Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

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In 1964, the year of the first Tokyo Olympics, three important Japanese novels were published, one of which helped lead to a Nobel Prize, and a very exciting new author was born[UPDATED: 7-23-2021]

In 1964, Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972), Japan’s first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (he won in 1968), published Beauty and Sadness and four years later went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Beauty and Sadness is an elegiac and provocative novel that cleverly… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Nobel
- Olympics
- Prizes
- Women Writers
In 1964, the year of the first Tokyo Olympics, three important Japanese novels were published, one of which helped lead to a Nobel Prize, and a very exciting new author was born Posted July 23rd, 2021 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s ‘first’ Olympic Book, ‘The Fruits of Olympus’, was published in 1940[UPDATED: 7-6-2021]

In 1932 Japan sent a large team of 115 men and 16 women to the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. They performed extremely well, winning 7 gold, 7 silver, and 4 bronze medals. Japan’s success at this Olympics did not just generate nationalistic pride at home;… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- Olympics
- Sports
Japan’s ‘first’ Olympic Book, ‘The Fruits of Olympus’, was published in 1940 Posted July 6th, 2021 by Richard Nathan
Some early pioneering 19th century experts on Japanese literature looked down on the creative merits of Japanese poetry and the nation’s poets[UPDATED: 6-17-2021]

William George Aston (1864-1912) was an early pioneer in the fledgling fields of Japanese language study and Japanese history and literature. He was also a diplomat, and started his Japan related career as a student interpreter at the British Legation, as the British Embassy in… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Poetry
Some early pioneering 19th century experts on Japanese literature looked down on the creative merits of Japanese poetry and the nation’s poets Posted March 4th, 2021 by Richard Nathan
The world’s bestselling comic book series by a single author is ‘One Piece’ a Japanese manga[UPDATED: 6-3-2021]

According to The Guinness Book of Records, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece sold 320,866,000 units worldwide between its launch in 1997 and 2015 when it was first listed by Guinness as a record breaking series. One Piece, which is an on-going series that still tops the… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Fuminori Nakamura
- manga
The world’s bestselling comic book series by a single author is ‘One Piece’ a Japanese manga Posted June 3rd, 2021 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s first ‘I-novels’ were written and published in 1906 and 1907[UPDATED: 6-3-2021]

The I-novel also known as watakushi shosetsu, is a type of confessional autobiographical Japanese novel generally written in the first person. The very first ones are said to have been Hakai, Broken Commandment by Toson Shimazaki (1872-1943) and Futon, The Quilt, by Katai Tayama (1872-1930), published in 1906 and… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Cats
- History
Japan’s first ‘I-novels’ were written and published in 1906 and 1907 Posted May 29th, 2020 by Richard Nathan
By the early 1900s so many books had been published ‘Explaining Japan’ that one author felt compelled to write a book summarising them[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

In 1904, Kiyoshi Kawakami (1873-1949), a Japanese journalist based in Seattle, wrote a book titled Japan and the Japanese, where he looked back and summarised how Western writers had opined on and written about Japan.He explained his objective as: “I had read a considerable number… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
By the early 1900s so many books had been published ‘Explaining Japan’ that one author felt compelled to write a book summarising them Posted December 11th, 2020 by Richard Nathan
The Nobel Prize committee cited Rudyard Kipling’s writing on the manners and customs of the Japanese when they awarded him his Nobel prize in 1907[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

Carl David af Wirsén (1842-1912), the Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize in literature, cited Rudyard Kipling’s (1865-1936) writings on the manners and customs of the Japanese as an example of Kipling’s distinctive, original and sometimes ironic style of writing when… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- Nobel
- Poetry
- Prizes
The Nobel Prize committee cited Rudyard Kipling’s writing on the manners and customs of the Japanese when they awarded him his Nobel prize in 1907 Posted April 1st, 2021 by Richard Nathan
Manga magazines and books generate more than half of all publishing revenues in Japan[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

According to The All Japan Magazine and Book Publisher’s and Editor’s Association (AJPEA) manga magazines and books generate more than half of all publishing revenues, which are estimated at 1.4 trillion yen (US$14 billion), in Japan.
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- manga
- Market Data
Manga magazines and books generate more than half of all publishing revenues in Japan Posted June 2nd, 2021 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

In 1964, the year of the first Tokyo Olympics, three important Japanese novels were published, one of which helped lead to a Nobel Prize, and a very exciting new author was born[UPDATED: 7-23-2021]

Japan’s ‘first’ Olympic Book, ‘The Fruits of Olympus’, was published in 1940[UPDATED: 7-6-2021]

Some early pioneering 19th century experts on Japanese literature looked down on the creative merits of Japanese poetry and the nation’s poets[UPDATED: 6-17-2021]

The world’s bestselling comic book series by a single author is ‘One Piece’ a Japanese manga[UPDATED: 6-3-2021]

Japan’s first ‘I-novels’ were written and published in 1906 and 1907[UPDATED: 6-3-2021]

By the early 1900s so many books had been published ‘Explaining Japan’ that one author felt compelled to write a book summarising them[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

The Nobel Prize committee cited Rudyard Kipling’s writing on the manners and customs of the Japanese when they awarded him his Nobel prize in 1907[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

Manga magazines and books generate more than half of all publishing revenues in Japan[UPDATED: 6-2-2021]

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