Company History

Founded in 1912 by Kikumatsu Ogawa

Kikumatsu Ogawa was born in Kawane Village, Ibaraki Prefecture in 1888. He moved to Tokyo in 1902, where he worked at Taiyodo and Shiseido before going independent and founding Seibundo on June 1, 1912 at the age of 26 as a literary agency in the city’s Kandanishiki-cho district. This was the same year that the Titanic sunk, Japan participated in the Summer Olympics for the first time at the Olympic Games held in Stockholm, and Osaka’s landmark Tsutenkaku Tower was completed.

Founded Three Magazines Still in Circulation

While still operating as a literary agency, in 1913 Seibundo published its first book, Selfish (Wagamama) by Yabuno Mukuju (real name: Genji Shibukawa). This was followed by the release of Sea Romance (Umi no romansu) by Tachio Yonekubo (real name: Mitsusuke Yonekubo), a bestseller said to have inspired people to enroll in merchant vessel training and naval schools.

In 1918, Seibundo released the first volume of The Essentials One Should Learn (Kore dake wa kokoroe-okubeshi) series of lifestyle and etiquette books in response to the spread of democratic ideas in society. This series would go on to include 16 volumes that together sold 1.2 million copies, helping to lay the foundation for Seibundo’s future publications in the lifestyle, hobby and practical guide genres.

Then on September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck Tokyo and the wider Kanto area. Seibundo’s office building burnt down in the resulting fires, yet it still managed to quickly release Field Survey of the Great Quakes and Fires in Tokyo (Jicchi chosa taishin taika no tokyo), which sold out its print run of 28,000 copies in less than a month. Kikumatsu Ogawa later reflected, “Thanks to the cooperation of the various parties involved, we were able to publish that work with incredible haste. It was the proudest moment of my life.”

Amid the post-quake recovery in 1924, Seibundo released the first issue of Science for Kids (Kodomo no kagaku), a magazine designed to teach children the scientific and technological knowledge required for rebuilding. With public and commercial radio broadcasts set to commence in Japan, that same year Seibundo launched the magazine MJ Wireless Radio and Experiments (Musen to jikken) to communicate developments in wireless radio technology.

Around the same time, Seibundo released its first issue of Practical Horticulture (Jissai engei), which was renamed Agriculture and Horticulture (Noko to engei) after World War II. These three magazines contributed to post-disaster recovery and are still published today.

Company Name Changed to Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing

Around the start of the Showa Period (1926–1989), Seibundo began focusing more on advertising. For one year, it was even the industry leader in newspaper ad spending. Seibundo also founded a number of new magazines including Games and Sports, further strengthening its presence in the magazine market.

Seibundo released Desktop Dictionary (Kijo jiten) in 1932, which was a Japanese dictionary with accompanying English entries and handwritten script. These unique features were met with widespread praise and later follow-up editions were released, making Desktop Dictionary a popular seller in the market for years afterward.

In 1935, Seibundo merged with Shinkosha and was renamed its current name, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing Co., Ltd.

The 1940 book Steel or Flesh (Tetsu ka niku ka) by Minetaro Yamanaka, which depicted the Nomonhan Incident between the Soviet Union and Japan in Manchuria, became a bestseller. In addition to publishing activities, Seibundo hosted a number of events, including a model and diorama exhibition at the Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store of the Mitsukoshi department store chain, which was subsequently held every other year, an Alexander Graham Bell science exhibition at the Toho Theater, a model airplane competition, and an airborne battle competition, held in a military officer club.

Publication of Postwar Bestseller Anglo-Japanese Conversation Manual

World War II ended in August 1945, with Tokyo a charred wasteland following the Allied firebombings. Just a month later in September, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing released the Anglo-Japanese Conversation Manual (Nichibei kaiwa techo). The book sold 3.6 million copies the first year, making it a historic postwar bestseller.

During the decade after 1945, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing released Astronomy Yearbook (Tenmon nenkan), Pet Dog Guide (Aiken no tomo) and Idea, part of a series of works that continue to be published today. It also published the Unabridged Tamagawa Encyclopedia (Tamagawa hyakka daijiten) series in cooperation with Tamagawa University, which prompted the 1967 publication of Tamagawa Children’s Encyclopedia (Tamagawa jido hyakka jiten).

Brain (now published by another company) was founded in 1961 and Monthly Astronomy Guide (Gekkan tenmon gaido) was launched in 1965, with the latter (together with Astronomy Yearbook) helping to establish astronomy as a central genre of Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing.

The latter part of the Showa era saw the debut of other popular publications, including Collection of Swift-flying Paper Airplanes (Yoku tobu kamihikoki-shu) by Yasuaki Ninomiya, a longtime bestseller series that sold millions of copies, as well as Collection of Common Test Questions: Complete Memorization Style Amateur MJ Wireless Radio Textbook (Kanzen maru-anki shokyu amachua musen yosomondai-shu), which became the go-to study guide for amateur wireless radio exam hopefuls. Finally, 1984 saw the first issue of Florist, largely completing Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing’s current lineup of magazine offerings.

New Bestsellers in a Wide Range of Genres

Ongoing social and cultural diversification in Japan spurred Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing to publish works in a wider range of genres. Design Note, debuting in 2004, was a mook (a combination of book and magazine formats) that spawned multiple reprints and shined a light on the work of designers.

In 2012, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing celebrated its 100th anniversary. Pursuing a more diverse range of publications, it launched the G-Novels imprint of translated entertainment works that kicked off with a Mad Max: Fury Road visual novel. Other works with ties to films, foreign TV shows and video games as well as American comic books were subsequently translated. Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing also launched the online magazine Yomimono.com, which focuses on personal development topics with articles, essays and other works published as standalone pieces.

More recently, Seibundo has released handicraft books such as Pom Pom Animals (Dobutsu ponpon) by trikotri, bestselling cookbooks including Staub Waterless Cooking (Sutoubu de musui chori) by Yuka Ohashi, and other noteworthy works. A read-aloud series, which includes Raising Your Child to Love Cooking: 365 Fascinating Stories (Ryori suki na ko ni sodatsu fushigi no ohanashi 365), has sold a combined total of more than 160,000 copies.

These are some of the new bestsellers in contemporary genres that Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing has produced while sustaining its long-established series and works.

Embarking on the Reiwa Era