Tokyo Sogensha


Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. is a Japanese publisher of mystery fiction, science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction and social science, based in Tokyo.

History

In 1925, a publisher called Sogensha Inc. of Osaka was established with a branch in Tokyo.
In 1948, the Tokyo branch of Sogensha spun off into a separate company with the same name, Sogensha.
In 1954, Sogensha was officially reorganized into Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd.
Between 1962 and 1970, Tokyo Sogensha changed its name to Tokyo Sogen Shinsha due to its reconstruction from bankruptcy.
Both Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. and Sogensha Inc. exist as unrelated publishing companies.
In 2013, the official mascot cat named Kurari was released. Kurari's name is from Japanese kanji so of Sogensha. So can be divided to kanji kura and katakana ri.

Imprints

  • Started in 1959. It is one of the leading Bunkobon labels focusing on mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The label had specialized in translation until 1984 then the company started publishing Japanese works.
  • See below.
  • Started in 1995
  • Magazines
  • * 1992-2000
  • * 2001-2003
  • * 2003-2021
  • * 2021-

    Science fiction

As a science fiction publisher, Tokyo Sogensha began with the translation of Fredric Brown's works as a division of Sōgen Suiri Bunko in 1963. The division and its continuation, which was renamed as in 1991, are Japan's oldest existing Sci-Fi bunkobon label. It published 677 books as of 2015 including the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Lois McMaster Bujold, Vernor Vinge, James P. Hogan, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Charles Wilson, and Greg Egan. It scored early success in the post-war period with the Barsoom books of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the words of E. E. Smith.
Sogen SF Bunko had specialized in translation until 2007 then it started publishing Japanese works. The first Japanese titles were reprints of Legend of Galactic Heroes #1 by Yoshiki Tanaka and Babylonia Wave by Akira Hori.

Recognition

Tokyo Sogensha won the Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work for 18 works out of 52 times ; the Nihon SF Taisho Award in 2012, 2013 and 2019 for Japanese Works.

Horror/Fantasy

Notable authors published by Tokyo Sogensha include Shirley Jackson, H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe.

Prizes

Tokyo Sogensha awards some prizes for unpublished Japanese works to recruit new writers of specific genres: