Making Sense of Japanese

Brimful with brooding psychological torment, Kokoro is vintage Kon Ichikawa (An Actor’s Revenge, The Burmese Harp, Tokyo Olympiad). Based on a novel by celebrated Japanese author Natsume Soseki, the director foregrounds its themes of individual isolation and social estrangement, most notably in a central protagonist stricken by existential demons and stranded by changing times.

"Every student of Japanese-and perhaps more importantly, every teacher of Japanese-should read this small book."

Collection includes 2011 Japanese SHM-CD reissues of all studio albums at the moment: Dummy (1994); Portishead (1997); Third (2008).

Magisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600 to the present. A distillation of more than 50 years' engagement with Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience.

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm/lead guitar), Matt Helders (drums, vocals), Jamie Cook (lead/rhythm guitar) and Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals). They have released five studio albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug (2009), Suck It and See (2011) and AM (2013). Their debut album is the fastest-selling debut album by a band in British chart history, and in 2013, Rolling Stone ranked it the 30th-greatest debut album of all time. The band has won six Brit Awards – winning both Best British Group and Best British Album three times, and have been nominated for three Grammy Awards.