The Japan Society Review
Book, Stage, Movie, Arts and Events Review

Editor: Sean Curtin
Managing Editor: John Toppon...........................................................................................................................

Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

In our final issue of 2008, you will find a selectionof book and film reviews. We also offer our firstJapanese language DVD review, which we hope will
become a regular feature. Simon Cotterill looks at
the cult 2004 film “Kamikaze Girls” (下妻物語) whichis due to be released on DVD in January 2009. As
in previous years we also have a selection of film
reviews from the immensely popular “Premiere
Japan” event held annually at BAFTA. Susan Meehangives us her take on several of the movies including“After School” (アフタースクール) and “Fine, TotallyFine” (全然大丈夫). As the 150th anniversary yearof Anglo-Japanese diplomatic ties draws to a close
Sir Hugh Cortazzi reviews a recent study analyzing
their genesis. Suzanne Perrin examines a fascinating
new work on the evolving place of the tea room incontemporary Japanese architecture. Not forgetting
our parent-readers looking for that elusive gift, Anna
Davis appraises “Origami for Children.” Finally, a very
big thank to all our reviewers, readers and the Japan
Society team for their support in 2008.
Sean Curtin

Contents(1) Escape from Impasse: The Decision to Open Japan(2) After School(3) Fine, Totally Fine (two reviews)(4) Tokyo Sonata(5) Kamikaze Girls(6) Origami for Children(7) New Zen: the tea-ceremony room in modern Japanesearchitecture(8) Intellectual Property and the New Japanese Global Economy
New reviewswww.japansociety.org.uk/reviews.html
Archive
http://www.japansociety.org.uk/reviews_archive.html

We are grateful to our regular reviewers:
Sir Hugh Cortazzi
Fumiko Halloran
Takahiro Miyao
Ben-Ami Shillony
Mikihiro Maeda
Ian NishAnna Davis
Susan Meehan
William Farr
Tomohiko Taniguchi
Simon Cotterill......................................................................................................................................................................................................

Escape from Impasse:
The Decision to OpenJapan
by Mitani Hiroshi,translated by David
Noble

treaties, which unlike the earlier treaties focussed on
trade and diplomatic relations.

This book is a valuable addition to the literature in
English about the steps leading up to the treaties of1858 which opened the way to the establishment of
diplomatic and trade relations between Japan andthe Western powers. It is also timely, as we celebrate
this year the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Yedo,
concluded for Britain by Lord Elgin on 26 August 1858.

Professor Mitani begins with a discussion of the foreign
policy of the Tokugawa regime in the 17th and 18th
centuries. He points out that the term sakoku (which
may be roughly translated as “closed country”) dates
from as late as 1801 when it was used in a translation
into Japanese of an essay by Engelbert Kaempfer who
had served as physician to the Dutch in Deshima in
the late seventeenth century. “Consciously distancing
Japan from the West seemed the most desirable way
to maintain peace for Japan.” The concept of ‘sonnō jōi’(which may be translated as “revere the emperor andexpel the barbarians”) became part of the philosophyof sakoku. In this context Mitani notes that Koga Tōan,a Confucian scholar, considered that Japan had noneed any longer to fear the “diabolical religion” of theWest as loyalty to the sovereign had become so deeply
inculcated among the samurai and common people.
Koga and some others like him even contemplated
Japanese overseas expansion.

Professor Mitani’s work, like Professor McOmie’s ‘The
Opening of Japan, 1853-55’, also published in 2006,
concentrates more on the negotiations which prized
open the door to Tokugawa Japan, than on the 1858

