In March 2011 Japan's Tōhoku region was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami. This was another blow to an area that has been dogged by hardships throughout Japanese history. Beginning in the middle of the 19th century, modern Japan, in its quest to form a nation-state, situated Tōhoku on the periphery and emphasised the region's alleged backwardness. By examining how Tōhoku has been perceived and constructed through this lens across the span of history, Hidemichi Kawanishi reveals a Japan that is far more diverse than traditionally thought.

In Hakata: The Cultural Worlds of Northern Kyushu, experts in various fields have collaborated to produce an interdisciplinary collection offering diverse insights on a region yet to be fully addressed in English. A historic port situated in a strategically vital region as the closest point of contact with the Asian continent, Hakata has long served as a key hub in the transcultural networks linking Japan with the outside world. This volume explores the rich legacy of these wider interactions, in particular the cosmopolitan, international dimension deeply embedded in Hakata's urban...