Tsutaya Jūzaburō (蔦屋 重三郎, 13 February 1750 - 31 May 1797) was the founder and head of the Tsutaya publishing house in Edo period Japan, which produced the ukiyo-e woodblock print works of many of the period's most famous artists, along with illustrated books. He has been called "the greatest of the print publishers"[1], and is easily the most famous publisher of the period.
"Tsuta-ya" is not truly a surname, as commoners generally lacked surnames in Japan prior to the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Rather, it is a yagō, or "shop name", literally meaning "Ivy Shop". Jūzaburō and his successors used a seal of ivy leaves under a stylized Mt. Fuji as their publisher's mark. He is sometimes also referred to as "Tsuta-Jū".
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Jūzaburō's father is believed to have been a member of the Maruyama clan and a worker in the Yoshiwara, Edo's pleasure district. Born in the Yoshiwara, Jūzaburō was adopted into the Kitagawa family and given the name "Tsutaya" after the shop name of one of the Kitagawa's tea houses.
He opened his publishing business in the Yoshiwara in 1773, and began printing and selling guides to the pleasure districts. Seven years later, he began publishing kibyōshi by the famous writer Hōseidō Kisanji, marking the beginning of his popularity and success. He soon expanded into publishing sharebon and books of kyōka, and moved his operation to Nihonbashi in 1783, joining the top ranks of the merchants of Edo.
Over the course of his career, Tsutaya discovered and supported artists and writers such as Utamaro, Sharaku, Bakin, Jippensha Ikku, and Santō Kyōden, producing thousands of prints based on the artists' designs, printing the writers' books, encouraging these creative talents, and serving as their patron and mentor. Though he enjoyed great contemporary success and profits for his publications, his fame today likely derives more from his ability to discover and nurture great talents. Without his efforts, many of the period's most famous and talented artists and writers may not have ever emerged.
The Kansei Reforms, instituted from 1787-1793, brought strict censorship and strict penalties. In 1791 Santō Kyōden was placed under house arrest in shackles, and Tsutaya was forced to pay a large monetary penalty for publishing his politically volatile works. A period of ten months in 1794-1795, however, represented the short career of the great artist Sharaku, all of whose designs were printed by Tsutaya, to great contemporary success and profits. As Sharaku's identity remains a subject of debate, some scholars claim he and Jūzaburō may have been the same person[2]., although this is unlikely [3].
Jūzaburō died at the age of 48 in 1797. Some sources claim the cause to have been beriberi.