 Heibonsha company logo | |
| Founded | 1914 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Shimonaka Yasaburō |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Headquarters location | Tokyo |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website | www |
Heibonsha (平凡社) is a Japanesepublishing company based inTokyo, which publishesencyclopedias, dictionaries and books in the fields of science and philosophy. Since 1945 it has also published books on art and literature.[1][2] Similarly to theIwanami Shoten and theChikuma Shobō publishing houses, its publishing program is directed primarily at an academic audience and features well-illustrated publications.[3]
Heibonsha's head office is at 3-29Kanda-jinbocho,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 101-0051.[4]
In 1914 the educator Shimonaka Yasaburō (下中彌三郎) (1878–1961)[1] founded the Heibonsha publishing house as a means of selling copies of his pocket encyclopediaThat is Convenient: Pocket Advisor (や此は便利だ! : ポケツト顧問, Ya kore wa benri da: Poketto komon)[5] to the general public. In 1923 it was converted into apublic limited company. In 1924, in the wake of the1923 Great Kantō earthquake, it began to publish books on a larger scale. In 1927, it began publishing the 60-volumeCollection of Contemporary Popular Literature (現代大衆文学全集, Gendai taishū bungaku senshū)[6] as a series of budget small format books, which have been dubbed a series of "one-yen books" (一円本).[7] Beginning in 1928 there followed the publication of itsEncyclopedia (大百科事典, Daihyakka jiten) in 28 volumes, the final volume of which appeared in 1934.[3]
In the years 1934–36 Heibonsha published theDaijiten (大辭典, Great/ComprehensiveDictionary), edited by Shimonaka Yasaburō. This work remains the largestkokugo dictionary ever published. The original 26-volume edition, which is still available in condensed versions, entered over 700,000 headwords, listed by pronunciation, and covered a wide variety of Japanese vocabulary.[3][8]
The publishing house ceased operations in the 1940s, but at the end of theSecond World War in 1945 it relaunched with a reprinting of the 1934Encyclopedia. Over the following decade new works followed, including theSocial Encyclopedia (社会科事典, Shakaika jinten),[9]Housekeeping (家庭科事典, Kateika jitan),Complete Collection of World Art (世界美術全集, Sekai bijutsu zenshū),[10]Encyclopedia of World History (世界歴史事典, Sekai rekishi jiten),[11] and theChildren's Encyclopedia (児童百科事典, Kodomo hyakkaten).[12] In 1954–59, in order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the publishing house, a 32-volume comprehensiveWorld Encyclopedia (世界大百科事典, Sekai hyakka jiten) was issued.[3]
In 1961, as part of anencyclopedia boom, the company'sNational Encyclopedia (国民百科事典, Kokumin hyakka jiten) appeared. In 1963, Heibonsha launched Japan's first monthly graphics magazine,Sun (太陽, Taiyō).[1][13] "The Eastern Library Series" (東洋文庫, Tōyō Bunko)book series was issued featuring a comprehensive range of literature from theFar East.[14][3]
1971 saw the launch of another book series under the title ofHeibonsha Selected Books (平凡社選書, Heibonsha sensho),[15] which was followed in 1972 by the first edition ofSpecial Editions Taiyō (別冊 太陽, Bessho Teiyō).[16] In the early 1970sWeatherhill, a U.S.-based publisher, and Heibonsha jointly published The Heibonsha Survey of Japanese Art, a book series with text in both Japanese and English.[17][18] In 1979 the 50-volumegazeteerJapanese Historical Place Names (日本歴史地名大系, Nihon rekishi chimei taikei) series began to be published,[3] and as of 2022 it is also available online with "200,000 headings with detailed explanations of [each] place name".[19]
.jpg)
In 1980 the Japanese Map Research Institute (日本地図研究所, Nihon chizu kenkyūjo), an internal division of Heibonsha, was spun off as the Heibonsha Map Publishing (平凡社地図出版, Heibonsha chizu shuppan)imprint. In 1984, Heibonsha published a 16-volumeEncyclopedia (大百科事典), and in 1987 the publication of the seven-volumeWorld Great Museum Picture Book (世界大博物図鑑, Sekai dai-hakubutsu zukan) began.[20] In 1988 the publication of all 35 volumes of theWorld Encyclopedia (世界大百科事典, Sekai daihayakka jiten) was completed.[21] 1993 saw the launch of the "Heibonsha Library" (平凡社ライブラリー, Heibonsha raiburarī) book series,[1][22][3][23] and in 1994 the "Corona Books" (コロナ・ブックス, Korona bukkusu) book series began issuing volumes.[24]
In 2011 a new magazineHeart (こころ, Kokoro) began publication.[citation needed] In 2012 the company moved its offices acrossTokyo toKanda-Jimbochō.[citation needed] In 2014 the 100th anniversary of the publishing house was celebrated.[how?]
