The iconic dictionary that almost never was

Today, and May 25th annually, is Kōjien Memorial Day 広辞苑記念日 in Japan. It marks the publication of the first edition of the iconic Japanese dictionary "Kojien" on this day in 1955. The Kojien is considered the most respected and influential dictionary in Japan, similar in cultural weight to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Published by Iwanami Shoten, Kōjien quickly became one of the most authoritative and culturally significant dictionaries in the country. Its creation was a long and difficult journey: the dictionary originated as a revision of the 1935 Jien, but the Tokyo air raids of 1945 destroyed the printing plant, warehouse, thousands of pages of typeset text, and large quantities of paper. As a result, the revision process stretched over twenty years, demanding extraordinary effort from its editors and staff.

When the first edition finally appeared, it contained around 200,000 entries and was priced very high, at about 50 times the price of a cup of coffee in that era. Despite its high price, the dictionary became a bestseller, selling faster than it could be printed. A heartwarming tale of success of a dictionary that almost never was due to war. May peace prevail on earth.