Mitani points out that the volume of Japan’s foreign
trade in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
gradually sank, while interest in what was happening in
the West grew. Matsudaira Sadanobu who became theInternational House ofJapan, 2006, 356 pages
including notes and index.
Hardcover ￥3000
ISBN 13: 978-4-903452-06-7
Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

dominant force in the Shogunate in 1787, for instance,“recognized no value in foreign trade other than theimportation of books and medicines.” However theappearance of Russians around Ezo (now Hokkaido)
made Japanese increasingly aware of the need formilitary preparedness in the face of the potential
foreign threat and of the increasing numbers ofwhaling vessels, many of them British, which resulted
in the landing on Japanese soil of foreign sailors. Thesedevelopments led to the issue of an order to repel
foreign ships. But Bakufu officials, such as Mizuno
Tadaakira, who became responsible for finance in
1818, wanted to reduce the burden on the daimyo of
responsibility for Japan’s coastal defence and Japanese
defences were accordingly neglected.
The Opium War of 1839-42, however, ensured thatstrengthening Japan’s defences became a major issue.
Coastal defence surveys were made, but the costs werehigh and after leadership changes in 1843 the majorityof the plans to strengthen coastal fortifications wereabandoned.
Japan needed intelligence about western intentions
and looked to the Dutch as a main source. But theyrejected the Dutch advice to develop more flexible
policies towards foreign ships. As Mitani comments(page 54): “Viewed in hindsight, the advice given by
the Dutch was reasonable and honest. The subsequent
forced opening of the country as a result of Perry’s
military threat gave birth to a profound sense of national
humiliation that became one of the fundamental
factors in the collapse of Tokugawa authority.”

any major confrontation because Perry’s primaryconcerns were, in Mitani’s view, to draw Japan into
communication with the Western powers “and toensure that the glory of that achievement should beenjoyed by the United States and himself.” To achieve
this he was ready to give up the demands which hehad made for the opening of commercial relations.
Like the British Admiral Stirling at Nagasaki he was notreally interested in trade.
The really difficult negotiations about opening
Japanese ports to trade were those in 1858 with
Townsend Harris, the American representative, over the
US-Japan treaty of amity and commerce. The demand
for the opening of the ports of Osaka and Hyogo wasa particularly difficult one for the Japanese negotiators
as they were so close to Kyoto, the ancient capital.
Mitani asks why the Japanese negotiators, knowing thestrong imperial opposition to such a concession which
they had decided to make, “took the unprecedented
step of appealing for imperial authorization of theiractions”?

Premiere Japan 2008 at BAFTA
26-28 September 2008

The Bakufu were divided between those argued forincreased coastal defences in the interest of sakoku,
even if it meant war with Western powers, and those
who thought that Japan should give first priority to
avoiding conflict. No consensus between these twoviews could be found.
In 1854 when a decision had to be made on a responseto the American demands made by Commodore
Perry the majority opinion within the Tokugawa
government appears to have favoured rejecting theAmerican demands but in view of the inadequacyof Japan’s defences, to try to delay any answer.
The Bakufu undermined its own authority whenin preparing for Perry’s return in 1854 they took theunprecedented action of informing all higher officials
and all of the daimyo of the contents of the American
letters and seeking consultations on them. Tokugawa
Nariaki who led the hard line faction advocated ageneral proclamation mobilizing the nation for war
while working for a peaceful resolution with theforeign powers. This stance came to be termed ‘naisen
gaiwa’.
In the event the Japanese in 1854 were able to avoid2

After School (アフタースクール)
directed by Kenji Uchida2007, 102 minutes
Review by Susan Meehan
For the fourth consecutive year, the Embassy of Japan
organised a superb festival of new Japanese films at
the very swanky and welcoming BAFTA premises over
the weekend of 26-28 September 2008. Guided by theexpert hands of Tony Rayns and Alexander Jacoby, thechoice of new releases was extremely good.
The eagerly awaited “After School” (2008), Kenji
Uchida’s first film in three years, reveals his talent
as a screenwriter as well as director. Its UK premiere
was held at BAFTA on Friday 26 September and was
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

