Charles E. Tuttle
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Charles Egbert Tuttle Jr. (April 5, 1915 – June 9, 1993) was an American publisher and book dealer who was internationally recognized for his contributions to understanding between the English- and Japanese-speaking worlds.<ref name="Ingleton1993">Ingleton, N. (1993): Obituary: Charles E. Tuttle The Independent (July 7, 1993). Retrieved on April 17, 2010.</ref><ref name="Saxon1993">Saxon, W. (1993): Obituary: Charles Tuttle, 78, a dealer in books on US-Asian ties New York Times (June 11, 1993). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref> Belonging to a family long associated with publishing, he travelled to Japan in a military role at the end of World War II, and established a publishing company there. Tuttle was the founder and eponym of the Charles E. Tuttle Company, now named Tuttle Publishing. Many of his company's books on Asian martial arts, particularly those on Japanese martial arts, were the first widely read publications on these subjects in the English language.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/>
Early life
Tuttle was born on April 5, 1915, in Rutland, Vermont, United States of America.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> His family had long been involved in printing books and stationery, dating from the mid-19th century in the US, and tracing their history back to Richard Tottel in the late 16th century in London.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="Edwards2006">Edwards, B. (2006): Used book shop closes its doors Template:Webarchive Rutland Herald (July 20, 2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref> His father, Charles E. Tuttle Sr., published African-American literature and dealt in rare books, and also worked closely with the Vermont Historical Society.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="Graffagnino2008">Graffagnino, J. K. (2008): Tuttle Endowment will benefit all Vermont History Connections: Vermont Historical Society news & notes, 2(2):2. Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref> Tuttle attended local schools, the Phillips Exeter Academy, and Harvard University for his education.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> At university, he studied American history and literature.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> After graduating in 1937, he worked in the library of Columbia University for a year, then joined the family business.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="Saxon1993"/>
Japan
In 1943, Tuttle's father died and, with World War II in progress, he enlisted in the United States Army.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> He completed officer training and, when the war ended, was selected as part of the Allied forces occupying Japan.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> He arrived in Tokyo in October 1945, expecting to take charge of the library of the Diet of Japan (as he had been ordered), only to find that General Douglas MacArthur's staff had changed his assignment.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> He spent the next two years helping the Japanese newspaper industry.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> In 1947, Tuttle met Reiko Chiba, who belonged to a wealthy Japanese family from Hokkaidō; the two were married in 1951.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/>
Tuttle founded his publishing company in Tokyo in 1948, with the mission to publish "books to span the East and West."<ref name="TuttlePublishing">Tutttle Publishing: About us Template:Webarchive Retrieved on April 17, 2010.</ref> His company was the 31st corporation approved by the occupying administration.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> In its first year of operation, it imported and distributed US paperback publications to the occupying forces, and the next year, it released its first publication.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/> In 1951, the company began an intensive publishing program, producing English translations of contemporary Japanese literature, dictionaries of Japanese and other Asian languages, books on Japanese art and culture, and books on Japanese martial arts.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="Saxon1993"/><ref name="Edwards2006"/> Notably, many of its books on Asian martial arts were the first widely read publications on these subjects in the English language.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/>
Later life
In 1971, the Association of American Publishers named Tuttle as its Publisher of the Year.<ref name="TuttlePublishing"/> In June 1978, he and his nephew, Tom Mori, founded the Tuttle-Mori Agency.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="TuttleMori2006">Tuttle-Mori Agency: Corporate profile (2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref> In 1983, the Japanese government awarded him the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon), for his contributions to the advancement of Japanese–American understanding.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="JapanTimes2006">Obituary: Reiko Chiba Tuttle Japan Times (April 18, 2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref><ref name="Thiebaud2007">Thiébaud, J.-M. (2007): L'Ordre du Trésor Sacré (Japon) (December 2007) Template:In lang. Retrieved on April 17, 2010.</ref> Through the late 1980s, Tuttle focused on the rare book business.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/>
Following a brief illness, Tuttle died in his sleep on June 9, 1993, in his home town of Rutland, and was survived by his wife.<ref name="Ingleton1993"/><ref name="Saxon1993"/> Reiko Tuttle continued to run Charles E. Tuttle Company until 1996, when she sold the business to a cousin, Eric Oey and Tuttle Antiquarian Books until 2001, when she sold the business to two long-serving Tuttle company employees.<ref name="Edwards2006"/><ref name="TuttleTop20">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Peters2010">Peters, S. M. (2010): Tuttle estate items to go to auction Template:Webarchive Times Argus (March 20, 2010). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.</ref> She died on April 14, 2006, in Tokyo.<ref name="Edwards2006"/><ref name="Graffagnino2008"/><ref name="JapanTimes2006"/> Reflecting on the couple's contribution to Vermont, J. Kevin Graffagnino, Executive Director of the Vermont Historical Society, wrote: "Charles and Reiko Tuttle epitomized Vermont’s tradition of making a difference without fanfare or self-congratulation."<ref name="Graffagnino2008"/>
References
External links
- Tuttle-Mori Agency: Corporate profile contains a photograph of Tuttle with his wife and nephew (c. 1980).