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Home » Shogakukan Inc. Over 170,000 copies sold! Toshitaka Suzuki’s “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” (published by Shogakukan) wins the Grand Prize in the “Bookstore Clerks’ Choice Non-Fiction Award 2025”!

Shogakukan Inc. Over 170,000 copies sold! Toshitaka Suzuki’s “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” (published by Shogakukan) wins the Grand Prize in the “Bookstore Clerks’ Choice Non-Fiction Award 2025”!

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[Shogakukan Inc.] Over 170,000 copies sold! Suzuki Toshitaka’s “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” (published by Shogakukan) wins the Grand Prize in the “Bookstore Clerks’ Choice Non-Fiction Award 2025”! ​ Shogakukan Inc. Press Release: October 17, 2025 With a cumulative total of over 170,000 copies sold! Toshiki Suzuki’s “I Understand the Language of Birds” (published by Shogakukan) won the Grand Prize in the “Bookstore Clerk’s Choice Non-Fiction Award 2025”!
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We are pleased to announce the winners of the Bookstore Staff Choice Nonfiction Awards, which were voted for by staff at Maruzen Junkudo bookstores and bookstores nationwide (672 staff members from approximately 20 corporations participated). Suzuki Toshitaka’s “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Grand Prize! “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” was released on January 23, 2025, with an initial print run of 10,000 copies. Since then, its surprising content and author Suzuki Toshitaka’s charming personality have become a hot topic. Featured in numerous media outlets, the book has quickly been reprinted and has become a huge hit, selling a total of 170,000 copies. In July 2025, he won the 13th Kawai Hayao Academic Prize, and in August he won the 24th Shincho Document Award and the Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize (Akutagawa Prize category). With this latest award, he has now achieved four crowns! Acceptance Comment from Author Toshitaka Suzuki “Why do birds make so many different sounds?” My research began exactly 20 years ago with this simple question. I spent my days in the forest, from morning to night, engrossed in chasing birds. I conducted my research in my own way, repeating observation and speculation, sometimes verifying my findings through experiments. And I discovered the amazing world of bird language. Each call of a great tit has a meaning, and they can even combine these sounds to form sentences. From ancient Greece to the present, it was believed that only humans possessed language. However, great tits have been surviving by using their own language for a long time. No matter how familiar nature is, there is surely a colorful world that we do not yet know about. I would be delighted if this book can be the catalyst for opening the door to such a world.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/13640/3375/13640-3375-29e7a44e864564ae59f1b8010f494d0c-1505×2142.jpg “I Can Understand the Language of Birds” Toshitaka Suzuki Price: ¥1,870 (tax included) B6 size, paperback, 264 pages Published January 28, 2025 by Shogakukan https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09389184 From ancient Greece to the present day, it was generally believed that only humans possessed language, and that birds only sang emotionally. This scientific essay by a researcher overturns this “common sense” and is the first in the world to discover that great tits can combine more than 20 words to form sentences. This book is full of humor and details the author’s motivation for becoming a zoologist, her fun and incredibly weight-inducing days observing titmice in the forest, and her experimental methods for scientifically elucidating bird language. As she is guided by her passion for titmice and her fresh, loving perspective, a door to the rich world of animals opens. This is a book that will change the way you see the world after reading it. Suzuki Toshitaka… Zoological linguist. Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo. Born in Tokyo in 1983. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as a Special Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (SPD) and a Special Assistant Professor at the Kyoto University Hakubi Center. He has received numerous awards, including the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Young Scientist’s Award, the Miyaji Prize of the Ecological Society of Japan, and the Japanese Society of Ethology Award. His first solo work, “I Understand the Language of Birds,” won the 13th Kawai Hayao Academic Award and the 24th Shincho Document Award. His pet dog’s name is Ku-chan.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/13640/3375/13640-3375-ac4495ff3d41b28b47f561ec8570f42f-1736×1736.jpg Congratulatory comment from a bookstore employee I was hooked the moment I got my hands on the new book. “I can understand the language of birds” – what an incredible feat! I’ve been supporting
Suzuki-sensei’s maniacal and devoted work since its release. Congratulations on your award. (Junkudo Hiroshima Ekimae Bookstore / Science and Technology Books / I.M.) The pleasant chirping of birds. I wish I could understand what they’re talking about. Such a dream. But a true hero made it happen with his ingenuity, ingenuity, and extraordinary effort! (Junkudo Bookstore Akita / Paperbacks / Issue 735) Congratulations to Suzuki-sensei on winning the Non-Fiction Award. After reading this book, I happened upon a great tit calling to its mate, and my world changed when I realized birds have language! There are many wonderful aspects to “Bokudori,” but I believe it has resonated with so many people because Suzuki-sensei’s sincere desire to communicate is embodied in every detail of this book. This is an important book that I would like to continue to support so that all of humanity can spread their wings and fly. (Junkudo Bookstore Ikebukuro Main Store / Science and Engineering Book Section / S.K)
◇Award-winning Talk Event To commemorate winning the Grand Prize in the Booksellers’ Choice Non-Fiction Award 2025, we will be holding a talk event with author Toshitaka Suzuki. Date and Time: Monday, November 17, 2025, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Venue: Junkudo Ikebukuro Main Store, 9th Floor Event Space (2-15-5 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo) Application: You can apply via the following page.
https://onlineservice.maruzenjunkudo.co.jp/products/j70019-251117 ◇About the “Bookstore Employees’ Choice Nonfiction Award” This award is given to booksellers at Maruzen Junkudo bookstores and across Japan, who select the nonfiction work published during the designated period that they most want to sell. The first award was held in 2023, and selections were based on the “all-time best” criteria, with no designated period. Starting in 2024, annual bests have been selected each year. Booksellers nationwide voted for the 50 nominated works between September 1st and 20th, and the Grand Prize was determined. ◇Selection Criteria for Non-Fiction Award Nominees – “Non-fiction” is defined as a wide range of works, including not only documentaries and reportage, but also documentary literature, autobiographies, critical biographies, essays, travelogues, interview collections, and memoirs. – Books published between June 2024 and May 2025 are eligible. – Not limited to Japanese books, Japanese translations of foreign works are also eligible. Books recommended by booksellers nationwide that meet the above criteria will be collected, and 50 titles available for sale will be selected from those recommendations. You can see the nominated works here. https://www.maruzenjunkudo.co.jp/pages/nonfic2025

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