Tuttle Publishing
Encyclopedia
Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

 publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

 company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions. 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 South East Asia." Many of its books on Asian martial arts, particularly those on Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...

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

History

Publisher and book dealer Charles E. Tuttle (1915–1993) founded the company in 1948 in Tokyo, Japan, with the aim of publishing "books to span the East and West." It was the 31st corporation approved by the occupying Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 administration. In its first year of operation, the company imported and distributed US 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
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, 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 US 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 failed to eventuate. 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.

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.

Founder

The company’s founder, Charles Egbert Tuttle, Jr., was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...

 and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. He joined the US military and was stationed in Japan immediately after World War II, working on General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

’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. His father ran Tuttle Antiquarian Books—one of several Tuttle companies in Rutland 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
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 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

According to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 (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. The company has also published books on Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

. The company publishes more than 40 products that teach Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, 20 that teach Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...

, 20 for Indonesian, and numerous products on other Asian languages such as Burmese
Burmese language
The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...

, Cambodian, Lao, Malay, Thai, and Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

. Tuttle published its first Arabic phrasebook in 2004 and, in 2009, its first introduction to Modern Standard Hindi.
As of 2010, out of the company's top 20 best-selling books, 11 are martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 titles. Tuttle Publishing is estimated to have annual sales of US$2.5–$5 million, and a staff of around 40 people. It has offices in North Clarendon
Clarendon, Vermont
Clarendon is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,571 at the 2010 census. Clarendon spans U.S. Route 7 and is split by the highway, the Cold River and Mill River, Otter Creek, and the Green Mountains into the villages of Clarendon, West Clarendon, East Clarendon,...

 (in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, USA), Singapore, Tokyo, and Jakarta. Leading officers are Michael Sargent (Manager), David Loseby (Finance Executive), and Christopher Johns (Sales & Marketing Director).

See also

  • Chronicle Books
    Chronicle Books
    Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children.The company was established in 1968 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1999 it was bought by Nion McEvoy, great-grandson of...

  • Dover Publications
    Dover Publications
    Dover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...

  • John Wiley & Sons
    John Wiley & Sons
    John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...

  • Kodansha
    Kodansha
    , the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

  • Random House
    Random House
    Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...


External links

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