preceded by a friendly chat between Dr Rayna Denison,lecturer in film and television studies at the Universityof East Anglia, and Uchida, who had flown over fromJapan especially for the event. This was Uchida’s first
visit to the UK.
Uchida, it turns out, is a great fan of the Beatles andof Charlie Chaplin. He particularly admires the way
Chaplin made films for people to enjoy. Making fun,enjoyable films is central to Uchida’s filmmaking andin fact his second feature, “Unmei Ja Nai Hito” or “A
Stranger of Mine,” which picked up four prizes atthe 2005 Cannes Festival, is sometimes described asentertainment not art.
Uchida wasn’t prepared to disclose much before thescreening of “After School,” limiting himself to warning
the audience that the mind-bending film might lose
them at times and suggesting that it is probably better
viewed a second time.
The film starts off by introducing us to Kimura(Masato Sakai) and Miki (Takako Tokiwa), childhood
sweethearts, and their good friend and neighbour, Jinno(Yo Oizumi), a former classmate and now a teacher attheir alma mater. While Kimura is the quintessential wellgroomed salaryman of few words, Miki is the attractive
doting wife and Jinno, an engaging tracksuit-clad
teacher. Borrowing Jinno’s car to drive to work, Kimuraasks the instantly likeable Jinno to keep an eye on theheavily pregnant Miki.

Things start to unravel when Kimura fails to returnhome. One of his superiors at work, in possession of an
incriminating photograph of Kimura with a pretty girl,hires Kitazawa, a morose and seedy detective, to findhim. Hoping to find clues at Kimura’s old school Kitazawa
visits Nishi Morisawa High School claiming to be Kimura’sclassmate. Before long, the affable and curly-haired Jinno
becomes embroiled in Kitazawa’s hunt for Kimura.
Kitazawa begins to suspect that Kimura is involved withthe yakuza and a bar hostess by the name of Ayumi, but
Jinno resolutely remains loyal to his childhood friend,
refusing to believe that he is guilty of any duplicity.
The complex caper continues to absorb and puzzle theaudience until all is revealed and the loose ends tied up.
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

The audience was then privileged to a Q&A session
with Kenji Uchida and Rayna Denison, who expertly
enticed Uchida to comment on the central concepts
and premises of his film.
‘Information’ is central to Uchida’s films, topical in anage when most of us are suffering from a surfeit of it.
Uchida is evidently bothered by the fact that people
have their prejudices and tend to jump to conclusions
and pigeonhole individuals with the limited information
they may have about them. “After School” masterfully
illustrates how we fall into this trap. All that needs tobe said is that nothing is what it first appears to be.
Romance is also key to Uchida’s films. In fact, he always
feels that he is working on a love story, though heexpresses it within a complicated plot.
Denison remarked on the lack of nostalgia andglamourisation of Japan in his films to which Uchidaresponded by saying that having lived abroad for four
years (he studied at film school in San Francisco), hebegan to see Japan with foreign eyes and wanted toshow Japan and Tokyo as they are, the reality beingthat Tokyo is rather dirty.
Noticeably reluctant at having to conclude herinterview with Uchida, Denison threw questions
open to the audience and I asked about his interestin Charlie Chaplin. Uchida said that he had seen eachone of Chaplin’s films, apart from his short films, tentimes over and that his favourite film is “The Kid.” Sogenuine is his enthusiasm for Chaplin, in fact, that
he was delighted to recount that he had once dated
someone who shares Chaplin’s birthday.
I was very lucky to have had a couple of minutes with
Uchida at the end of the Q&A. I began by asking whatsort of student he’d been. He said that he had enjoyedschool, been a good student and had particularly liked
football; in fact he appears to be an avid football fan
as he admitted that he would spend the main part ofhis last three days in London watching Premier League
games. I couldn’t draw him into naming his favourite
team. Next, I commented on the quality of the cast in“After School” and wondered whether he would use
3them in another film. Uchida didn’t rule this out, but
said he had no such plans and would hold auditions
for his next film, as normal. Before he rushed off to
his waiting car, I managed to encourage him to visit
Kennington and East Street Market, Charlie Chaplin’s
old haunts.

is less of a dreamer. A handsome and gentle man, heworks in administration at a hospital, where he is blindto the fact he is the centre of female attention. In his
spare time Hisanobu helps Teruo create booby-traps
and practice foolish ‘horror’ stunts, some of which fail,some of which succeed – all of which are hilarious.

