Doujinshi history

The pioneer among doujinshi magazines was Morning Bell, published in the early Meiji period (since 1874). Not a literary magazine in fact, it nevertheless played a big role in spreading the idea of doujinshi. First magazine to publish doujinshi novels was Garakuta Bunko, founded in 1885 by writers Ozaki Kōyō and Yamada Bimyo. Doujinshi’s publication reached its peak in the early Showa era, becoming a mouthpiece for the creative youth of that time. Created and distributed in small circles of authors or close friends, it contributed significantly to the emergence and development of shishosetsu genre. During the postwar years the publication of dōjinshi as representations different literary schools and new authors gradually decreased, substituted by literary journals Gunzo, Bungakukai and etc. One notable exception was Bungei Shuto, published in 1933-1969. Few doujinshi magazines survived with the help of official literary journals. Haiku and tanka magazines remain active till nowadays.

During the 1980s, the content of doujinshi shifted from being predominantly original content to being mostly parodic of existing series.

In 2008, a white paper on the otaku industry was published, this estimated that gross revenue from sales of doujinshi in 2007 were 277.3 billion yen, or 14.9% of total otaku expenditure on their hobby.