Ongaku No Tomo Sha

ONGAKU NO TOMO SHA Corporation ("音楽之友社" in Japanese, literally means "Company for Music's Pal" or "Company for Music Mate". Often abbreviated as ONT) is a Japanese music publisher headquartered in Tokyo. The company is one of the oldest music publishers in Japan.Nihon ni Okeru Ongaku Shuppansha no Ayumi (History of Music Publishers in Japan) p.13-22, Music Publishers Association of Japan, 2014 Not only because they publish works by representative composers of the country in the past and present, but also because they have numbers of invaluable assets such as a record of interviewing legendary Western classical musicians, ONGAKU NO TOMO SHA is often regarded as the most authentic publisher of classical music in Japan.
== History ==
=== 1.1 From 1916 to 1941 ===
ONGAKU NO TOMO SHA (ONT) originates from Ongaku to Bungaku ("音楽と文学", literally means "Music and Literature") which was formed in 1916. It was a musical coterie consisting of the intellect of the age, and virtually the first Japanese institution which printed numerous magazines and books on Classical music. One of their most historic achievements is a rare interview and record of the great Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev who stopped over and gave concerts in Japan in 1918 on the way to the United States.Ongaku to Bungaku (Music and Literature, 音楽と文学）Vol. 3, Issue #7 and #9. Ongaku to Bungaku Sha (Publisher). July and September, 1918.
In 1941, Keizo Horiuchi, one of the chief members and Music journalism|music critics of the coterie, established a new music publisher ONGAKU NO TOMO SHA Corporation after consolidating his coterie and other music publishers, and became the first president of the company.Ongaku Bunka Shimbun (Music Culture Newspaper, 音楽文化新聞）Vol. 1, page 1. December, 1941. While ONT officially announces that 1941 is the year of establishment, it is usually considered that they have been substantially active since 1916.https://www.ongakunotomo.co.jp/company/ (History of Ongaku No Tomo, 音楽之友社の歩み）From the official website of ONT.
=== 1.2 After 1941 ===
As soon as it was established, ONT started to publish a monthly magazine named "Ongaku no Tomo" ("音楽の友" in Japanese, the same name as the publisher). Since its publication, it has been regarded as one of the authoritative publications on classical music.https://www.ongakunotomo.co.jp/magazine/ongakunotomo/pdf/ONTOMO.pdf (The official datas and resources of "Ongaku no Tomo") See page 1.
Other than sheet music of famous Japanese composers, ONT has published enormous volume of books on music, including textbooks used at schools and universities. Besides their original edition, ONT publishes the Japanese-language version of the notable Urtext edition|urtext editions under license (e.g. Bärenreiter and Wiener Urtext Edition).Catalogue 2021: Ongaku No Tomo Sha Corp. (音楽之友社出版目録) Suiseisha Music Publishers, 2021. 
Currently, the ONT's Headquarter Building is located at Kagurazaka, Shinjuku District in the city of Tokyo. Inside the building, there is a concert hall which has been very popular among classical music players and fans since it was open in 1983.https://www.ongakunotomo.co.jp/company/hall.html (The Official Website of the Hall)
== Major Publications ==
=== Composers ===
The catalogue of ONT includes works of the representative Japanese composers such as Yasushi Akutagawa, Akira Ifukube, Lioko Kihara, Kiyoshige Koyama, Hikaru Hayashi, Yuzo Toyama, Kōsaku Yamada|Kosaku Yamada, Akio Yashiro and Takashi Yoshimatsu.
=== Other Publications ===
Ongaku no Tomo" ("音楽の友", 1941-present): The longest running in-print magazine on classical music in Japan. Such legendary musicians as Martha Argerich and Claudio Abbado appeared on the cover.
"Record Geijutsu" ("レコード芸術", literally means "Art of Recording", 1952-present): The longest running in-print magazine on music criticism in Japan. It has been contributed by leading critics and musicologists such as Hidekazu Yoshida and Minao Shibata. 
"Band Journal" ("バンドジャーナル", 1959-present): The longest running in-print magazine on brass band music in Japan. 
"Piano Land" ("ピアノランド", 1991-present): A series of Japan's nubmer-one best seller piano instruction books for children and beginners. Nearly two million copies sold. One of the standard textbooks for the piano in Japan.https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO97916840S6A300C1EA1000/ The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan Economics Newspaper) March 2, 2016
"Standard Music Dictionary" ("標準音楽辞典", 2008): The largest music dictionary in Japan. International Standard Book Number & 978-4-276-00008-7 (Volume 2)
=== Licensed Japanese Edition ===
Bärenreiter, Edition Peters, Universal Edition, Philharmonia Edition, Wiener Urtext Edition.
Category:Japanese record labels