Tokyo Sogensha
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is a Japanese publisher of
mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
,
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
,
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
,
literary fiction Literary fiction, serious fiction, high literature, or artistic literature, and sometimes just literature, encompasses fiction books and writings that are more character-driven rather than plot-driven, that examine the human condition, or that are ...
and
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
, based in Tokyo.


History

In 1925, a publisher called of Osaka was established with a branch in Tokyo. In 1948, the Tokyo branch of Sogensha spun off into a separate company with the same name, Sogensha. In 1954, Sogensha (Tokyo) was officially reorganized into Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. Between 1962 and 1970, Tokyo Sogensha changed its name to due to its reconstruction from bankruptcy. Both Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. and Sogensha Inc. exist as unrelated publishing companies. In 2013, the official mascot cat named Kurari was released. Kurari's name is from Japanese kanji of Sogensha. can be divided to kanji and katakana .


Imprints

* Started in 1959. It is one of the leading
Bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space-saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...
(small-format
paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
) labels focusing on mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The label had specialized in translation until 1984 then the company started publishing Japanese works. * See below. * Started in 1995 * Magazines ** 1992-2000 ** 2001-2003 ** 2003-2021 ** 2021-


Mystery


Science fiction

As a science fiction publisher, Tokyo Sogensha began with the translation of
Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. ...
's works as a division of ''Sōgen Suiri Bunko'' in 1963. The division and its continuation, which was renamed as in 1991, are Japan's oldest existing Sci-Fi ''bunkobon'' label. It published 677 books as of 2015 including the works of
Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A ...
,
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
,
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
,
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...
,
J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...
, Philip K. Dick,
Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...
,
Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; October 2, 1944 – March 20, 2024) was an American science fiction author and professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He was the first wide-scale popularizer of the technolo ...
, James P. Hogan,
Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has ...
,
Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson (born December 15, 1953) is an American-Canadian science fiction author. Career Wilson's work has won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (for '' Spin''), the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (for the novel '' The Chronoliths' ...
, and
Greg Egan Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Lo ...
. It scored early success in the post-war period with the Barsoom books of
Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...
and the words of E. E. Smith. Sogen SF Bunko had specialized in translation until 2007 then it started publishing Japanese works. The first Japanese titles were reprints of ''
Legend of Galactic Heroes , sometimes abbreviated as ''LOTGH'', ''LOGH'', ''LGH'' or in Japanese (and also depicted as ''Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel'' in the anime intro), is a series of epic science fiction novels written by Yoshiki Tanaka. In humanity ...
'' #1 by
Yoshiki Tanaka is a Japanese novelist. Early life and education He was born in Hondo, Kumamoto Prefecture and took his doctorate degree in Japanese Language and Literature in the Graduate School of Gakushūin University in Tokyo. Writings His major works ...
and ''Babylonia Wave'' by Akira Hori.


Recognition

Tokyo Sogensha won the
Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fic ...
for Best Translated Long Work for 18 works out of 52 times (as of 2021); the
Nihon SF Taisho Award The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...
in 2012, 2013 and 2019 for Japanese Works.


Horror/Fantasy

Notable authors published by Tokyo Sogensha include
Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Her writing career spanned over two decades, during which she composed six novels, two memoirs, and mor ...
,
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
and
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
.


Prizes

Tokyo Sogensha awards some prizes for unpublished Japanese works to recruit new writers of specific genres: * - Started in 1990. An annual contest for mystery fiction, named after
Tetsuya Ayukawa Toru Nakagawa (February 14, 1919 – September 24, 2002), known by his pen name , was a Japanese literary critic and novelist. He is noted for his ''Detective Onitsura Series'' of mystery stories. Biography Ayukawa was born in the Sugamo neighb ...
, a notable novelist of the genre. * - Started in 2004. The short story counterpart of the Tetsuya Ayukawa Award, named after the bimonthly magazine the company published. It was the continuation of the Sogen Suiri Prize for New Writers (1994-2003). * - Since 2010. An annual contest for broad-sense science fiction and
speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...
short stories. * - 2014-2020 (5 times). A contest for fantasy novels.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Book publishing companies in Tokyo Comic book publishing companies in Tokyo Publishing companies established in 1948 Japanese companies established in 1948