Akaneshobo

Akaneshobo (株式会社あかね書房) is a Japanese publishing house dedicated to children's literature, headquartered in Nishikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It was founded on April 5, 1949, by Rikuto Okamoto in Kanda-Jinbocho, Tokyo, and began publishing with the three-volume "Nihon Otogi Bunko" series. The company was incorporated in 1951 and has since built a catalogue spanning picture books, juvenile fiction, non-fiction, science albums, and quiz books for young readers. Over the decades, Akaneshobo has launched several long-running series that became staples in Japanese schools and libraries, including "Shōnen Shōjo Nihon Bungaku Senshū" (1955), "Shōnen Shōjo Sekai Suiri Bungaku Zenshū" (1963), "Nihon no Sōsaku Yōnen Dōwa" (1968), the photographic encyclopedia "Kagaku no Album" (1970), and the popular "Pyokotan" quiz-book series (1977). The publisher has received numerous awards, notably the Sankei Children's Book Culture Award, the Roadside Stone Literary Prize, the Mukai Hatojū Children's Literature Prize, and the Shogakukan Children's Book Culture Award. The company remains privately held and family-influenced: Masaharu Okamoto became president in 1984, followed by Mitsuharu Okamoto in 2013. It operates a sales office in Osaka and a distribution center in Okegawa, Saitama. Akaneshobo continues to release new titles and to organize events such as original-art exhibitions for its picture books across Japan, maintaining a strong presence in the Japanese children's book market.

Akaneshobo was founded on April 5, 1949, by Rikuto Okamoto in Kanda-Jinbocho, Tokyo, under the name Akaneshobo. Its first publication was the three-volume "Nihon Otogi Bunko" series, marking the start of its publishing business. In 1951 the company was incorporated as a joint-stock company (kabushiki gaisha). In 1955 Akaneshobo began issuing the "Shōnen Shōjo Nihon Bungaku Senshū" (Boys' and Girls' Japanese Literature Selections) using modern kana orthography and tōyō kanji; the series won the 4th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award. A new company building was completed in Nishikanda in 1956. The 1960s and 1970s saw the launch of several landmark series: "Shōnen Shōjo Sekai Suiri Bungaku Zenshū" (1963), "Nihon no Sōsaku Yōnen Dōwa" (1968), the photographic encyclopedia "Kagaku no Album" (1970), which won the 23rd Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize and was selected by the Japan School Library Association, and the best-selling "Pyokotan" quiz-book series beginning in 1977 with "Pyokotan no Atama no Taisō." Masaharu Okamoto became president in 1984. In the 1990s and 2000s the publisher continued to earn literary honors: the "Kanzawa Toshiko Collection" (1996) and Ekuni Kaori's "Boku no Kotori-chan" (1999) both won the Roadside Stone Literary Prize; Kawamata Kieka's "Orenji-ya no Kinuko-san" won the 12th Mukai Hatojū Children's Literature Prize in 2002. In 2007 Kashiwaba Sachiko and Sasameya Yuki's "Botan-san no Fushigi na Mainichi" won the 54th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize, and Satō Satoru and Murakami Yutaka's "Honchō Kidan Tengu Dōji" won the 37th Akai Tori Literary Prize and 21st Akai Tori Illustration Prize. That same year, on November 26, the company moved from Kanda-Jinbocho to its current location in Nishikanda. In 2008 Hirose Hisako and Sasameya Yuki's "Bokura wa 'Kōmori Ana' o Nukete" won the 55th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize. In 2009, for its 60th anniversary, Akaneshobo published the ten-volume "Nihon no Mukashibanashi Ehon" by Yamashita Haruo. The "Trick Art Zukan" series by Kitaoka Akiyoshi, launched in 2011, became a bestseller enjoyed by both children and adults; that year Hasegawa Hōsei's "Sorha" won the 60th Shogakukan Children's Book Culture Award. Mitsuharu Okamoto became president in 2013. In 2014 Miloco Machiko's "Boku no Futon wa Umi de Dekiteiru" won the 63rd Shogakukan Children's Book Culture Award. Today Akaneshobo remains an independent, private publisher with its head office in Chiyoda, Tokyo, an Osaka sales office, and a distribution center in Okegawa, Saitama. It continues to publish new children's books and to support author events and original-art exhibitions across Japan.

