Charles Egbert Tuttle Jr. (April 5, 1915 – June 9, 1993) was an American

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and book dealer who was internationally recognized for his contributions to understanding between the English- and Japanese-speaking worlds.Ingleton, N. (1993)
Obituary: Charles E. Tuttle
''The Independent'' (July 7, 1993). Retrieved on April 17, 2010.Saxon, W. (1993)

''New York Times'' (June 11, 1993). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. Belonging to a family long associated with publishing, he travelled to Japan in a military role at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and established a publishing company there. Tuttle was the founder and eponym of the Charles E. Tuttle Company, now named

Tuttle Publishing Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a book publishing company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions.

. Many of his company's books on

Asian martial arts There are many distinct styles and schools of martial arts. Sometimes, schools or styles are introduced by individual teachers or masters, or as a brand name by a specific gym. Martial arts can be grouped by type or focus, or alternatively by r ...

, particularly those on

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

, were the first widely read publications on these subjects in the English language.

Early life

Tuttle was born on April 5, 1915, in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, United States of America. 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.Edwards, B. (2006)
Used book shop closes its doors
''Rutland Herald'' (July 20, 2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. His father, Charles E. Tuttle Sr., published African-American literature and dealt in rare books, and also worked closely with the

Vermont Historical Society The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) was founded in 1838 to preserve and record the cultural history of the US state of Vermont. Headquartered in the old Spaulding School Building in Barre, the Vermont History Center is home to the Vermont His ...

.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. Tuttle attended local schools, the

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

for his education. At university, he studied American history and literature. After graduating in 1937, he worked in the library of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for a year, then joined the family business.

Japan

In 1943, Tuttle's father died and, with

in progress, he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He completed officer training and, when the war ended, was selected as part of the Allied forces occupying Japan. He arrived in Tokyo in October 1945, expecting to take charge of the library of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

(as he had been ordered), only to find that General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's staff had changed his assignment. He spent the next two years helping the Japanese newspaper industry. In 1947, Tuttle met Reiko Chiba, who belonged to a wealthy Japanese family from

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

; the two were married in 1951. Tuttle founded his publishing company in Tokyo in 1948, with the mission to publish "books to span the East and West."Tutttle Publishing: About us
Retrieved on April 17, 2010. His company was the 31st corporation approved by the occupying administration. 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. In 1951, the company began an intensive publishing program, producing English translations of contemporary Japanese literature, dictionaries of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and other

Asian languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Turk ...

, books on Japanese art and culture, and books on Japanese martial arts. Notably, many of its books on Asian martial arts were the first widely read publications on these subjects in the English language.

Later life

In 1971, the

Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal, and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercia ...

named Tuttle as its Publisher of the Year. In June 1978, he and his nephew, Tom Mori, founded the Tuttle-Mori Agency.Tuttle-Mori Agency: Corporate profile
(2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. In 1983, the

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

awarded him the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

, 3rd Class (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon), for his contributions to the advancement of Japanese–American understanding.Obituary: Reiko Chiba Tuttle
''Japan Times'' (April 18, 2006). Retrieved on April 18, 2010.Thiébaud, J.-M. (2007)
L'Ordre du Trésor Sacré (Japon)
(December 2007) . Retrieved on April 17, 2010. Through the late 1980s, Tuttle focused on the rare book business. 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. 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.Peters, S. M. (2010)
Tuttle estate items to go to auction
''Times Argus'' (March 20, 2010). Retrieved on April 18, 2010. She died on April 14, 2006, in Tokyo. 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."

References

External links

contains a photograph of Tuttle with his wife and nephew (''c.'' 1980). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Charles E. 1915 births 1993 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Harvard College alumni People from Rutland (town), Vermont Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure United States Army officers