Store specializing in self-published works
A is a store that specializes in "doujinshi", self-published works. They exist mainly in Japan. "Doujin" shops can be both brick and mortar as well as online stores. Some sell only second-hand "doujinshi", but particularly larger chain stores also sell new "doujinshi". Many "doujin" shops also handle other kinds of "doujin" works, such as "doujin" music or "doujin" games, or commercially published popular media such as manga and anime.
Summary.
"Doujin" shops are either independent or part of a larger "doujin" shop chain. "Doujin" shop chain outlets can be found in many large cities in Japan. They often cluster together in areas that are seen as gathering places for pop culture fans, such as Tokyo's Akihabara and Ikebukuro neighborhoods, or the Nipponbashi area of Osaka. Outlets can be very large and often have multiple floors dedicated to "doujinshi" for different audiences, or to new and second-hand "doujinshi".
Together with "doujinshi" conventions, "doujin" shops are the main distribution outlets for "doujinshi". "Doujin" shops fill a need that "doujinshi" conventions cannot meet: making "doujinshi" accessible to buyers who, for whatever reason, cannot attend conventions. While some regular bookstores very occasionally carry some "doujinshi", "doujinshi" are usually excluded from regular book distribution channels. This is partly because they are per definition self-published, but also because most "doujinshi" are fanworks, meaning that they exist in a legal gray area of Japanese copyright law. Tolerance towards "doujinshi" on the part of copyright holders means that "doujin" shops can continue to operate.
Some "doujin" shops also have online stores through which they sell print "doujinshi", and sometimes also downloadable digital "doujinshi", "doujin" games, and so on. Stores that sell digital "doujin" works are called "download stores". Some download stores operate purely online and do not have a physical store attached to them. The largest of these is DLsite. Additionally, some fan creators operate their own online shops.
History.
The first "doujin" shops emerged in the early 1980s and were located mostly in Tokyo. As "doujinshi" creation became more popular in the middle of the 1980s because of the boom in such new genres as "lolicon" and especially "yaoi", "doujin" shops expanded as well and began to sell not just second-hand "doujinshi" but also new "doujinshi" on commission. Some developed into large chain stores that continued to expand throughout the 1990s, along with the rising number of participants in Comiket and other "doujinshi" conventions. The commercial impact of "doujin" shops grew considerably, as expressed in the growing number of outlets and growing sales. The proceeds of K-BOOKS, for instance, grew from 350 million yen in 1995 to 3 billion and 950 million yen in 2008. The proceeds of Toranoana grew from 390 million yen in 1994 to 14 billion and 850 million yen in 2006.
How it works.
When it comes to sale of second-hand "doujinshi", "doujin" shops function exactly like regular used bookstores. Customers bring "doujinshi" to the store, which buys some or all of them and then sells them again to new customers. Whether a store will buy old "doujinshi", and at what price, depends on a number of factors mostly related to the marketability of the "doujinshi": rating, fame of the "doujinshi" circle that authored the work, fandom popularity, printing method, use of color, paper size, the newness of the "doujinshi", and its content. Many "doujin" shops have sections of "doujinshi" made by creators who are also professional manga artist, or who created "doujinshi" before they became professional manga artist.
Sale of new "doujinshi" in "doujin" shops works mostly on a system of consignment sale. Circles (individuals or groups who create "doujinshi") apply for the store to carry their works on its shelves. Depending again on the marketability of the "doujinshi", the store may agree or decline. If it agrees, the circle and the store conclude an agreement that the store will exhibit the "doujinshi" for a set amount of time. Proceeds go to the circle after the store has taken a commission.
Examples.
Some "doujin" shop chains include:
References.
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