20+ years of capturing Japan on canvas. Really enjoyed this conversation with Carl Randall.
20.02.2026 18:48
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20+ years of capturing Japan on canvas. Really enjoyed this conversation with Carl Randall.
Interesting weekend coming up in Japan. By way of an appetiser, here's my piece for @lrb.co.uk.
Do go and see the British Museum's spellbinding new Samurai exhibition if you have a chance.
Meanwhile, my essay for Engelsberg Ideas on the origins and legacies of Japan's warrior class:
Congratulations to @olegb.bsky.social on a five-star review of the new Samurai exhibition at the British Museum. Opens on 3rd Feb.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
My review of @hirokoyoda.bsky.social ‘s excellent new book:
True! I recall the public meeting early on in the film being packed with political commentary. Found it refreshing!
Sweet...!
Ha - lovely!
That’s fascinating. There were rumours in the UK that some children going back to school after Covid were trying to swipe their fingers up or across paperbacks - again, perhaps not as intuitive as we might think...
Looking forward to the revised version - things are moving fast, aren't they...! 😅
As someone who's moved to JAPAN 🎌 not too long ago, I always wanted to explore the country's fascinating MODERN history... Thanks to @drchrisharding.bsky.social I finally got the chance!
Check out our FULL CONVO here 👇🏻
YT:
youtu.be/prqPJ4_jdaU
Apple podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...
Such a great series. @philipgoff.bsky.social was excellent, as was Gilbert Markus talking about 'Is God Nothing?' (of interest to anyone thinking about inter-religious dialogue and concepts of the divine). @takeshimorisato.bsky.social @theosthinktank.bsky.social
Really enjoyed this conversation!
Fantastic - thank you for sharing this. Have signed up for your Substack and will look forward to more there.
Interesting - thanks!
Thank you for a great thread. What do you make of the claim that Japan could produce a nuclear weapon inside a year, starting from its current tech and resources?
I keep reading that the 'permit' NNP might be nuanced or binned - unlikely though, in your view?
Looking forward to History Hit on Substack…!
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Seems reasonable. Fingers crossed it helps a bit...!
Or indeed this... (Lib Dem leader, 2024 UK election). 😂
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Bluesky worked in my case - thanks for sharing it!
Ha! 😂
Japan is losing more than 2,000 people every day to population decline.
Is automation the answer?
This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Japan's famous vending machines look like late 20th-century tech.
In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.
They may also hold the key to the country's future.
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...
Promises to be an interesting evening - do come!
Kodama Yoshio, born poor in Fukushima in 1911, became an ultranationalist adventurer.
He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
In kabuki, kuromaku ('black curtain') are stagehands dressed in black who move sets unseen.
In politics, they are the unseen power-brokers: the kingmakers, the fixers, the invaluable intermediaries.
