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Naomi (novel)
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
novel
by Japanese writer
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965). Writing of the novel began in 1924, and from March to June, published the first several chapters of the serial
. Four months later, the periodical started to publish the remaining chapters. Various Japan
ese and United States
publishers have compiled the chapters and published them as a book since 1947.
Narrated in the first person by the protagonist, a salaryman
named Joji, the novel follows his attempt to groom a Eurasian
-looking girl, the titular Naomi, to be a Westernized woman. Naomi is a significant work in its comic depiction of Japanese culture
of the era and its fascination with the West
. The clash between older and newer generations over the more progressive depictions of women, such as Naomi, has been viewed as a clash over Japan's transition into the modern period.
or modern girl. The main character, Joji, is a well-educated Japanese man who is a middle management white collar worker in the city, and comes from a wealthy landlord
family. Joji wishes to break away from his traditional Japanese culture
, and becomes immersed in the strange new Westernized culture which was beginning to form in Japan. The physical representation of everything Western is embodied in a young girl named Naomi. Joji sees Naomi for the first time in a café and instantly falls for her exotic "Eurasian
" looks, Western-sounding name, and sophisticated mannerisms. Like the story of the prepubescent Murasaki
in the classic novel The Tale of Genji
, Joji decides he will raise Naomi to be his perfect woman: in this case he will forge her into a glamorous Western girl like Mary Pickford
, a famous Canadian actress of the silent film
era.
Joji moves Naomi into his home and begins his efforts to make her a perfect Western wife. She turns out to be a very willing pupil. He pays for her English
education, and though she has no skill in it, she possesses beautiful pronunciation. He funds her Western activities, including her love of the theatre
and reading magazines. During the early part of the novel Joji makes no sexual advances on Naomi, preferring instead to groom her according to his desires and observe her from a distance. However, his plan to foster Western ideals such as independence in her backfires dramatically as she gets older.
Joji begins the novel being the dominator. However, as time progresses and his obsession takes hold, Naomi's manipulation puts her in a position of power over him. Slowly Joji turns power over to Naomi, conceding to everything she desires. He buys a new house for them, and though they are married, Joji sleeps in a separate bedroom, while Naomi entertains Western visitors in another room. The book ends with Naomi having complete control of Joji's life, though he claims he is satisfied as long as his obsession with her is satiated.
; a well educated 28 year old man from a wealthy landlord family. He wishes to break from tradition, and moves to the city to become more Westernized. He meets Naomi when she was 15, and takes her under his wing to educate her. He becomes obsessed with the young girl and gives her everything she desires. Later he marries Naomi and becomes dominated by her.
Naomi — The antagonist; she is a beautiful young girl with many Western features including her name. She is uneducated but embodies Western culture. Naomi enjoys Western activities like visiting the theatre or looking at the pictures in Western magazines. She is the perfect example of a modern girl with little inhibitions and very sexually aggressive. Naomi is extremely manipulative
and manages to take control of her relationship with Joji, beginning as a subordinate to becoming a dominatrix.
, a city near to Tokyo and full of Western influence. However, he was forced to move after 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
devastated much of Yokohama. Fires broke out and destroyed major parts of Tokyo. The earthquake caused extensive damage, and many occupants of Tokyo and other major cities had to relocate. Tanizaki moved to Osaka
where he spent the rest of his life writing works of fiction. Tanizaki won the Imperial Cultural Prize, the highest honor awarded to artists in Japan
, for his various works of literature. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize
for his lifetime achievements before his death in 1965.
Tanizaki wrote Naomi, in his early years, during the Japanese Industrial Revolution when Western influences took root in Japan, contrary to the Meiji period
when Western ideas were first introduced. During this time Japan was transitioning from an unindustrialized nation to a industrialized, economic super-power. The novel reflects the perspective of a man shifting between modern and traditional Japan, and the conflicts associated with the era.
According to Anthony H. Chambers in his Introduction to the First Vintage International Edition of the book, the character Naomi was based upon Tanizaki's sister-in-law who had learned to dance from a Western friend and who inspired his interest in dancing.
