Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions.Tutttle Publishing: About us
Retrieved on April 17, 2010.Grant, T. (1997): ''International directory of company histories'' (Vol. 86, 2nd ed., pp. 404–405). Chicago, IL: Saint James Press. () A company profile describes it as an "International publisher of innovative books on design, cooking, martial arts, language, travel and spirituality with a focus on China, Japan and Southeast Asia."The London Book Fair: Tuttle Publishing
(2010). Retrieved on April 20, 2010. Many of its books on Asian martial arts, particularly those on

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

, were the first widely read publications on these subjects in the English language.

History

Publisher and book dealer

Charles E. Tuttle Charles Egbert Tuttle Jr. (April 5, 1915 – June 9, 1993) was an American Publishing, publisher and book dealer who was internationally recognized for his contributions to understanding between the English- and Japanese-speaking worlds.Ingleton ...

(1915–1993) founded the company in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan, with the aim of publishing "books to span the East and West."Ingleton, N. (July 7, 1993)
Obituary: Charles E. Tuttle
''The Independent''. Retrieved on April 17, 2010.Saxon, W. (1993)

''The New York Times'' (June 11, 1993). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. It was the 31st corporation approved by the occupying Allied administration. In its first year of operation, the company imported and distributed U.S. paperback publications to the occupying forces, and the next year, it released its first publication. From 1951, it published many books on the

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

, arts, and culture, as well as translations of Japanese works into the English language. In 1953, part of the company was separated to form a new, partially owned company, Yohan, which took on responsibility for distributing U.S. paperback books and magazines. The Charles E. Tuttle Company retained responsibility for distributing UK publications. In 1991, under chief executive Peter Ackroyd, a planned acquisition of the

Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself " ...

failed to eventuate.Cohen, R. (1991)
Small House to buy Atlantic Monthly Press
''The New York Times'' (June 24, 1991). Retrieved on April 20, 2010.Cohen, R. (1991)

''The New York Times'' (August 30, 1991). Retrieved on April 20, 2010. According to executives, "Tuttle, which specializes in Japanese and other Asian books, came to feel that it was putting its existing business at risk by acquiring Atlantic." In 1996, the company changed its name to Tuttle Publishing.Tuttle Publishing, 2019 Since its founding, Tuttle has published more than 6,000 books and today maintains an active backlist of around 2,000 titles. The company now produces 150 new titles each year, most of which still focus on the areas of Asian interest that Tuttle has long been known for—everything from Asian literature and language learning to cooking, art, crafts, and design.Tuttle Publishing (2008): ''General trade catalog''. Some of the company’s books state that it was founded in 1832 in Rutland, Vermont. George Albert Tuttle (1816-1885), a direct ancestor of Charles E. Tuttle, founded Tuttle Co. in 1832 in Rutland as a printing company that printed newspapers, later including the '' Rutland Herald''. The multigenerational family printing business did not have a particular focus on Asian material. It thus remains open to debate whether 1832 represents the original founding of Tuttle Publishing, or whether the enterprise is, in the words of one author, the business of Charles E. Tuttle, "whose family had been in the book trade since 1832."

Founder

The company's founder, Charles Egbert Tuttle, Jr., was a graduate of

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He enlisted in the U.S. military and was stationed in Japan immediately after World War II, working on General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

’s staff. His job, among other things, was to help revive the Japanese publishing industry after the war. After his military service was completed, he decided to stay on in Japan and set up his own business importing English-language books and magazines and exporting rare Japanese antiquarian books to U.S. libraries. Tuttle came from a distinguished New England publishing family.Edwards, B. (2006)
Used book shop closes its doors
''Rutland Herald'' (July 20, 2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. His father, Charles E. Tuttle Sr., ran Tuttle Antiquarian Books—one of several Tuttle companies in Rutland, Vermont, that had been involved with printing and publishing since the 1830s. At university, he studied American history and literature. After graduating in 1937, he worked in the library of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for a year, then joined the family business. His interest in publishing 'quality' books about Japan and Asia, and his keen eye for design and editorial matters as a publisher, grew out of an appreciation for the valuable antiquarian books that he dealt with as a youth.

Current status

Tuttle publishes between 150-175 new books each year, including cooking, craft, history, art, architecture, current affairs, travel, origami, gardening and children's titles. Many early Tuttle books remain in print today, such as ''Japanese Children's Favorite Stories'' (1954), ''The Book of Tea'' (1956) and ''Rashomon and Other Stories'' (1952). Tuttle is also the official publisher of the Bruce Lee Library, with permission from his estate. The company's bestselling books include ''Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible'' by Hitomi Shida, which has sold more than 60,000 copies since its release in 2017 and was in its fifth printing in 2018, Others include ''Cool Japan Guide'' by Abby Denson, ''North Korea Confidential'' by Daniel Tudor and James Pearson, and ''Geek in Japan'' by Hector Garcia. Tuttle Publishing is a part of Periplus Publishing Group and has a staff of around 60 people split between its offices in North Clarendon (in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, USA),

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Tuttle is one of the few American publishers with offices in Asia. According to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

(2002, 2007), Tuttle Publishing is the most active publisher of books teaching Japanese to the English-speaking world, and English to the Japanese-speaking world.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Literature & translation – Charles E. Tuttle Publishing (Japan)
(October 9, 2002). Retrieved on April 20, 2010.
(2007). Retrieved on April 20, 2010. The company has also published books on Tagalog,Tuttle Publishing: Unparalleled marketplace for Filipino children’s books & educational Tagalog language materials
''East Villagers'' (February 25, 2010). Retrieved on April 20, 2010. Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, Malay, Thai, and Vietnamese. Tuttle published its first

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

phrasebook in 2004Tuttle Publishing (2004): ''Fall 2004 catalog''. and, in 2009, its first introduction to

Modern Standard Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ' ...

.Tuttle Publishing (2010): ''Fall 2010 catalog''. The editors work collaboratively with writers, illustrators, photographers and designers around the world. The company has a strong international network of distributors and booksellers—with Tuttle books distributed not only in North America and Asia, but from Europe to Australia and the Middle East to South Africa. Parent company Periplus Publishing Group has a

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The found ...

chain in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

with the same name (founded in 1985), which distributed and sold Tuttle books as well as books and magazines from other publishers. Singapore resident Eric Oey took over the company as publisher and CEO in 1996.Tuttle's tales of tantalizing literary trials and triumphs ''China Daily'' (July 23, 2010)
/ref> Oey is a nephew of Charles E. Tuttle and the founder of Periplus Editions.

Explanatory notes

a. This is not the same person as the British author by the same name.

References

External links