Uchida Rōkakuhō

Uchida Rōkakuhō (株式会社内田老鶴圃) is a Japanese academic publishing house founded in 1880 (Meiji 13). Headquartered in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, it is one of Japan's older specialist publishers and has for generations concentrated on scholarly books, particularly in the natural sciences, mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and related fields. Its first publication was Chō Sanshū's "Rōkaku Banri no Kokoro." The founder, Uchida Yoshihyōe, originally from Takefu in Fukui Prefecture, was a dealer in picture-books and washi paper in Nihonbashi before turning to publishing and renaming his business "Uchida Rōkakuhō." The firm has been passed down through six generations of proprietors, from Yoshihyōe through Asa, Sakuzō, Atsuji, Satoru, and to the sixth generation. In its early decades it published Chinese and humanities literature and school textbooks; from the second to third generations it actively issued translations, including the first Japanese translation of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" by Uchida Roan, as well as works by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Kant. From the third to fourth generations the focus shifted to natural science, producing notable academic works such as Honda Kōtarō's physics texts, Fujiwara Matsusaburō's algebra and calculus, Yamada Ryōnosuke's materials testing methods, Okamura Kintarō's Japanese seaweed flora, and Katayama Masao's chemistry texts. After World War II the company continued to publish scholarly books and in 1961 (Shōwa 36) won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for "Nihon Suisan Gyofu." It later expanded into humanities and social sciences. Today it remains a private, family-run academic publisher, with Uchida Manabu as representative director and president, and capital of 10 million yen. Its catalog includes series such as the Uchida Rōkakuhō Mathematics Series, the Applied Analysis Basics Series, the Classic Mathematics Series, the Materials Science Series, and the JME Materials Science Series, covering mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, information science, and related disciplines.

Uchida Rōkakuhō was founded in 1880 (Meiji 13), the year the first publication, Chō Sanshū's "Rōkaku Banri no Kokoro," appeared. The founder, Uchida Yoshihyōe, was from Takefu in Fukui Prefecture and had established a shop on the Nihonbashi riverbank as a dealer in picture-books and washi paper under the name "Iwamotoya." Deeply versed in Chinese classics and sensing the cultural flourishing of the era, he moved into publishing and renamed the business "Uchida Rōkakuhō." The Meiji 13 period was one of rising movements for a national assembly and popular rights, and many universities (Hōsei, Senshū, Meiji, Gakushūin) were founded around then. The firm passed from the first Yoshihyōe to Asa (Yoshihyōe's wife), then to the third Sakuzō, fourth Atsuji, fifth Satoru, and sixth generation. In the first and second generations, the company published works in Chinese literature and the humanities, as well as textbooks and supplementary readers aligned with school education. From the second to third generations, translations were actively published, including the first Japanese translation of "Crime and Punishment" by Uchida Roan, and translations of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Kant. From the third to fourth generations, emphasis shifted to natural science books. Notable academic works included Honda Kōtarō's general physics, Fujiwara Matsusaburō's algebra and calculus, Yamada Ryōnosuke's materials testing methods, Okamura Kintarō's Japanese seaweed flora, Sudō Shinkichi's outline of logic, Inoue Kiyotsune's biology, and Katayama Masao's chemical theory, along with chemistry books by Nagami Saichirō, Yamaoka Nozomu, and Koyama Kiichi. These helped the company develop into a representative Japanese publisher. It survived the post-war turmoil with an unwavering ideal and belief in academic publishing, and in 1961 (Shōwa 36) won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for "Nihon Suisan Gyofu." It also expanded into humanities and social sciences. Entering the new century, amid constant change in science, technology, and all aspects of society, the company has kept its mission as a specialist academic publisher in mind, aiming to respond to readers' demands and continue providing better academic books.

• 1961

  Won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for "Nihon Suisan Gyofu."

• 1880

  Founded in Meiji 13; first publication was Chō Sanshū's "Rōkaku Banri no Kokoro."

Specialist academic publisher focused on natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering, with a long tradition of scholarly and educational publishing.

• Uchida Rōkakuhō Mathematics Series

• Applied Analysis Basics Series

• Classic Mathematics Series

• Materials Science Series

• JME Materials Science Series

• Materials Science Researchers' Continuum Mechanics Exercise Book

• Materials Science Mathematics: From Atomic Vibrations to Macroscopic Waves

• Functions for Learning Engineering: Hilbert Spaces and Carleman Methods

1. 1内田老鶴圃 公式サイトrokakuho.co.jp
2. 2内田老鶴圃−会社案内rokakuho.co.jp
3. 3Uchida Rōkakuhō - Wikidatawikidata.org