During the Revolution, a woman's role in society was drastically changing. In the early stages of the Meiji Restoration
, women were limited to working in textile factories
. These factories provided dormitories for the workers who sent back their wages to their families in the countryside. However, during the Revolution, women started to take on other jobs as more population moved into the cities. The shift from country living to modern urban living, along with a growing adoption of Western culture
created a new niche in society for women. The arrival of Western fashion and cosmetics
spawned numerous job opportunities. Women became sales associates in department stores, or worked in service related jobs (in Naomi’s case as a café
waitress). This lifestyle transition from country to city allowed many women to become independent of their families and employers. The act of these women beginning to choose their own men created more shock than their career independence. They lived on their own without being a subordinate to any men (including fathers and husbands). Tanizaki's character Naomi, a 15-year-old girl living on her own in the city, is a perfect example of this new class of women. Culture critics picked up Tanizaki's term modan garu
, from the English "modern girl", to describe this new class of women. "Modern girls" can be described as being independent, not bound by traditions or conventions, lacking Japanese grace but having tons of vitality, and holding apolitical views (not caring about women's suffrage
).
s; however, it sounds Western so throughout the rest of the novel that Naomi's name is depicted in katakana
, the Japanese alphabet reserved for writing out and sounding out foreign words.
A dramatic irony
occurs when readers learn that although Joji's knowledge of English is excellent, his accent
prevents him from truly mastering English. Conversely, Naomi pronounces English very well, but cannot string together a coherent sentence. Naomi also loves superficiality and is passionate about Western theatre and culture. An example of how Naomi loves Western culture but does not truly belong is her purchases of Western magazines, despite being able only to look at the pictures due to her inability to read English. Tanizaki portrays the traditional Japanese man being seduced by the siren's song of Western culture only to be trapped by it.
Tanizaki's writing is applauded by literary critics for his ability to turn a sexy café waitress with Eurasian features into a manipulative succubus
. He shows the irony of both sexual and cultural conquest, and sums it up in the opening paragraph of his book: "As Japan grows increasingly cosmopolitan, Japanese and foreigners are eagerly mingling with one another; all sorts of new doctrines and philosophies are being introduced; and both men and women are adopting up-to-date Western fashions".
movement in the United States in the same period.
The other class explicitly shown in Naomi is the middle management, white collar
class males. In the story, Joji is known to be a skilled educated worker from a well off landlord family. He is the embodiment of a new class of Japanese salarymen
. After the Meiji Restoration, the educated males moved into the cities to attend universities and become white collar business workers as opposed to the farmers, artisans, and merchants of the past. Joji is unusual because he belongs to an upper level management. In the novel, he seldom works hard, only going into the office for a few hours each day. In contrast, the average salaryman works long working hours with little prestige, and with little hope of climbing the corporate hierarchy.
.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Japanese writer
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965). Writing of the novel began in 1924, and from March to June, published the first several chapters of the serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
. Four months later, the periodical started to publish the remaining chapters. Various Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publishers have compiled the chapters and published them as a book since 1947.
Narrated in the first person by the protagonist, a salaryman
Salaryman
refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
named Joji, the novel follows his attempt to groom a Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
-looking girl, the titular Naomi, to be a Westernized woman. Naomi is a significant work in its comic depiction of Japanese culture
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
of the era and its fascination with the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. The clash between older and newer generations over the more progressive depictions of women, such as Naomi, has been viewed as a clash over Japan's transition into the modern period.
Plot summary
Naomis story is focused around a man's obsession for a modan garuModern girl
were Japanese women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the 1920s. These moga were Japan's equivalent of America's flappers, India's kallege ladki, Germany's neue Frauen, France's garçonnes, or China's modeng xiaojie...
or modern girl. The main character, Joji, is a well-educated Japanese man who is a middle management white collar worker in the city, and comes from a wealthy landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
family. Joji wishes to break away from his traditional Japanese culture
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
, and becomes immersed in the strange new Westernized culture which was beginning to form in Japan. The physical representation of everything Western is embodied in a young girl named Naomi. Joji sees Naomi for the first time in a café and instantly falls for her exotic "Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
" looks, Western-sounding name, and sophisticated mannerisms. Like the story of the prepubescent Murasaki
Murasaki
Murasaki refers to both the heroine of the Genji Monogatari , and the book's author, Murasaki Shikibu. Curiously, in both cases the name is a pseudonym, and the real names are unknown....
in the classic novel The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...
, Joji decides he will raise Naomi to be his perfect woman: in this case he will forge her into a glamorous Western girl like Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, a famous Canadian actress of the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era.