My only regret – that I didn’t get to see the film twiceover the weekend.

Hisanobu is the kind of nice guy who can’t say ‘no’,and one day he finds himself employing the clumsy,
accident-prone Akari (Yoshino Kimura) as a cleaner
at the hospital, despite the fact she arrives at the job
interview bleeding and wearing torn clothes. Akari
is a misfit painter, who seems uncomfortable in her
own skin and has an odd fascination with a homelesswoman. But despite her clear inability to do her hospitaljob, she manages to lure the romantic curiosity of
Hisanobu, and later, once she has left her cleaning job
and started work at the second hand bookshop, Teruo
also decides that he is in love with her.

Fine, Totally Fine (全然大丈夫)
directed by Yosuke Fujita
2008, 110 minutes
Review by Simon Cotterill
Opportunities to see Japanese films at the cinema are
pretty few and far between in the UK, and when the
chance does come around it normally means watchinga samurai, yakuza, or horror movie. British cinema
audiences associate Japan (and often the rest of the
Far East) with wandering swordsmen, lonely gangsters,
and scenes of Battle Royal/ Audition-like gore. To theoutside world, modern Japanese cinema is a cinema
of individuals and violence. But in reality Japanesecinema is much more than that and, thankfully, now
London cinema-goers are getting more of a chance todiscover this for themselves.

Besides its screening on Sunday 28th September at
BAFTA “Fine, Totally, Fine” (‘Zen, Zen Daijoubu’) was
also shown from 14th November at the Institute ofContemporary Arts. It’s a brilliantly subtle comedy
which centres upon a quirky bunch of eccentriccharacters, the likes of which many UK viewers won’t
have seen in a Japanese film before.
Teruo, a baby faced thirty-something played by
Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, lives above a second handbookshop with his despondent father. His father, whoowns the shop seems to have given up on life sincelosing his wife, while Teruo, a part-time tree cutter,
dreams of opening the world’s best, haunted theme
park. Teruo’s best friend Hisanobu (Yoshinori Okada)4

The love triangle between best friends Teruo and
Hisanobu, and Akari is an unusual, lazy one. No one isreally aware of the others’ feelings, and no one reallyseems ready to act on their own. But as this lovetriangle gently moves towards its conclusion, it has
its audience constantly gripped by scenes which aretender, realistic, very funny and very memorable.
Yoshiyoshi Arakawa’s performance is a work of comic
genius. An actor who looks like a twelve year-old
trapped in a thirty year-old’s body, Arakawa doesn’t
rely on his unusual, cartoon-like appearance forlaughs. He plays Teruo as a real human being who isstruggling with adulthood and is beginning to realise
he must turn his childhood dreams into a reality, or risk
losing his self-respect. Throughout the film Arakawa
deftly draws laughter with a subtle delivery of greatlines and expressions that often show an indifference
to the world.
Yoshino Kimura, a popular actress and singer, who
was born in London, gives an equally compelling
performance as Akari. Despite her awkward appearance
and her clumsiness Akari is longed for by men. She isfascinated by other people, but uncomfortable being
given attention. Kimura manages to balance thesecontradictions perfectly and slowly draws the audience
into Akari’s unusual world.
“Fine, Totally Fine” is the debut film by writer-director
Yosuke Fujita, a wonderful new talent, who used towork as a hospital caretaker! Fujita won the Japan Film
Angel Prize for his screenplay, and the movie has also
won an audience award in New York and the Nippon
Connection award in Germany.
After its run at ICA, “Fine, Totally Fine” will be releasedon DVD in the UK. But I suggest anyone of you who has
the time should get down to the cinema to see it. “Fine,
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

