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Asia in Comics 2004 -
The World of Comics by Asian Women

NOTE: The translations were typed as they appeared in the program, though the English is awkward at times.

Asia In Comics 2004 - Comics by Asian Women

February 21, 2004 (Sat.) 14:00-17:00
February 22, 2004 (Sun.) 14:00-17:00

The Japan Foundation Forum
Organized by The Japan Foundation Asia Center

[page 12] (Japanese-language version of presentation)

[page 13]

Session 1/Presentation No. 4

What Do Women Seek In Reading Comics?

by Yamauchi Yasuko

Born in 1964. Graduated from School of Letters, Arts and Sciences (I), Waseda University. Entered Shogakukan Inc. Edited the women's comic magazines, Shojo Comics, Betsucomi, and again Shojo Comics. Currently Vice Editor in Chief of Judy.

"No matter where I go, there is no other country where bookstores are flooded with comic magazines and comic books. Nor is there a country where so many people read comics in trains...." Such is the impression I get every time I go abroad and return to Japan. Japan has a phenomenal number of comics and their content is diverse. There probably is nothing in our daily lives that has not been made into manga.

In this country Japan awash with comic books, there are currently about 50 women's comic magazines periodically published, which can be further divided into 30 for girls and 20 for adult women, approximately. "Ladies' comics" for adult women reached their peak in the 1980s; I believe that these comics alone numbered almost 50 at that time. With the burst of the Japanese bubble economy, this number fell.

In terms of recent circulation, in the 1-year period of 2002, comic magazines had a circulation of 660,510,000 issues, of which those for women numbered 194,250,000 issues (breakdown: comics for girls -- 110,330,000; comics for adult women -- 83,920,000). Of the total circulation of comic magazines, about one-third is for women. Furthermore, the women's magazine with the most issues is Ciao, a girls' monthly magazine (publ. Shogakukan Inc.), the monthly circulation of which is 1,100,000 (February 2004 issue).

Speaking of comic books, the total circulation of comic books is 716,350,000 copies. Inferring from Shogakukan's ratio, the books for women make up about 25%, amounting to approx. 179,100,000. Such quantities are too large to fathom. (Considering the Japanese population is 128,000,000, this comes out to every person, from infant to the elderly, buying 5 comic magazines and just under 6 comic books.)

The idea that comics are for children is clearly refuted. These days it is not rare to see both parent and child enjoying the same comics.

Why are comic so pervasively read in Japan? Limiting consideration to the case of women for this discussion, I surmise that one reason is the increase in women artists.

Shogakukan holds the Budding Comic Artist Contest, a company-wide endeavor of accepting comic works by new artists aspiring to debut, and among 22 honored at the commendation ceremony in December, half of them were women. There are always women among the children and youth sections. Women illustrate comics related to a variety of fields. Women artists are not limited to comics for women, but with their robust imagination are taking on challenges of all kinds of fields.

Conjecturing about the readers, I suspect an increase of lonely people and people (including children) who somewhat lack confidence. With regard to adults, perhaps many are seeking innocence. They may be trying to find in comics such things difficult to find in daily life yet precious. I sense that they desire to find "significance" by superimposing themselves on the world of comics that appears removed from reality but somehow is near and dear to them.

I have a hunch that underlying the increase of "horny" girls' comics on the subject of sex is a vague yearning "for a strong sense of being alive" in today's Japanese life, in which the feeling of living and dying has become faint. (This seems closely related to the pubescent desire to see that which is sketchily hidden.) In addition, out of uncertainty about what it means "to truly like someone," there may be the wish to see a man and woman loving each other in a clearly understandable form.

Among comics for adults, already a few are on the theme of brutality against children that is becoming a social problem in Japan recently. Comics will spread out into such topics as family, childcare, community, and work, as the conditions surrounding women change. From hereon, the range of comics would also broaden to include the generation of senior citizens as well, whereupon soon comics would be read by three generations. It is my feeling that, by changing approaches and substance, women's comics will continually manifest themselves in society by projecting the dreams and various kinds of lives to come.

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