Glossary

Here you will find definitions of many terms I use as well as information about the events I attend, with links where relevant. Some of these explanations are quite summarised, so if you would like to know more information about these terms I would recommend reading about them in more specialised sites.

コミックマーケット – Comic Market

The largest event for self-published works in Japan (and perhaps the world). First starting in __________ as a humble event where participants shared their parodies of popular anime or manga series, it has since exploded in popularity, with the latest figures showing _________ people attending over the three day event. The event occurs bi-yearly and lasts for three days each time. Comic Market makes use of all halls at the Tokyo Big Sight; East 1-6 and West 1-4.

The groups or individuals ‘selling’ items at the events are referred to as ‘circles’. The same term is used in Japanese schools to refer to clubs, where students work together under a common theme (whether it is baseball, the brass band or the computer club). Companies like Toranoana, K-BOOKS, who sell things are referred to as 企業ブース, ‘enterprise booths’, which I often call company booths instead. The items on offer at the event has also expanded from just parodies, and now include a vast range of original works, such as music and novels, as well as the more peculiar circles which include animal enthusiasts, ruins enthusiasts and manuals on hacking.

The event, as with many other events that stress self-publication, it is not unusual to see the artists, singers, authors, etc. of popular anime, manga and games attending the events themselves. As doujinshi is bordering on copyright as it is, there is a general unwritten rule that artists cannot create doujins of their things that are being sold commercially, though they can add it into a doujin as long as it is not the main theme.

More information about statistics and it’s history can be read as a PDF from the website.

同人・同人誌 – Doujin/Doujinshi

同人誌. The first two letters in the word, doujin refers to a group of people banded under a common theme or interest. The final kanji 誌 means a document, or in the usual case in this context, the parody or original created books. Self-published music are usually called 同人音楽, doujin music, etc. The word doujin is used by some as a short way of saying doujinshi, but it would be useful to understand the differences. The main focus point in doujin items is the fact that these items are self-published and that the creators are not affiliated with any commercial entities in its creation.

It is possible, however, that a doujin becomes a commercial game afterwards, such as the case with Type-moon, Team GrisGris and the Higurashi series of games. It is also completely possible for circles to create doujin whilst continually creating commercial works as well, with examples including 少女病 (Shoujo Byou), who have separate pages clearly separating their commercial and doujin music, and Team GrisGris.

博麗神社例大祭 – Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai

An event dedicated purely to the creation of items related to Touhou. It has become the main event for Touhou products to be released, and many companies also create and sell Touhou related goods specifically for this event. The event is structured very similarly to Comic Market, and utilises the East halls 1-6.

東方 – Touhou

Originally a doujin game created by Team Shanghai Alice, its popularity has blown to heights unimaginable. The game is a  side-scrolling ‘bullet hell shooter’, where your goals are to shoot at targets, but your life ends upon contact with even one of theirs. The game itself was enjoyed by many fans and its (almost) all female cast also proved to be a hit. Even with its enormous popularity (domestic and abroad) today, the game is still being released as a doujin. It was reported that ZUN, the man credited to it’s creation, wishes for the franchise to remain as a doujin. The bullet hell shooter game as since officially expanded into a fighter game as well as a manga series.