An illustrated encyclopedia of native fish species of Japan that includes a lengthy entry by Emperor Akihito on his study of goby is the unexpected hit of the season.
Priced at 6,900 yen ($64.50), the weighty tome published by Shogakukan Inc. has sold like hotcakes since it was released March 20, and a second printing run is already in the works.
The encyclopedia runs to 544 pages, and Akihito wrote four of them.
“The Natural History of the Fishes of Japan” contains detailed descriptions, along with photographs, of 1,400 or so fish native to Japan. It is aimed at amateur enthusiasts and academics.
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[Shogakukan editor] Yoshitaka Kitagawa said Akihito suggested to the editors that they use cross section images of a goby’s head to help explain the difference.
Kitagawa, impressed by Akihito’s passion for his subject, learned that he kept a number of goby in a tank so he could write his entry for the encyclopedia.
KEEPING LONGSTANDING OATH
While the book was being edited, Nakabo* was in charge of correspondence with Akihito, and Kitagawa only met with the emperor on the day of the book's March 20 release to present him with complementary copies.
Their meeting was scheduled to last an hour, but Kitagawa and Akihito got so engaged in talking about fish that it went on for a further 40 minutes.
Kitagawa recalled that he was so nervous about meeting Akihito that he withheld the fact that they had previously met once before at an academic conference when Kitagawa was a university student of science of fisheries. He already had an offer of employment from Shogakukan, and he promised Akihito that he would one day be an editor and “publish an illustrated encyclopedia of fishes.”
“I could not tell him that I was the student at the conference, but I am relieved I was able to fulfill my promise,” Kitagawa said.
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