Totally Fine” is one of many great comedies to havebeen made in Japan recently, too many of which havebeen overlooked for international distribution. Fullhouses at cinemas are the only thing likely to change
programmers’ and distributors’ minds – and with any
luck “Fine, Totally Fine” could be the first in a new lineof movies that make UK audiences associate Japanesecinema with laughter as much as violence.
Review by Susan Meehan“Fine Totally Fine” was an undiluted joy and had the
BAFTA audience creased up with laughter throughout.
It tells the story of Teruo, a dreamer with the ambitionof building the best ever haunted house, rather thancontinue with his manual job. He lives with his dejected
father in a flat above their second-hand bookshop.
Teruo’s friend Hisanobu, works as a hospital manager
and is altogether more mature. Aware that they areapproaching 30, he starts to tire of Teruo’s prankish
ways. The sensitive and sensible Hisanobu is single,
much to the disbelief of his colleagues who are everanxious to set him up. The lovely but clumsy ‘chikuwa’loving Akari then appears on the scene. One cannot
help laughing at her mishaps – her utter inability toopen a box of tissues or the havoc she unleashes at thehospital where she has been employed.
Akari spends much of her time painting colourful
pictures of a local bag lady, with whom she somehow
identifies. Perhaps they are kindred spirits in that it isdifficult or impossible for either of them to hold onto
conventional jobs.

As a result of company streamlining and outsourcing
to China, Ryuhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) loses his
well-paid job. Pride prevents him from confiding in his
wife or two sons, so Ryuhei carries on the pretence ofcommuting to work.
The family drama which ensues is irredeemably
depressing and lacking in Ozu’s gentle humour orcontemplativeness. The film also attempts to embrace
too many social ills, I thought - unemployment, suicide,bereavement, family breakdown and burglary to namemost of them.
The fact that I found Ryuhei Sasaki a rather
unsympathetic character from the outset – scowling,aggressive, alpha male-wannabe – meant that I foundit hard to empathise with him in any way, and could
only feel pity for his long-suffering family.

Akari in fact quits the hospital as she is simply causing
too many accidents. Her life takes a romantic turn soonafter she begins work at the second-hand bookshop
with Teruo, and this determines the course of the restof the film.

Life with the Sasakis is certainly grim – everyone istense, and other than calls to meals hardly any words
are exchanged; no wonder the boys are desperate foroutlets – the younger Kenji (Kai Inowaki) surreptitiously
using his lunch money to pay for piano lessons and thecharismatic elder brother Taka (Yu Koyanagi), a mainly
absent university student, set on joining the American
army.

Tokyo Sonata (トウキョウソナタ)
directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

The excellent Kyoko Koizumi plays Megumi Sasaki,
the sympathetic, resigned, tolerant housewife who
desperately tries to keep the family from disintegrating
and keeps it fed. The scene in which she fails to find ataker for her homemade doughnuts is pure pathos.

2008, 119 minutes
Review by Susan Meehan
I eagerly signed up to watch “Tokyo Sonata” (lastof the new Japanese films screened at BAFTA, 2628 September), knowing next to nothing about
the director, but hoping that it might be a family ordomestic drama in the fashion of Yasujiro Ozu. I had
merely heard the name Kiyoshi Kurosawa and knew he
was no relation of Akira’s, but hadn’t seen any of the Jhorror films for which he is known. As the film had won
the “Un Certain Regard” Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes
festival, it seemed to come well recommended.
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

To the film’s credit, the acting is very good as are thescenes of Tokyo. It also highlights Japanese social ills
– unemployment, the lack of counseling on offer,
humiliating and unhelpful job-centres, thwarted
ambitions amongst the young and the long suffering
wife.
All in all, it is a horror film of sorts.

