relations during which he was forced to consider Japan's position post Second World War and its impact upon the British Empire. This essay acknowledges his relative ambivelance towards Japan, but also his key role in diplomacy with the country.

Sidney (1859-1947) and Beatrice Webb (1858-1943) were political activists devoted to the labour movement in Britian. Between 1911-1912 they embarked on a world tour, visiting Japan and writing an account of their journey. 

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.