Sunmark Publishing Rights Highlights
and NEWS Mail--February 2019 Issue

Hello, I’m Kanako Kurokawa, a book editor and a staff member in the Rights Department at Sunmark.

 

What were the biggest topics or events for you in 2018?

 

 I edited six books last year, two of which were translated books.

 I learned a lot from each of them,  especially the book from Scotland, The 5 Side Effects of Kindness, by David R. Hamilton, PhD, was very impressive.

This is an astonishing book which explains that when we are kind to others, we feel happier and our bodies are healthier because of hormonal activity in our brain.

 

I want to continue editing interesting books that will touch many readers’ hearts in 2019 too! 

If there are any books you’d like to recommend from your country, please let me know.

 

 

If you have any questions or inquiries about this NEWS Mail, please contact Ms. Shino Kobayashi, Rights Manager (rights@sunmark.co.jp).

Topic of the Month

Nippan, one of the major national distributors in Japan, has released its bestseller list for 2018.  We are pleased to have five of our titles on the list, as shown below. We hope to be fortunate in having another good year to report at the end of 2019.

Nippan Bestseller List for 2018

 

–Overall–

#4  Trunk Muscle Diet

#8  Zero Training

 

 

–By Category–

Trade Practical Books

#1  Trunk Muscle Diet

#3  Zero Training

 

Trade Fiction

#3  Before the Coffee Gets Cold 

 

Trade Nonfiction

#5  God Is a 5th-Grader

 

Trade Business

#7  The Stanford Method for Ultimate Super Recovery

Hot Titles

Easily Improve Your Poor Physical Condition

by Hideaki Ikoshi

ISBN978-4-7631-3676-3 C0036

173 pages / October 2018 / 1,300 yen (w/o tax)

All you need to know about aging gracefully with “slow aging”

Description

Dry hair and skin, wrinkles, blemishes, sagging, menstruation troubles, and pain caused by swelling are all signs of aging.

Do any of these concern you as well?

This book will guide you toward improving both your inner and outer beauty. We can’t avoid getting older, but slowing the effects of aging with slow aging treatment is simple. In Oriental medicine, the idea is to reduce damage done to the kidneys, which control aging, and to our blood, which provides the entire body with moisture and nutrients.

 

In this book, doctor and chemist Hideaki Ikoshi, who is familiar with both Eastern and Western medicine, provides care methods relating to slow aging that can easily be adopted into your daily routine. 

 

Live your life with ease, and age gracefully after improving your physical health.

Start taking care of your body today, and give your future self the wonderful gift of good health.

From the table of contents

■Chapter 1        Two things that facilitate a poor physical condition

■Chapter 2        How to nourish your kidneys

■Chapter 3        How to keep your blood healthy

■Chapter 4        Choosing care methods that match your constitution

■Chapter 5        Incorporate certain foods, pressure point treatment and aromatherapy to pinpoint ailments

From the editor "Kanako"

The title spoke to me, as I’m always wondering what I can do to feel better physically. It’s hard to wake up in the morning, and I have lower back pain and dry skin. I don’t feel bad enough to visit the doctor, but I’m always wanting to fix some part of my body. This book will help you get rid of such worries for good. The book is filled with dietary and sleep health tips that are so easy to implement in your daily life that I myself have already started. Begin taking steps to easily improve your physical health today.

Author:

Hideaki Ikoshi

Hideaki Ikoshi is a representative of Tozai Pharmacy, a doctor and pharmacist, and a Chinese medicine specialist. He is an associate professor in the laboratory of traditional Chinese medicine at the Tokyo University School of Pharmacy, and a part-time lecturer at the International University of Health and Welfare. He began working for a company that performs clinical trials after graduating from the pharmaceutical department of a university. He then steered away from Western medicine, switching his focus to Eastern and Chinese medicine.

 

With both Eastern and Western schools of thought under his belt, he mainly works as a gynecologist using traditional Chinese medicine to treat infertility and menopausal disorders. He is also a qualified acupuncture and moxibustion specialist, and is well-versed in treatment methods involving stimulation of the body’s pressure points. He uses novel treatments that incorporate aromatherapy used in classical Chinese medicine.

 

As an associate professor in the laboratory of traditional Chinese medicine at the Tokyo University School of Pharmacy, he is striving to make Chinese medicine more widespread. His father, Yasunari Ikoshi, is an advocate of Chinese medicine and Japan’s key opinion leader in the field.

My Dog and I Were Born on the Same Day

by Nobumi

ISBN978-4-7631-3732-6 C8771

32 pages / November 2018 / 1,200 yen (w/o tax)

A touching, lifelong bond.
A heartwarming, profound story by picture book author Nobumi.

Description

My dog Gon and I were born on the same day.

We were always together, and he was always there for me.

But when I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, Gon died.

I grew very sad, and I cried a lot.

 

One day, my dad brought home another dog.

He was born on the day that Gon died.

I decided to keep him and loved him.

 

A lot of strange things kept happening after that.

The story of my dog and I continued…

 

Theirs is a touching, lifelong bond.

This is a profound, heartwarming story by picture book author Nobumi.

From the editor "Naoki"

A long time ago, I had a cat that passed away. Sometime after that I happened to live with another cat.  It is strange, but when I looked at him, I could only see the face of my previous cat. They somehow behaved the same way. They also ate and liked the same things. “Surely you’re not a reincarnation of my previous cat,” I remember muttering once while holding it as it purred. Nobody can know whether reincarnation is real or not, but perhaps we have all felt as if we’ve encountered a certain soul before. In his picture book, Nobumi invites us into a fantasy world that teaches us the importance of treasuring all living things.

Author:

Nobumi

Picture book author Nobumi has published over 200 picture books. His own Our Uchopas and There You Are! Picture Book of Hands are currently being broadcast on NHK Educational TV, while Gorilla Moｍ is serialized in the weekly publication Josei Seven.

His representative works include his Mom Turned Into a Ghost! series (Kodansha), Mom, I Chose You! (Sunmark), and his Shinkankun series (Akane Shobo). He regularly appears on TV programs such as Jonetsu Tairiku and The Most Useful School in the World. He updates his Instagram page daily.