• Founded by Rikuto Okamoto in Kanda-Jinbocho, Tokyo; begins publishing with the three-volume 'Nihon Otogi Bunko' series.

• Incorporated as a joint-stock company.

• Launches 'Shōnen Shōjo Nihon Bungaku Senshū'; wins the 4th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award.

• New company building completed in Nishikanda.

• Launches 'Shōnen Shōjo Sekai Suiri Bungaku Zenshū'.

• Launches 'Nihon no Sōsaku Yōnen Dōwa'.

• Launches photographic encyclopedia 'Kagaku no Album'; wins 23rd Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize and is selected by the Japan School Library Association.

• Launches the 'Pyokotan' quiz-book series with 'Pyokotan no Atama no Taisō'.

• Masaharu Okamoto becomes president.

• 'Kanzawa Toshiko Collection' (5 volumes) wins the 18th Roadside Stone Literary Prize.

• Ekuni Kaori's 'Boku no Kotori-chan' wins the 21st Roadside Stone Literary Prize.

• Kawamata Kieka's 'Orenji-ya no Kinuko-san' wins the 12th Mukai Hatojū Children's Literature Prize.

• 'Botan-san no Fushigi na Mainichi' wins the 54th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize; 'Honchō Kidan Tengu Dōji' wins the 37th Akai Tori Literary Prize and 21st Akai Tori Illustration Prize; office moves to current Nishikanda location on November 26.

• 'Bokura wa Kōmori Ana o Nukete' wins the 55th Sankei Children's Book Culture Award Grand Prize.

• 60th anniversary project: publishes 10-volume 'Nihon no Mukashibanashi Ehon' by Yamashita Haruo.

• Launches 'Trick Art Zukan' series by Kitaoka Akiyoshi, which becomes a bestseller; 'Sorha' wins the 60th Shogakukan Children's Book Culture Award.

• Mitsuharu Okamoto becomes president.

• Miloco Machiko's 'Boku no Futon wa Umi de Dekiteiru' wins the 63rd Shogakukan Children's Book Culture Award.

A long-established, independent Japanese publisher focused on quality children's literature, picture books, and educational non-fiction for schools, libraries, and families.

• 1949

  Nihon Otogi Bunko (3 volumes)

• 1955

  Shōnen Shōjo Nihon Bungaku Senshū (30 volumes)

• 1963

  Shōnen Shōjo Sekai Suiri Bungaku Zenshū (20 volumes)

• 1968

  Nihon no Sōsaku Yōnen Dōwa (25 volumes)

• 1970

  Kagaku no Album (104 volumes)

• 1977

  Pyokotan no Atama no Taisō series

• Shōnen Shōjo Sekai SF Bungaku Zenshū (20 volumes)

• Shōnen Shōjo Sekai no Rekishi (12 volumes)

• 1996

  Kanzawa Toshiko Collection (5 volumes)

• 2009

  Nihon no Mukashibanashi Ehon (10 volumes)

• 2011

  Trick Art Zukan series

• 1999

  Boku no Kotori-chan by Ekuni Kaori

• 2002

  Orenji-ya no Kinuko-san by Kawamata Kieka

• 2007

  Botan-san no Fushigi na Mainichi by Kashiwaba Sachiko and Sasameya Yuki

• 2007

  Honchō Kidan Tengu Dōji by Satō Satoru and Murakami Yutaka

• 2008

  Bokura wa 'Kōmori Ana' o Nukete by Hirose Hisako and Sasameya Yuki

• 2011

  Sorha by Hasegawa Hōsei

• 2014

  Boku no Futon wa Umi de Dekiteiru by Miloco Machiko

• Kurino-ki En no Otomodachi series

• Kaizoku Pocket series

• Magāku Shōnen Tanteidan series

• Kyōretsu Kagakusha Franny series

1. 1子どもの本のあかね書房akaneshobo.co.jp
2. 2茜書房 - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3あかね書房 - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org