Doujinshi
, also romanized as , is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of doujin works, doujinshi are often derivative of existing works and created by amateurs, though some professional artists participate in order to publish material outside the regular industry.
Groups of doujinshi artists refer to themselves as a. Several such groups actually consist of a single artist: they are sometimes called.
Since the 1980s, the main method of distribution has been through regular doujinshi conventions, the largest of which is called Comiket held in the summer and winter in Tokyo's Big Sight. At the convention, over of doujinshi are bought, sold, and traded by attendees.
Etymology
The term doujinshi is derived from and.History
The pioneer among doujinshi was Meiroku zasshi, published in the early Meiji period. While not a literary magazine, Meiroku Zasshi nevertheless played a big role in spreading the idea of doujinshi. The first magazine to publish doujinshi novels was Garakuta Bunko, founded in 1885 by writers Ozaki Kōyō and Yamada Bimyo. Doujinshi publication reached its peak in the early Shōwa period, becoming a mouthpiece for the creative youth of that time. Created and distributed in small circles of authors or close friends, doujinshi contributed significantly to the emergence and development of the shishōsetsu genre. During the postwar years, doujinshi gradually decreased in importance as outlets for different literary schools and new authors arose. Their role was taken over by literary journals such as Gunzo, Bungakukai, and others. One notable exception was Bungei Shuto, which was published from 1933 until 1969. Few doujinshi magazines survived with the help of official literary journals. Haiku and tanka magazines are still published today.It has been suggested that technological advances in the field of photocopying during the 1970s contributed to an increase in publishing doujinshi. During this time, manga editors were encouraging manga authors to appeal to a mass market, which may have also contributed to an increase in the popularity of writing doujinshi.
During the 1980s, the content of doujinshi shifted from being predominantly original content to being mostly parodic of existing series. Often called aniparo, this was often an excuse to feature certain characters in romantic relationships. Male authors focused on series like Urusei Yatsura, and female authors focused on series like Captain Tsubasa. This coincided with the rise in popularity of Comiket, the first event dedicated specifically to the distribution of doujinshi, which had been founded in 1975.
By February 1991, there were some doujinshi creators who sold their work through supportive comic book stores. This practice came to light when three managers of such shops were arrested for having a lolicon ''doujinshi for sale.
Over the last decade, the practice of creating doujinshi has expanded significantly, attracting thousands of creators and fans alike. Advances in personal publishing technology have also fueled this expansion by making it easier for doujinshi creators to write, draw, promote, publish, and distribute their works. For example, some doujinshi are now published on digital media. Furthermore, many doujinshi creators are moving to online download and print-on-demand services, while others are beginning to distribute their works through American channels such as anime shop websites and specialized online direct distribution sites. In 2008, a white paper on the otaku industry was published, this estimated that gross revenue from sales of doujinshi in 2007 were 27.73 billion yen, or 14.9% of total otaku expenditure on their hobby.
To avoid legal problems, the dōjin mark was created. A license format inspired by Creative Commons licenses, the first author to authorize the license was Ken Akamatsu in the manga UQ Holder!, released on August 28, 2013, in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine''.
Distribution
Due to the self-publishing nature of doujinshi, distribution tends to fall on the creator to facilitate. Doujinshi conventions make it easier for creators to distribute or sell their works at a larger scale directly to fans. Other forms of distribution also include doujinshi shops and websites.Since many bookstores only sell from registered commercial publishers, doujinshi shops allow for the sale of self-published physical doujinshi. Examples include shops such as Comic Toranoana. The creation of doujinshi by a single person has made it so that monetization must also be the responsibility of the creator. This has allowed for a distribution system separate from mainstream manga publishing. Additionally, creators of doujinshi are more likely to also monetize other forms of self-made content, such as music or lyrics. Some creators choose to instead sell doujinshi online, whether it be on their own website or in a digital marketplace.
Doujinshi circles also encourage community among creators, allowing for the exchange of information and self made works, primarily taking place at conventions such as Comiket. Conventions such as this one are an example of spaces in which Japanese sentiments encourage fanmade or self-published works.
Other collections of doujinshi available for viewing outside of monetization also exist. In 2009, Meiji University opened a dōjin manga library, named "Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library" to honor its alumni in its Surugadai campus. It contains Yonezawa's own doujinshi collection, comprising 4137 boxes, and the collection of Tsuguo Iwata, another famous person in the sphere of doujinshi.
Comiket
Comiket is the world's largest comic convention. It is held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first CM was held in December 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. About 80% of these were female, but male participation in Comiket increased later. In 1982, there were fewer than 10,000 attendees, this increased to over 100,000 attendees as of 1989, and over half a million people in recent years. This rapid increase in attendance enabled doujinshi authors to sell thousands of copies of their works, earning a fair amount of money with their hobby.Categories
Like their mainstream counterparts, doujinshi are published in a variety of genres and types. However, due to the target audience, certain themes are more prevalent, and there are a few major division points by which the publications can be classified. It can be broadly divided into original works and aniparo—works which parody existing anime and manga franchises.As in fanfics, a very popular theme to explore is non-canonical pairings of characters in a given show. Many such publications contain yaoi or yuri themes, either as a part of non-canon pairings, or as a more direct statement of what can be hinted by the main show. These works can be considered within the genre of BL, or Boys' Love, which also has roots within doujinshi communities.
Another category of doujinshi is furry or kemono, often depicting homosexual male pairings of anthropomorphic animal characters and, less often, lesbian pairings. Furry doujinshi shares some characteristics with the yaoi and yuri genres, with many furry doujinshi depicting characters in erotic settings or circumstances, or incorporating elements typical of anime and manga, such as exaggerated drawings of eyes or facial expressions.
A major part of doujinshi, whether based on mainstream publications or original, contains sexually explicit material, due to both the large demand for such publications and absence of restrictions official publishing houses have to follow. Indeed, often the main point of a given doujinshi is to present an explicit version of a popular show's characters. Such works may be known to English speakers as "H-doujinshi", in line with the former Japanese use of letter H to denote erotic material. The Japanese usage, however, has since moved towards the word ero, and so ero manga is the term almost exclusively used to mark doujinshi with adult themes. Sometimes they will also be termed "for adults" or 18-kin. To differentiate, ippan is the term used for publications absent of such content.
Most doujinshi are commercially bound and published by doujinshi-ka who self-publish through various printing services. Copybooks, however, are self-made using xerox machines or other copying methods. Few are copied by drawing by hand. Comiket is well known, but there are various doujinshi events in Japan. Authors avoid the word "sale" and prefer the word "distribution". However, there is also a system for putting doujinshi into circulation, which is generally referred to as "consignment".
Not all category terms used by English-language fans of doujinshi are derived from Japanese. For example, an AU doujinshi is one set in an alternate universe.