Seiji Noma

Seiji Noma (野間 清治, 1878–1938) was a Japanese writer and publisher who was the founder of Kodansha, a leading publishing company. He was the founder and publisher of many well-known newspapers and magazines.

Seiji Noma
Born1878
Died1938 (aged 59–60)
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationJournalist
Known forfounder of Kodansha

Early life and education

Noma was born in 1878.[1][2] His father hailed from a samurai family and was himself a samurai.[3]

Noma was educated as a teacher.[1]

Career

Following his graduation Noma worked as a teacher in the Luchu Islands.[1] Later he served as a schoolmaster.[3] Then he began to work as an administrative official at the Imperial University's law department in Tokyo.[3]

Noma established a publishing company, Dainihon Yūbenkai (Japanese: the Great Japanese Oratorical Society), in 1910.[1] The company would be later renamed as Kodansha.[4] The first publication of the company was Yūben, a monthly magazine on public speech.[3][4]

The nine magazines Noma started enjoyed high levels of circulations and were very influential on the popular culture of Japan.[5] His goal in starting these titles was to modernize, entertain and educate Japanese society.[3] On the other hand, they comprised the 75% of the total circulation of all Japanese publications.[6] These publications included Kodan Club, Shōnen Club, Omoshiro Club, Gendai (Japanese: Present Generation), Fujin Club, Shōjo Club and Kingu.[1] The latter was his flagship magazine which was identified with the company.[7] In 1930 he established Hochi Shimbun (Japanese: Intelligence Newspaper) which also became an influential publication.[1]

Personal life and death

Noma's wife was a teacher.[2] He died of heart attack in Tokyo on 18 October 1938.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Books: Clubby Magazines". Time. 10 September 1934. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  2. "Vox Populi: Bank of Japan is overstepping with new climate change program". The Asahi Shimbun. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  3. Catherine Yoonah Bae (2008). All the girl's a stage: Representations of femininity and adolescence in Japanese girls' magazines, 1930s–1960s (PhD thesis). Stanford University. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-549-62286-4. ProQuest 304468205.
  4. Junya Morooka (2014). "Historical Inquiry Into Debate Education In Early 20th Century Japan: The Case of Intercollegiate Debates In Yūben". Rozenberg Quarterly.
  5. Joy Poulson (2019). "Women in Media". In Joyce C Lebra; et al. (eds.). Women In Changing Japan. New York; Abingdon: Routledge. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-000-01107-4.
  6. S. Takahashi (1946). "The Magazines of Japan" (PDF). EVols. 13 (1): 55.
  7. Amy Bliss Marshall (2019). Magazines and the Making of Mass Culture in Japan. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4875-0286-7.
  8. "Seiji Noma, Writer, Japanese Publisher; Owner of Newspaper Hochi Also Developed Magazines". The New York Times. 18 October 1938. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
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