5

Kamikaze Girls (下妻物語)
directed by Tetsuya Nakashima
2004, 102 minutes, DVD release: January 2009
Review by Simon Cotterill“Kamikaze Girls” won Best Picture and Best Director
at the 27th Yokohama Movie Awards, and its twolead actresses, J-pop stars Kyoko Fukuda and Anna
Tsuchiya both attracted numerous plaudits, including
nominations by the Japan Academy for outstanding
performances. That said, Kamikaze Girls is nothing like atypical award-winning picture.
Despite its English-language title, “Kamikaze Girls”
actually has nothing to do with war, pilots or even
women taking on traditionally masculine roles. The
literal translation of its Japanese title is ‘Shimotsuma
Story’, and the film is set in this quiet, rural town in Ibaraki
Prefecture. In the eyes of young Momoko (Fukuda),
Shimotsuma is the epitome of dull, but she has been
forced to live there after her father got on the wrong
side of the Yakuza by selling fake Versace. Momoko
fantasises about a French Rococo-style existence, full of
sleep, sweet foods and lacy apparel. She dreams of the
Château de Versailles, and decks herself out in Tokyo’sfinest and frilliest haute couture, from the legendary‘Lolita’ fashion store ‘Baby, The Stars Shine Brightly’.

Momoko is fiercely individual; her motto is “I was born
alone, I’ll die alone. So if I can’t live alone, I’d rather be aflea.” She’s also fiercely determined to be pretty – but not
to please anyone other than herself. She doesn’t care at
all about boys or the other people in Shimotsuma, apartfrom her eccentric grandmother, and she spends mostof her time travelling between Ibaraki and Tokyo for
shopping trips. Aspiring to be like the French aristocracy,
Momoko feels unsuited to conventional work. She
instead uses various unscrupulous schemes to raise themoney she needs for Lolita dresses, including selling off
her dad’s fake Versace clothes behind his back. One day,when Momoko is lying on her porch, looking pretty,
and gazing into the distance, a new ‘Versach’ customer
rides up on a motorbike and shakes her out of her hazy
Rococo reverie.
6

Ichiko (Tsuchiya) is a hard-talking, head-butting, dirty
clothes-wearing, always-spitting, member of an all-girl‘Yankee/Bosozoku’ motorcycle gang. In a city, girls fromsuch opposed fashion worlds would rarely socialise. But
in their small town world where everyone else buys
clothes from the same store, these two girls are pushed
together by their unique appearance and individual
spirit. They slowly become strong friends, although
Momoko does receive one or two head butts from
Ichiko along the way.
Kamikaze Girls’ basic premise ‘two kids from different
tribes unite and come-of-age together’ is hardly unique particularly in recent Japanese cinema. But, nonetheless,
it is an extremely unusual film; both brilliantly funny andextremely surreal. Director Tetsuya Nakashima employs
an array of filming styles and Tim Burton-esque, candycoloured hues to make Momoko’s life in Shimotsuma
seem far less dull than she considers it to be. His
imaginative use of animated sequences, plot-rewinds
and MTV-like, fast-cut montages borrows from films likeFight Club and Kill Bill and constantly keeps viewers on
their toes. In one memorable moment, Nakashima mixes
the film’s narration style and has Momoko turn to thecamera and says “Now here’s a cartoon to keep you kids
amused” before launching into a manga sequence.
Kamikaze Girls offers the western viewer an interesting
glimpse into two of Japan’s oddest fashion scenes. Boththe Lolita and Yankee styles were massive in Japan in theearly nineties and both can still be seen around certain
areas of big cities. However, in these cities now their
popularity has somewhat diminished; replaced by HipHop, black culture-influenced fashions. These days it isin the Japanese countryside and small towns that Lolitas
and Yankees can most easily be found. The film presents
both of these youth tribes – whose adherents consider
their clothes as part of their skin – in a lovingly detailed
way, useful for the uninformed westerner. But the film
isn’t pure homage, the two cultures are compared andcriticised throughout and in the end both Momoko andIchiko themselves begin to challenge their ideals.

