Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

If you would like to contribute to this compendium please submit your ideas here.
All will be considered for publication by our expert panel.

Category Index:

Factbook Keyword Search:
Search for:

Kobo Abe is said to be ‘The Kafka of Japan’[UPDATED: 4-27-2021]

Kobo Abe (1924-1992) is said to be ‘The Kafka of Japan’. He is best known for: The Road Sign at the End of the Street (1948), The Woman in the Dunes (1962), as well as being avant-garde, being expelled from the Japanese Communist Party, and collecting… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Culture
- Horror
- Prizes
Kobo Abe is said to be ‘The Kafka of Japan’ Posted March 23rd, 2017 by Richard Nathan
The translation of Harry Potter triggered a major tax investigation and fine in Japan[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

Yuko Matsuoka, the multi-millionaire Japanese translator and publisher of the Harry Potter novels in Japan, lost a case with the Japanese authorities, who sent her an extraordinary additional tax demand for 700 million yen, US$7 million, for undeclared income of more than $29 million. … Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Copyright
- Rights
- translation
The translation of Harry Potter triggered a major tax investigation and fine in Japan Posted January 1st, 2018 by Richard Nathan
The first professional Japanese author who generated enough literary earnings to live from was born in 1765[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

Jippensha Ikku (1765-1831) the prolific bestselling author and illustrator of titles such as the Shank’s Mare, a comic novel that follows two amiable scoundrels on a madcap road trip adventure along the great highway leading from Tokyo to Kyoto (Tokaido), was reportedly the first creative… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- Rights
The first professional Japanese author who generated enough literary earnings to live from was born in 1765 Posted January 3rd, 2018 by Richard Nathan
The first ‘modern Japanese short story’ was written by Ogai Mori and published in 1890[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

The modern short story in Japan was a Western import that arrived at the turn of the 20th century in the 1890s. It is hard to confirm what was the very first modern authentic Japanese short story, but academics often attribute this honor to Maihime… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- Short Story
The first ‘modern Japanese short story’ was written by Ogai Mori and published in 1890 Posted January 3rd, 2018 by Richard Nathan
Two of Japan’s most famous authors Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Yukio Mishima translated ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ into Japanese[UPDATED: 3-8-2021]

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in English in 1865, has been translated into Japanese more times than any other language, and two of Japan’s most famous authors; Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927), after whom one of Japan’s most prestigious literary prizes is named; and Japan’s… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- translation
Two of Japan’s most famous authors Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Yukio Mishima translated ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ into Japanese Posted November 25th, 2020 by Richard Nathan
A Japanese literary magazine launched in 1910, called ‘White Birch’, was probably the most culturally influential magazine of Japan’s Taisho Period[UPDATED: 2-4-2021]

A magazine or author can sometimes capture a national zeitgeist of the times. For British popular culture and style, the magazine The Face probably played that role in 1980s Britain, and Haruki Murakami is said to be the author that best represents and captures Heisei Japan… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Magazines
A Japanese literary magazine launched in 1910, called ‘White Birch’, was probably the most culturally influential magazine of Japan’s Taisho Period Posted February 4th, 2021 by Richard Nathan
The ‘best Japanese work of fiction’ published in Japanese during Japan’s Heisei era was ‘IQ84’ by Haruki Murakami[UPDATED: 1-13-2021]

In 2019 Japan’s imperial age known as the Hesei era (1989-2019) ended and a new era began called the Reiwa era. The inception of a new era and the end of another led to the media reflecting on the highlights of the last era and… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- Market Data
The ‘best Japanese work of fiction’ published in Japanese during Japan’s Heisei era was ‘IQ84’ by Haruki Murakami Posted January 11th, 2021 by Richard Nathan
In Meiji Japan books were the ultimate ‘must-clutch’ fashion accessories for young women and schoolgirls[UPDATED: 10-28-2020]

In Meiji era (1868-1912) Japan, when the nation was experiencing a period of rapid modernisation and opening up to the West, books and often Western imported ones were a ‘must-clutch’ fashion accessory for young women.An example of this can be seen in the 1897 woodblock… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Literacy
In Meiji Japan books were the ultimate ‘must-clutch’ fashion accessories for young women and schoolgirls Posted October 28th, 2020 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

Kobo Abe is said to be ‘The Kafka of Japan’[UPDATED: 4-27-2021]

The translation of Harry Potter triggered a major tax investigation and fine in Japan[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

The first professional Japanese author who generated enough literary earnings to live from was born in 1765[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

The first ‘modern Japanese short story’ was written by Ogai Mori and published in 1890[UPDATED: 4-21-2021]

Two of Japan’s most famous authors Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Yukio Mishima translated ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ into Japanese[UPDATED: 3-8-2021]

A Japanese literary magazine launched in 1910, called ‘White Birch’, was probably the most culturally influential magazine of Japan’s Taisho Period[UPDATED: 2-4-2021]

The ‘best Japanese work of fiction’ published in Japanese during Japan’s Heisei era was ‘IQ84’ by Haruki Murakami[UPDATED: 1-13-2021]

In Meiji Japan books were the ultimate ‘must-clutch’ fashion accessories for young women and schoolgirls[UPDATED: 10-28-2020]

Newsletters