Iwanami Publishing House

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Iwanami headquarters in the district of Hitotsubashi in central Tokyo
Iwanami Bunko envelope
Kojien, s. below

The Iwanami publishing house ( Japanese 岩 波 書店 , Iwanami shoten) was founded in 1913 by Iwanami Shigeo . He is still one of the most important publishers in Japan today. The publisher also publishes the Kōjien , a dictionary of the Japanese language.

The joint stock company Iwanami-Verlag ( 株式会社 岩 波 書店 kabushiki-gaisha Iwanami shoten , English "Iwanami Shoten, Publishers." ), Which has existed in this form since 1949 , is based in the Chiyoda district (-ku / "City") of the prefecture (-to / "Metropolis") Tokyo .

history

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March 2nd 2020

Iwanami Shigeo , who had opened a second-hand bookshop in Tōkyō in the Kanda district in 1913, was able to publish Natsume Sōseki's novella Kokoro in 1914 , with which he was so successful that he decided to convert his second-hand bookshop into a publisher.

A central idea of ​​Iwanami was to strengthen sophisticated knowledge in the population. In the next few years he published around 260 books, in addition to 85 novels, 55 books with philosophical content, 25 with scientific subjects, 35 social science monographs, 35 art and musicological works and 20 illustrated books with woodcut reproductions.

In July 1927, the first 22 paperbacks of the newly founded series "Iwanami Bunko" appeared, including the Nigorie - Takekurabe by the writer Higuchi Ichiyō , Plato's Apology and Chekhov's Cherry Orchard . To this day, Iwanami's afterword, which he wrote at the start of the series, is printed in every book in the series. He wrote u. a that he intends to publish books for entertainment as well as books with philosophical content, by both Japanese and Western authors. In terms of format, he oriented himself on the Reclam booklets, since the series should appear at a price that everyone can afford. The binding was designed by Hirafuku Hyakusui (1877–1933). That was the beginning of a successful series of publications.

In the 1930s, Iwanami got into trouble with publications that discussed the ancestry of the Tennō on a historical basis, but was eventually acquitted. In 1946 Iwanami was awarded the Japanese Order of Culture for his life's work .

After Iwanami's death in 1946, the publishing house was continued by his second son, Iwanami Jūjirō (岩 波 雄 二郎; 1919-2007). After that, the family left the management.

When the ISBN publisher number was introduced in the 1980s, the publisher was able to secure the "00". The displayed paperback “„ の 本 ”(Cha no hon) of the Bunko series has the ISBN 4-00-331151-5 .

Magazines and series

Magazines

Some magazines have been discontinued.

Series

Some series have also been discontinued.

Other well-known series of the publisher include, besides the aforementioned Iwanami Bunko:

  • "Nihon bungaku koten" (日本 文学 古典) - "Classics of Japanese literature",
  • "Nihon shisō" (日本 思想) - Japanese world of thought,
  • "Gendai Nihon bungaku" (現代 日本 文学),
  • "Tōyō bungaku" (東洋 文学),
  • "Namboku-Ō bungaku sonota" (南北 欧 文学 そ の 他),
  • "Rekishi - chiri" (歴 史 ・ 地理),
  • “Shizen kagaku” (自然科学) and
  • "Hōritsu - seiji" (法律 政治)

Kōjien and other dictionaries

  • The one-volume Kōjien (広 辞 苑), which appeared in 1935 under the name Jien (辞 苑), came out in 1955 under the current name. It is more than just a reference work for terms, as it also contains short articles, as here on Friedrich Schiller, and numerous drawings. The kōjien was widely used, with the 7th edition appearing in 2018.
  • Complete list of lexicons

Remarks

  1. ↑ The books were published in the format of the Reclam booklets in the format 110 × 152 mm.
  2. ↑ The book is the translation of "The Book of Tea", which Okakura Kakuzō had written in English. For the content see the German translation "Das Buch vom Tee" .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Iwanami shoten: 会 社 概要
  2. ↑ a b master builder

literature

  • S. Noma (Ed.): Iwanami Shoten, Publishers . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 642.
  • Junko Bauermeister: Development of the modern Japanese publishing industry. Case study Iwanami shoten . Studienverlag Brockmeyer, Bochum, 1980. ISBN 3-88339-111-5 .

Web links

Commons : Iwanami-Verlag  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files