奥付

• Reading: おくづけ
• Romaji: okuzuke
• Kanji breakdown: 奥 (oku) — back, innermost part | 付 (zuke/fu) — attached, appended
• Pronunciation: /o.kɯ.dzɯ.ke/

Meaning

Colophon; imprint; the section at the end of a Japanese book containing publication details such as author, publisher, edition, and date.

A noun unique to the Japanese publishing tradition. The 奥付 appears at the very end of a book (unlike Western title pages at the front) and records: author, title, publisher, date of first and current edition, price, and copyright information. Bibliographers and literary historians rely on 奥付 to date editions and trace a work's publication history. In pre-modern texts, a colophon might also include the scribe's name and the date of copying.

Examples

1. 本の奥付には著者名、出版社、発行年月日などが詳しく記載されている。 The colophon records in detail the author's name, publisher, and date of publication.
2. 奥付を見ると、この本が初版から何度も重版されてきたことが分かる。 Looking at the colophon, you can see that this book has gone through many print runs since its first edition.
3. 古書の奥付から出版当時の社会状況を読み取ろうとする研究もある。 There is research that attempts to read the social conditions of the time of publication from the colophons of old books.

Usage Guide

Context: publishing, bibliography, book history, literary scholarship

Tone: technical

Origin & History

Compound of 奥 (oku) meaning 'the back, inner part' and 付 (zuke/fu) meaning 'attached, appended'. Literally, 'that which is attached at the back' — the page of details appended at the end of a book.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo–Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: Scholars