The Era of the Complete Works of Japanese Literature: Reading the Postwar History of Publishing Culture

It is fair to say that the education of the baby boomer generation, as well as those from the wartime and postwar generations, was nurtured by complete works of Japanese and world literature. I have heard that even today, international students researching Japanese literature and culture use them as a fountain of knowledge. The purpose of this book is to record the flow of these complete works of literature and to situate them within the history of publishing culture.

One often hears stories of spending vast amounts of time and money collecting basic materials for writing, but in the case of this book, while time was certainly spent, the financial burden was small. This is because the prices of used complete works of literature have plummeted. While this was helpful in one sense, it left me with a stronger feeling of loneliness. Instead of the issue of cost, what emerged was the challenge of securing a large space to inspect these massive sets of complete works one after another. The reason I came to my research office almost every day, and sometimes on Saturdays and Sundays, was not because I was a diligent researcher, but because I needed a place to pile up the books. This book was created by spending time and space—not in a metaphorical sense, but in a literal, physical sense!

While purchasing complete works of literature and related materials one after another at used bookstores, I also had unexpected encounters. There are enthusiasts who boast that the joy of used books lies in the traces left by previous owners; one set of complete works appeared to have belonged to someone during their student days who later made a brilliant transition from a high-ranking official to a governor and then a member of the Diet. A delivery slip from a local bookstore addressed to the individual was tucked inside. An unapproachable member of the elite suddenly felt much more relatable.

Libraries in various regions were just as helpful as used bookstores. Variant editions of complete works of literature are like a quagmire. No matter how many you collect, anxiety remains. When visiting literary museums as a hobby, I always visit the local library to look at the shelves of complete works of literature. I was deeply moved by libraries that preserved books with their original slipcases and belly bands, or those that held duplicate copies of variant editions if the books were by local authors.

Company histories and publication catalogs from publishers are essential for this type of research. Detailed company histories were indispensable for verifying the descriptions and conjectures in this book. I was even able to correct some parts of the descriptions in those vast company histories, but that was only possible because each company poured love into its publications and recorded every detail, large and small. This book stands upon the love poured into books by publishers, libraries, used bookstores, and others.

The Era of the Complete Works of Japanese Literature: Reading the Postwar History of Publishing Culture

Kenji Tasaka (Author)

Keio University Press

296 pages, 2,400 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of writing.