Origami for Children:
35 Easy-To-Follow Step-By-Step Projects
by Mari Ono and Roshin Ono
Cico books , 2008, 128 pages.
Hardback, £14.99
ISBN 13: 978-1906094386
Review by Anna DavisThis time two years ago, I remember feverishly wiping mybrow as I attempted to teach my then class of five year olds
how to make an origami heart for their Valentine’s cards,
fumbling and stumbling through my own ineptitude,
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

whilst all the time trying to appear in control of my hands.
So when “Origami for Children” by Mari Ono and Roshin
Ono landed on my desk, it was with some trepidation that
I opened it. What a pleasant surprise, then, to discover it to
be straightforward and enjoyable to use, a colourful bookthat is, crucially, user-friendly.
I followed the photographs
and simple instructions andwas delighted to find that myown efforts looked surprisingly
similar to those in the book(a rare event for me when
following any sort of illustrated
set of instructions). Next I did
a little outsourcing, and waspleased to hear of similarly
favourable outcomes produced by both a teenager and a
six year old. It’s the sort of book you’ll actually want to use
as it’s very good for the ego – your chances of recreating
the varied projects, with minimal intervention from a more
adept friend/neighbour/child are high.
The book begins with a short introduction and explanation,and helpfully, a chart explaining the meaning of thevarious arrows used throughout. The projects themselves
are presented in six categories – toys, origami fun, animals,
party time, sweets and foods and vehicles. Creations
range from the more traditional “fusen” (balloon) and“kabuto” (samurai helmet) to the contemporary hot dog
and an ever-practical teddy bear’s necktie. Most projects
can be made with standard origami paper, although someof the animals and foods (millefeuille, anyone?) will be
more effective if made with specially printed origami, or
plain paper and an artistic hand. Each project is given a
difficulty rating and there is a good balance of levels.
The book also includes a guide to suppliers in the UK
and with this information you have all the tools to startfolding away. “Origami for Children” would make an ideal
present for an artistic child, a useful resource for teachersand parents and an ideal introduction to origami for adults
as well. I may even consider giving those origami hearts
another try…

New Zen: the tea-ceremony room inmodern Japanese architecture
by Michael Freeman
Eightbooks Ltd, 2007, 240 pages.
Hardback, £35.00
ISBN 13: 978-0-9554322-0-0
Review by Suzanne Perrin
A specialist in Asian art and architecture, MichaelFreeman is a London based photographer who has
Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)

contributed several publications on Japanese andOriental themes. The text, design and photographs are
all done by him for this book.
There has always been awestern fascination with“Zen”, whether it be austere
Buddhist practices, minimal
gardens of rock and sand,ferocious sword-play, or
tranquil tea rituals. This latest
offering to the Zen catalogueof associated topics deals
with an exploration ofcontemporary Japanese architecture, and how theconstraints of a tea room, Chashitsu, are finding
expression in contemporary Japan by well establishedand up-coming designers.
The flyleaf states: “Since the 1990s Japanese architects
and designers have been re-interpreting the Chashitsu[tea ceremony rooms] creating modern meditative
spaces .. .....featuring a vast array of materials including
paper, wood, plastic, stone, aluminum, glass andconcrete.”
Freeman introduces the book as “a series ofexperiments, undertaken individually and with little in
the way of publicity” for its designers and architects.
He calls the tea room “a very loaded space”, due toits six hundred year tradition of infusing art, culture,philosophy, ideology and design all around the central
act of making tea for a guest (or two).
The book first peruses the history of the tea ceremony,drawing on quotations from Sen no Rikyu, Kobori Enshu,
Tenshin Okakura and Lafcadio Hearn, all renowned
writers on the way of tea and its basic concepts. An
Introduction gives an overview of the evolution of thetea ceremony serving to enlighten readers with thegenre, and is illustrated with a plan view of a traditionaltea room with a glossary of terms for tea ceremony
procedures. Ensuing section titles cover areas devoted
to New Traditional, Modern Materials, Garden Settings,
and Contemporary Interpretations.
Freeman likens the appeal of the Chashitsu in modern
day Japan as being “an inspiration” from older
traditions of austerity and simplicity in the face of
1980s “Bubble” economy excess and indulgence. Very
relevant then, in the light of current financial crises
across the globe.
It is with these ideas of re-interpreting the formula of
Chashitsu as an oasis of calm reflection in a frenetic
world, translated by contemporary architects such as
Arata Isozaki, Kengo Kuma, Kisho Kurokawa, Shigeru
Uchida and many lesser known names working in thedesign field, that draws together the threads of tea
culture, Zen ethos and cutting edge design style.
7

The photography throughout is beautiful, with carefully
chosen images showing the details of materials,
surface textures, light, pattern and space that allcontribute to the harmony, respect and reverence forcraftsmanship that goes with tea aesthetics. There ismuch to fascinate here in the many and varied ways of
constructing a tea room - or space.
In the section marked “Contemporary Interpretations,”
one example offers a portable tea space called Sankio(In the Mountains), by Shigeru Uchida from 2005, alight, cubic structure measuring 2.8 sq metres with aheight of 2.3 m, made from an open lattice of black
bamboo strips woven into a mesh for walls, with a blackwooden floor vestibule and thin woven mat flooring
for the main space. This flexibility allows for kakejiku(scrolls) to be hung anywhere along the lattice walls.
The ro (hearth) is not sunken but placed in a wooden
designed box in the corner for portability. The visuals
are stunning, both inside and out.
Other innovative places for tea areas (some challenge
the meaning of the word ‘room’) include a Chashitsu
located within a greenhouse complex in Millennium
City near Narita by Hiroshi Iguchi; the “Too High”(Takasugian) tea house perched on top of a truncatedtree with views of the Nagano hills in Chino by Terunobu
Fujinori; the circular steel and glass rooftop tea spacewith fixtures more appropriate to a bathroom than atea room by Kunihiko Hayakawa; and an aluminium
suitcase that unfolds into a portable, tent-like structurethat creates possibly the smallest tea space imaginable,
by Toshihiko Suzuki.
Overall some thirty-seven examples are illustrated,but despite the variety of formats and excellent
photographs, not enough information is given on thematerials and construction of these iconoclastic “teaspaces.” Even so, this is a ‘must have’ coffee table bookfor Japanese design aficionados everywhere.

has attempted to develop its own new approach tointellectual property issues, especially those whichstress the importance of innovation. This recent
development has emerged in part as an attempt toinject new life into the anaemic Japanese economy
which has struggled to shake off the shadow ofstagnation and the deflationary spiral that engulfed
the country during the nineties.
Taplin works hard to demonstrate why she firmly
believes the Japanese economy was revitalised
during the Koizumi administration of 2001-06. She
shows how Koizumi skilfully used both economic
and political structural reforms to attain his goals.
He also embraced a radical IP drive that included thegeneral Japanese population. His objective was tointegrate Japan more firmly into the global economy,
something Talpin thinks he achieved.
The book discusses what the author see as the“landmark decisions” involving employees’ rights tocompensation and the “bold attempt” by the Tokyo
Stock Exchange to create a market in cooperation
with the London Stock Exchange which caters tosmall and medium enterprises (SME) companies. The
author passionately believes these companies areoften the locus of innovation. Taplin considers thatthese developments all point to a period of changeahead for Japan that “has only previously occurred in
the nineteenth century”. The book is recommended
reading for those interested in understanding how
the Japanese economy is changing, the evolving
role of IP in revitalizing the economy, and how Japanis attempting to adapt to the opportunities andchallenges of an increasingly globalised world.

Intellectual Property
and the New Japanese
Global Economy
by Ruth Taplin
Routledge, 2009, 196 pages.
Hardback, £35.00
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-46597-7
Review by Sean CurtinThis well-structured bookexamines the various ways inwhich intellectual property(IP) is used in Japan. It incorporates information
provided by frontline decision makers in the country
and is highly informative. It also looks at how Japan
8

Issue 18 Volume 3 Number 6 (December 2008)