Aesthetics
- Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
- Carmen Blacker (1924-2009) and the Study of Japanese Religion
- David Lean (1908-1991)
- Haiku in the British Isles: A Tale of Acceptance and Non-Acceptance
- Herbert George Ponting, 1870-1935: Photographer, Explorer, Inventor
- Honma Hisao (1886-1981): Expert on Oscar Wilde
- James Cousins (1873-1956): Rumours of the Infinite
- James Summers, 1828-91: Early Sinologist and Pioneer of Japanese Newspapers in London and English Literature in Japan
- Japanese Tatooists and the British Royal Family during the Meiji Period
- Lafcadio Hearn, 1850-1904
- Ninagawa Yukio (b. 1935)
- Nishiwaki JunzaburÅ, 1894-1982: A Self-made Englishman
- Robert Nichols, 1893-1944: Poet in Japan, 1921-24
- Shimamura HÅgetsu (1871-1918): Pioneer of Shingeki (Western-style Theatre) in Japan
- Tatsuno Kingo (1854-1919): 'A Leading Architect' of the Meiji Era
- The Mingei Movement and Bernard Leach (1887-1976)
- The Toils of KÅri Torahiko (1890-1924): A Very Brief Life
- Wells Coates (1895-1958): Modernist Japonisme
- Yoshio Markino, 1869-1956
Author: James, Jason
The composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was only in Japan for twelve days, in 1956, but his exposure to Japanese culture had a powerful impact on his music, resulting in his opera Curlew River.
Author: Kornicki, Peter
Carmen Blacker (1924-2009) became one of Britain's most original and perceptive scholars of Japan, and this account charts the development of her love for the country and the impact this had upon her choice and pursuit of a career in academia.
Author: Norimasa Morita
This essay details David Lean's interactions with Japan as a filmmaker through his two film projects The Wind Cannot Read and The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Author: Cobb, David
This portrait charts the varied history of the acceptance and adoption of the Japanese poetic form Haiku into British culture.
Author: Bennett, Terry
This essay considers the photographic career of 'camera artist' Henry George Ponting (1870-1935), arguably the best British photographer to have worked in Japan, especially as it relates to his photographs of Mt. Fuji and other places and people in Japan.
Author: Hirata Yoko
This essay charts the literary and translation efforts of Honma Hisao (1886-1981), particularly in regard to Oscar Wilde; how he looked outward at English literature, inward at Meiji era literature and then combined the two in the comparative study of world literature.
Author: Burleigh, David
This potrait of poet and playwrite James Cousins (1873-1956) considers his little known, but nonetheless well-documented, visit to Japan.
Author: Koyama Noburu
This portrait discusses James Summers' (1828-91) contributions to the teaching of English Literature in Japan, along with a discussion of his work in relation to the Taisei Shimbun - one of the first Japanese language newspapers published outside of Japan.
Author: Koyama Noboru
This essay provides an account of Japanese tattooists interactions with the British Royal Family during the Meiji period.
Author: Murray, Paul
The outstanding Western interpreter of Meiji Japan, Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), provides the subject for this portrait; his time in America, Japan, and his relationships to his contemporaries.
Author: Gallimore, Daniel
Along with Murakami Haruki, Ninagawa Yukio (1935) is perhaps the most famous of Japanese cultural figures in Britain. This portrait examines Ninagawa's international career as a director and in particular his staging of Shakespeare.
Author: Norimasa Morita
This essay provides an account of how Nishiwaki JunzaburÅ's (1894-1982) poems and writings on modernist and surrealist poetry transformed the poetic landscape in Japan.
Author: Hughes, George
The poet Robert Nichols (1893-1944) provides an example of extreme culture shock suffered by a British visitor to Japan, and this portrait charts his poetic career and interactions with Japan as a foreign teacher at Tokyo University.
Author: Norimasa Morita
Following a period of study in Britain and Germany, Shimamura HÅgetsu (1871-1918) pioneered the introduction of Western drama and theatre (shingeki) to Japan. This essay details his srtuggles and successes.
Author: Ruxton, Ian
Tatsuno Kingo (1854-1919) was arguably the leading Japanese architect of his day, and master-minded much of the Western-style architecture of Meiji Japan. This essay examines his general architectural career, as well as his dealings with Britain and its influence upon his work.
Author: Cortazzi, Hugh
This essay considers the friendship between Bernard Leach and Yanagi SÅetsu (1889-1961), as well as their relationship to the Minegi movement.
Author: Norimasa Morita
In his brief life and literary career KÅri Torahiko (1890-1924) had many dealings with Britain and its literary scene. This portrait charts his interactions as a Japanese writer with the culture of Britain and its literature.
Author: Basham, Anna
Wells Coates (1895-1958) was an eminent figure in the British Modern Movement, and an avant-garde architect-designer who made frequent reference to his upbringing in Japan.
Author: Blacker, Carmen
Yoshio Markino (1869-1956), artist, philosopher, writer and anglophile, lived in London for most of his life.