Say-zan-sha Publications, Ltd.

Say-zan-sha Publications, Ltd. (株式会社静山社) is a Japanese publishing house headquartered in Kudan-kita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It was founded on 5 April 1979 by Yukio Matsuoka, initially as a small socially engaged publisher focused on people's history and accounts of illness. Its profile changed markedly in 1986 with the publication of a memoir by an ALS patient, after which it issued many books on ALS and its founder helped establish and support the Japan ALS Association. After Yukio Matsuoka's death in 1997, his wife Yuko Matsuoka, a former simultaneous interpreter, took over as president. The company's best-known achievement came in 1999, when Yuko Matsuoka secured the Japanese publishing rights to J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and translated it herself. The book and its sequels became million-selling bestsellers and ignited a Harry Potter boom in Japan; the series was the company's first translated literary work. Say-zan-sha has since built a catalogue around young-adult and children's literature, translated fantasy and international authors, and tie-in titles related to the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises, including stage-play scripts and illustrated guides. In 2014 the company launched the children's paperback label "Say-zan-sha Pegasus Bunko." Since 1 November 2017 it has operated under Say-zan-sha Holdings Co., Ltd., a group holding company whose subsidiaries include Say-zan-sha, Horupu Shuppan and Shuppan Geijutsu-sha. The publisher remains small, with a stated staff of six and capital of 10 million yen, and continues to run reader campaigns, author events and school reading-promotion tie-ins around its titles.

Say-zan-sha Publications was established on 5 April 1979 by Yukio Matsuoka. In its early years it was a small, socially oriented publisher whose list centred on people's history and personal accounts of illness. A turning point came in 1986 with the publication of a memoir by a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); the book led the company to publish many works on ALS, and Yukio Matsuoka also worked to found and support the Japan ALS Association. Yukio Matsuoka died in 1997, and his wife Yuko Matsuoka, a former English simultaneous interpreter, succeeded him as president. In 1999 she obtained the Japanese publishing rights to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and translated it herself. The book became a bestseller, and its sequels followed as million-sellers, creating a Harry Potter boom in Japan. The series was the company's first translated literary work and transformed its commercial standing. Building on that success, Say-zan-sha developed a catalogue of young-adult and children's literature, translated fantasy and works by international authors, and published tie-in titles connected to the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film franchises, including stage-play scripts and illustrated guides. In 2014 it launched the children's paperback label Say-zan-sha Pegasus Bunko; the label carries the company name because the former name "Pegasus Bunko" was already used by KADOKAWA / Enterbrain's e-book-only imprint Osiris Bunko. On 1 November 2017, Say-zan-sha Holdings Co., Ltd. was established as a group holding company, with Say-zan-sha, Shuppan Geijutsu-sha and Horupu Shuppan under it. Shuppan Geijutsu-sha had come under the group's Phoenix Holdings in April 2015, and Horupu Shuppan in March 2017, making them sister companies of Say-zan-sha. The publisher remains small — capital of 10 million yen and six employees — and continues to run reader campaigns, author events and school reading-promotion programmes around its titles.

• Say-zan-sha founded by Yukio Matsuoka

• Publication of an ALS patient's memoir leads to a focus on ALS-related books

• Founder Yukio Matsuoka dies; Yuko Matsuoka becomes president

• Japanese edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone published, becoming a bestseller

• Children's paperback label Say-zan-sha Pegasus Bunko launched

• Shuppan Geijutsu-sha shares acquired by Phoenix Holdings, becoming a sister company

• Horupu Shuppan shares acquired by Phoenix Holdings, becoming a sister company

• Say-zan-sha Holdings established as group holding company

A small, internationally minded Tokyo publisher specializing in quality translated literature for young adults and children, best known for bringing Harry Potter to Japanese readers.

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Japanese edition)

• Harry Potter series (Japanese editions)

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage script (Tokyo edition)

• Harry Potter Magical World Encyclopedia (official guide)

• Hogwarts Christmas

• The Christmas Pig by J. K. Rowling

• Say-zan-sha Pegasus Bunko label

1. 1株式会社 静山社 official websitesayzansha.com
2. 2静山社 company profilesayzansha.com
3. 3静山社 privacy policysayzansha.com
4. 4Harry Potter history pagesayzansha.com
5. 5Wikidata: Say-zan-sha Publicationswikidata.org
6. 6Wikipedia (Japanese): 静山社ja.wikipedia.org