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" (self-published) 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 (short for "Comic Market") held in the summer and winter in Tokyo's Big Sight. At the convention, over of "doujinshi" are bought, sold, and traded by attendees. "Doujinshi" creators who base their materials on other creators' works normally publish in small numbers to maintain a low profile so as to protect themselves against litigation, making a talented creator's or circle's "doujinshi" a coveted commodity.
Etymology.
The term "doujinshi" is derived from and .
History.
The pioneer among "doujinshi" was , published in the early Meiji period (since 1874). Not a literary magazine in fact, "Meiroku Zasshi" nevertheless played a big role in spreading the idea of "doujinshi". The first magazine to publish "doujinshi" novels was , founded in 1885 by writers Ozaki Kōyō and Yamada Bimyo. "Doujinshi" publication reached its peak in the early Shōwa period, and "doujinshi" became 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. Their role was taken over by literary journals such as "Gunzo", "Bungakukai" and others. One notable exception was , 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.
As of 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 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".
Comiket.
Comiket is the world's largest comic convention. It is held twice a year (summer and winter) 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. 
In 2009, Meiji University opened a "dōjin" manga library, named “Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library” to honour 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".
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 (for "doujinshi" based on mainstream publications). Many such publications contain "yaoi" or "yuri" (stories containing same-sex romance) themes, either as a part of non-canon pairings, or as a more direct statement of what can be hinted by the main show.
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 is the term almost exclusively used to mark "doujinshi" with adult themes. Sometimes they will also be termed or (an abbreviation of 
). To differentiate, is the term used for publications absent of such content.
Most "doujinshi" are commercially bound and published by "doujinshi-ka" (doujinshi authors) 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.
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.
Legality.
Many "doujinshi" are derivative works that are produced without the permission of the original creator, a practice that has existed since the early 1980s. "Doujinshi" are considered "shinkokuzai" under Japanese copyright law, meaning that "doujinshi" creators cannot be prosecuted unless a complaint is made by the holders of the copyrights they have violated. In 2016, then-Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe affirmed that "doujinshi" "don't compete in the market with the original works and don't damage the original creators' profits, so they are "shinkokuzai"." Copyright holders take an unofficial policy of non-enforcement towards the "doujinshi" market, as it is seen as having a beneficial impact on the commercial manga market: it creates an avenue for aspiring manga artists to practice, and talented "doujinshi" creators are often recruited by publishers. Salil K. Mehra, a law professor at Temple University, hypothesizes that "doujinshi" market causes the manga market to be more productive, and that strict enforcement of copyright law would cause the industry to suffer.
Notable cases.
In 1999, the author of an erotic Pokémon manga was prosecuted by Nintendo. This created a media furor as well as an academic analysis in Japan of the copyright issues around "doujinshi". At this time, the legal analysis seemed to conclude that "doujinshi" should be overlooked because they are produced by amateurs for one-day events and not sold in the commercial market. In 2006, an artist selling an imagined "final chapter" for the series "Doraemon", which was never completed, was given a warning by the estate of author Fujiko F. Fujio. His creation apparently looked confusingly similar to a real Doraemon manga. He ceased distribution of his "doujinshi" and sent compensation to the publisher voluntarily. The publisher noted at this time that "doujinshi" were not usually a cause of concern for him. The Yomiuri Shinbun noted, "Fanzines don't usually cause many problems as long as they are sold only at one-day exhibitions," but quoted an expert saying that due to their increasing popularity a copyright system should be set up.
In 2020, the Intellectual Property High Court ordered a "doujinshi" sharing website to pay ¥2.19 million to a creator whose "doujinshi" were uploaded to the website without their consent. The file sharing site claimed that as the "doujinshi" was a derivative work it was not protected by copyright law, though the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to classify the "doujinshi" as an illegally derivative work. The ruling was noted by commentators as potentially broadening rights for "doujinshi" creators under commercial law.
Impact.
John Oppliger of AnimeNation stated in 2005 that creating "doujinshi" is largely popular with Japanese fans, but not with Western fans. Oppliger claimed that because Japanese fans grow up with anime and manga "as a constant companion", they "are more intuitively inclined" to create or expand on existing manga and anime in the form of "doujinshi". Since Western fans experience a "more purely" visual experience as most Western fans cannot understand the Japanese language, the original language of most anime, and are "encouraged by social pressure to grow out of cartoons and comics during the onset of adolescence", most of them usually participate in utilizing and rearranging existing work into anime music videos.
In most Western cultures, "doujinshi" is often perceived to be derivative of existing work, analogous to fan fiction and almost completely pornographic. This is partly true: "doujinshi" are often, though not always, parodies or alternative storylines involving the worlds of popular manga, game or anime series, and can often feature overtly sexual material. However, there are also many non sexually explicit "doujinshi" being created as well. The Touhou Project series for example, is known to be notable for the large amount of "doujinshi" being produced for it that are not pornographic in nature. Some groups releasing adults-only themed materials during the annual Touhou only event Reitaisai in 2008 were only estimated at 10%.