Joji moves Naomi into his home and begins his efforts to make her a perfect Western wife. She turns out to be a very willing pupil. He pays for her English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
education, and though she has no skill in it, she possesses beautiful pronunciation. He funds her Western activities, including her love of the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and reading magazines. During the early part of the novel Joji makes no sexual advances on Naomi, preferring instead to groom her according to his desires and observe her from a distance. However, his plan to foster Western ideals such as independence in her backfires dramatically as she gets older.
Joji begins the novel being the dominator. However, as time progresses and his obsession takes hold, Naomi's manipulation puts her in a position of power over him. Slowly Joji turns power over to Naomi, conceding to everything she desires. He buys a new house for them, and though they are married, Joji sleeps in a separate bedroom, while Naomi entertains Western visitors in another room. The book ends with Naomi having complete control of Joji's life, though he claims he is satisfied as long as his obsession with her is satiated.
Main characters
Joji — The protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
; a well educated 28 year old man from a wealthy landlord family. He wishes to break from tradition, and moves to the city to become more Westernized. He meets Naomi when she was 15, and takes her under his wing to educate her. He becomes obsessed with the young girl and gives her everything she desires. Later he marries Naomi and becomes dominated by her.
Naomi — The antagonist; she is a beautiful young girl with many Western features including her name. She is uneducated but embodies Western culture. Naomi enjoys Western activities like visiting the theatre or looking at the pictures in Western magazines. She is the perfect example of a modern girl with little inhibitions and very sexually aggressive. Naomi is extremely manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
and manages to take control of her relationship with Joji, beginning as a subordinate to becoming a dominatrix.
Background
Before Jun'ichirō Tanizaki wrote Naomi, he lived in YokohamaYokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, a city near to Tokyo and full of Western influence. However, he was forced to move after 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
devastated much of Yokohama. Fires broke out and destroyed major parts of Tokyo. The earthquake caused extensive damage, and many occupants of Tokyo and other major cities had to relocate. Tanizaki moved to Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
where he spent the rest of his life writing works of fiction. Tanizaki won the Imperial Cultural Prize, the highest honor awarded to artists in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, for his various works of literature. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for his lifetime achievements before his death in 1965.
Tanizaki wrote Naomi, in his early years, during the Japanese Industrial Revolution when Western influences took root in Japan, contrary to the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
when Western ideas were first introduced. During this time Japan was transitioning from an unindustrialized nation to a industrialized, economic super-power. The novel reflects the perspective of a man shifting between modern and traditional Japan, and the conflicts associated with the era.
According to Anthony H. Chambers in his Introduction to the First Vintage International Edition of the book, the character Naomi was based upon Tanizaki's sister-in-law who had learned to dance from a Western friend and who inspired his interest in dancing.
During the Revolution, a woman's role in society was drastically changing. In the early stages of the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, women were limited to working in textile factories
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
. These factories provided dormitories for the workers who sent back their wages to their families in the countryside. However, during the Revolution, women started to take on other jobs as more population moved into the cities. The shift from country living to modern urban living, along with a growing adoption of Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
created a new niche in society for women. The arrival of Western fashion and cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
spawned numerous job opportunities. Women became sales associates in department stores, or worked in service related jobs (in Naomi’s case as a café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
waitress). This lifestyle transition from country to city allowed many women to become independent of their families and employers. The act of these women beginning to choose their own men created more shock than their career independence. They lived on their own without being a subordinate to any men (including fathers and husbands). Tanizaki's character Naomi, a 15-year-old girl living on her own in the city, is a perfect example of this new class of women. Culture critics picked up Tanizaki's term modan garu
Modern girl
were Japanese women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the 1920s. These moga were Japan's equivalent of America's flappers, India's kallege ladki, Germany's neue Frauen, France's garçonnes, or China's modeng xiaojie...
, from the English "modern girl", to describe this new class of women. "Modern girls" can be described as being independent, not bound by traditions or conventions, lacking Japanese grace but having tons of vitality, and holding apolitical views (not caring about women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
).
