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An Industry Awaiting Reform: The Social Origins and Economics of Manga and Animation in Postwar Japan
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2025
Abstract
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The Japanese manga and animation industry was established under special conditions in the high growth period of the 1960's. At that time the domestic market of the publishing industry and the film industry was large, the literacy rate was high, other entertainment was little developed, and the industry did not yet confront the challenges of globalization. However, the industrial structure established during this period has deteriorated to one that exploits creators who have weak bargaining power. This reflects the situation throughout Japanese society in the sense that the social structure originating in the 1960s has lost flexibility, creating dysfunction and growing disparities.
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References
Notes
1 Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, Economic survey of Asia and the Far East 1947, United Nations, Shanghai, 1948, pp15-17.
2 Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc., “Nihon Eiga Sangyō Tōkei (Data Statistic of Motion Picture Industry in Japan)” accessed on April 5, 2017. Regarding the number of American movie productions, See Tim Dirks. “Film History of the 1960s.” http://www.filmsite.org/60sintro.html Accessed on April 29, 2017. According to UNESCO, the countries producing the largest number of films in 2013 were India, followed by Nigeria, the US, China and Japan. See here.
3 Uemura Tadashi, Henbō Suru Shakai (Japanese Society in Change), Tokyo, Makino Syuppan, 1969, p174. This is a survey by Video Research Corp. in November 1968.
4 Matsumoto Reiji, “Nihon de Manga ga Sakaeta Riyū (The reason manga became popular in Japan)”, in Tachibana Takashi ed. Hatachi no Koro (When I was 20: Interviews for Celebrities) vol.1 1937-1958, Tokyo, Shinchōsha, 2002, p595.
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6 Kajii Jun, Sengo Nihon no Kashi-hon Bunka (Book Lenders Culture in Post-War Japan), Tokyo, Tōkōsha, 1977, pp63-65.
7 Op. cit, p19, 49, 43.
8 Kan-Chan “Kashi-hon Manga toha Nanzoya? (What is Kashihon Manga?)” Accessed on April 5, 2017.
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11 “Manga Gyōkai Shinkan ”Kyūjin,: Manga 16 page kansei genkō nite 3 man yen“ Genkō 1 mai 1800 yen choi? (Manga industry shocked by a job offer: 16 pages 30,000 yen means 1800 yen for 1 page)” Accessed on April 5, 2017.
12 Takekuma Kentarō, Manga Genkōryō ha Naze Yasui noka? (Why is Payment for Manga Artists So Low?), East Press, Tokyo, 2004, pp31-34.
13 The United States in the 1940s and 1950s was similar to 1960s Japan in two ways. First, entertainment connected with technology as a market could be seen in publishing and films as the two major sources. Secondly, both also had a very strong middle class. The large domestic market and strong manufacturing industries meant that many middle-class people worked in factories or offices, which I think shaped the cultural background. For some time this has not been the case in some advanced industrialized countries, but it is gradually being transformed.
14 Iwagiri Tōru, “Fujio Akatsuka”, Taiyō, No.400(October 1994), Tokyo, Heibonsha, p126.
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20 Op.cit, p39.
21 Kamiyama Kenji, “Mada Anime ha Sangyō ja nai (Animation in Japan has not yet reached the level of ”Industry“)”, Syūkan Tōyō Keizai, vol. 6717, April 1. 2017, p44.
22 “Ijigen Hit no Nakano Hito ga Kataru Chance to Kikikan (Hitmakers state opportunities and sense of crisis)” Syūkan Tōyō Keizai, vol. 6717, April 1. 2017, p40.
23 On circulation of all Japanese manga magazines, see the website of JMPA (Nihon Zasshi Kyokai, Japan Magazine Publishing Association), Accessed on April 6, 2017.
24 Nihon Chosya Hansoku Center (Promotion Center for Authors in Japan) “Syotensū, no Sūji (Trend of the number of bookstores)” Accessed on April 6, 2017.
25 Media and Content Industry Division in METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), “Content Sangyō no Hatten to Genjō to Kongo no Hatten no Hōkōsei (Contemporary situation and Future Development of Content Industry)”, p.5, 3. Accessed on April 7, 2017.
26 Dan Grunebaum, “Is Cool Japan Going Cold?”, Newsweek, Japanese edition, issue June 13, 2012, p52.
27 Eiji Oguma, “A New Wave Against the Rock: New social movements in Japan since the Fukushima nuclear meltdown,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, vol. 14, issue 13, No 2; July 1, 2016.
28 Free download flyer for anti-nuclear rally on May 6, 2012, Accessed on April 12, 2017.
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