Tuttle Publishing
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Predecessor | Charles E. Tuttle Company |
| Founded | January 1, 1948 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder | Charles E. Tuttle |
| Headquarters | North Clarendon, Vermont , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Eric Oey (Publisher and CEO) |
| Products | Books on Asian literature, language instruction, culinary arts, visual arts, crafts, design, travel guides, children's literature |
Number of employees | 60 |
| Parent | Periplus Publishing Group |
| Website | www |
Tuttle Publishing, formerly known as the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a publishing house that includes the imprints Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions. It is internationally acknowledged for its specialized publications in areas such as design, culinary arts, martial disciplines, language education, travel, and spirituality, with a particular emphasis on China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The company is noted for producing some of the earliest English-language works on Asian martial arts, especially those focusing on Japanese traditions.
History
Established in 1948 in Tokyo by Charles E. Tuttle (1915–1993), the company was created to foster cultural exchange between East and West through its publications. It was among the first 50 companies authorized by the Allied occupation authorities after World War II. Initially, it imported American paperback books for U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan but soon expanded into publishing English-language books about Japanese language, culture, arts, and translations.
In 1953, a division named Yohan was formed to manage the distribution of U.S. paperbacks, while the Charles E. Tuttle Company continued to oversee distribution in the United Kingdom. When Peter Ackroyd became CEO in 1991, plans to acquire Atlantic Monthly Press were shelved to maintain focus on the core Asian market. The organization adopted the name Tuttle Publishing in 1996.
To date, Tuttle has released more than 6,000 titles and retains an active catalog of approximately 2,000 backlist titles. Each year it publishes around 150 new works concentrating primarily on Asian literature, language instruction, culinary arts, visual arts, crafts, and design—fields that form the foundation of its market presence.
Some sources trace the company’s origins back to 1832 in Rutland, Vermont, credited to George Albert Tuttle (1816–1885), an ancestor of Charles E. Tuttle who founded a printing business that eventually evolved into a family-run book trade enterprise spanning generations. Although this heritage is part of its corporate narrative, the modern focus on Asian publishing originates from Charles E. Tuttle’s postwar efforts.
Founder
Charles Egbert Tuttle Jr., the founder of the company, was an alumnus of Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University. After World War II, he served with the U.S. military in Japan on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff where he contributed to revitalizing Japan’s publishing sector. Following his military service, he remained in Japan to start a business importing English-language books while exporting Japanese antiquarian volumes to American libraries.
Coming from a distinguished New England publishing lineage, his father Charles E. Tuttle Sr. operated Tuttle Antiquarian Books in Vermont—a continuation of a family tradition dating back to the 1830s in printing and publishing. Charles Jr.’s academic background in American history and literature was complemented by brief work at Columbia University’s library before joining his family’s enterprise. His dedication to producing high-quality publications about Japan and Asia was deeply influenced by his early encounters with rare antiquarian books.
Current status
Annually, Tuttle issues between 150 and 175 new titles across diverse categories including culinary arts, crafts, history, fine arts, architecture, travel guides, origami, gardening, and children’s literature. Enduring classics such as Japanese Children's Favorite Stories (1954) and The Book of Tea (1956) continue to be available. The company also holds exclusive rights as publisher of the Bruce Lee Library, authorized by Bruce Lee’s estate.
Among its bestsellers are Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida with sales exceeding 60,000 copies since 2017; other popular titles include Cool Japan Guide, North Korea Confidential, and Geek in Japan. Operating under Periplus Publishing Group, Tuttle employs roughly 60 staff members across offices located in North Clarendon (Vermont), Singapore, and Tokyo—making it one of the few American publishers with physical presence in Asia.
According to UNESCO, Tuttle leads globally in providing Japanese language learning materials for English speakers and vice versa. Its language program portfolio also covers Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese as well as Arabic (introduced in 2004) and Hindi (added in 2009).
The publisher collaborates with international authors, illustrators, photographers, and designers while distributing its titles worldwide through an extensive network reaching North America, Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and South Africa. Its parent company Periplus Publishing Group additionally runs a bookstore chain named Periplus in Indonesia (established 1985), which stocks Tuttle publications alongside other publishers’ works.
Since 1996 Eric Oey—Charles E. Tuttle’s nephew and founder of Periplus Editions based in Singapore—has led the company as publisher and CEO; under his guidance Tuttle has expanded its strategic direction and broadened its market reach.
See also
Explanatory notes
a. This individual should not be confused with the British writer who shares the same name.
External links
- Tuttle Publishing Tokyo
- Books by ISBN Tuttle Publishing—a comprehensive listing of the company’s publications
- Tuttle-Mori Agency: Company overview—features a photograph of founder C. E. Tuttle and his family (circa 1980)