Symbolism
Tanizaki's writing is wrought with symbolism involving Japanese relations with foreign powers. Joji's name awkwardly sounds a lot like the common name George in English, representing Joji's wish to be Westernized but retaining his traditional Japanese culture. The name Naomi, on the other hand, is fluidly translated between English and Japanese. In the first chapter, Naomi is written with three Chinese characterChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s; however, it sounds Western so throughout the rest of the novel that Naomi's name is depicted in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
, the Japanese alphabet reserved for writing out and sounding out foreign words.
A dramatic irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
occurs when readers learn that although Joji's knowledge of English is excellent, his accent
Accent (linguistics)
In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
prevents him from truly mastering English. Conversely, Naomi pronounces English very well, but cannot string together a coherent sentence. Naomi also loves superficiality and is passionate about Western theatre and culture. An example of how Naomi loves Western culture but does not truly belong is her purchases of Western magazines, despite being able only to look at the pictures due to her inability to read English. Tanizaki portrays the traditional Japanese man being seduced by the siren's song of Western culture only to be trapped by it.
Tanizaki's writing is applauded by literary critics for his ability to turn a sexy café waitress with Eurasian features into a manipulative succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
. He shows the irony of both sexual and cultural conquest, and sums it up in the opening paragraph of his book: "As Japan grows increasingly cosmopolitan, Japanese and foreigners are eagerly mingling with one another; all sorts of new doctrines and philosophies are being introduced; and both men and women are adopting up-to-date Western fashions".
Controversy
Naomi met with controversy upon its publication. When Osaka Morning News published it in 1924, opposite reactions to the novel arose from two different demographics. The younger generation embraced the modan garu lifestyle embodied by Naomi, who provided a role model for independent young women in the Japan's cities. However, the character's aggressive sexuality and manipulation portrayed shocked the older generation of Japanese, who deemed the story was too obscene and risqué to be published. The Osaka Morning News pulled the story due to the extensive pressure put on them by their readers. However, due to the popularity of the story, the magazine Female picked up the story from Tanizaki and published the remaining parts of the novel.Cultural impact
The release of Naomi aroused young women of the time to engage in a cultural revolution. There was a boom of moga; working class women who work and choose men for themselves, not for the sake of their families. Traditionally, young girls who wish to work lived in factory dormitories and send their wages home to their family. Mogas worked to maintain their fashionable lifestyle, living in the city and being independent. They were a hot topic in 1920s Japan. The media would discuss their characteristics, characterizing them in various ways; one media group suggested modern girls were independent, non-traditional girls; another suggested modern girls spoke more like men. All groups agreed modern girls were very Westernized women who refused to recognize gender and class boundaries. The modern girls movement in Japan was strikingly similar to the flapperFlapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
movement in the United States in the same period.
The other class explicitly shown in Naomi is the middle management, white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
class males. In the story, Joji is known to be a skilled educated worker from a well off landlord family. He is the embodiment of a new class of Japanese salarymen
Salaryman
refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
. After the Meiji Restoration, the educated males moved into the cities to attend universities and become white collar business workers as opposed to the farmers, artisans, and merchants of the past. Joji is unusual because he belongs to an upper level management. In the novel, he seldom works hard, only going into the office for a few hours each day. In contrast, the average salaryman works long working hours with little prestige, and with little hope of climbing the corporate hierarchy.
Film adaptations
Naomi has been cinematized several times, a notable example being Yasuzo Masamura’s adaptation of Chijin no Ai (A Fool’s Love) in 1967. The most recent novel to film adaptation was in 1993 by director Toshiki SatōToshiki Sato
aka , , and is a Japanese film director and screenwriter best known for his pink films of the 1990s. Along with fellow directors, Takahisa Zeze, Kazuhiro Sano and Hisayasu Satō, he is known as one of the .-Life and career:...
.
Publication history
- 1924, Japan, Osaka Morning News, March 1924, serializationSerial (literature)In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
(first half) - 1924, Japan, Female magazine, 1924, serialization (second half)
- 1947, Japan, Shinchōsha ISBN 4-101-00501-X, November 1947, paperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
- 1952, Japan, Kadokawa ShotenKadokawa Shotenis a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
ISBN 4-041-00503-5, January 1952, paperback - 1985, Japan, Chūōkōron Shinsha ISBN 4-122-01185-X, January 1985, paperback
- 1985, United States, KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
ISBN 0-394-53663-0, September 12, 1985, hardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers... - 2001, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Vintage Books ISBN 0-375-72474-5, April 10, 2001, paperback