is a Japanese

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of mostly

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combina ...

and books, though it has recently begun publishing

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language ...

s and

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

, including magazines which contain both. Shodensha publishes magazines such as '' Feel Young'' (a josei all-

magazine), ''

Zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other bags, camping ...

'' (a fashion magazine aimed at high school and college girls and women, known for including sone manga), and '' Nina's'' (a fashion and lifestyle magazine aimed at younger housewives). Shodensha is a member of the

keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. In the legal sense, it is a type of informal business group that are loosely organized alliances within the social world of Japan's business community. The ''ke ...

Hitotsubashi Group The is a Japanese family-owned publishing vertical keiretsu in Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is composed of Shogakukan, Shueisha, Hakusensha and related publishing companies. The name of the group is derived from the location of its ma ...

of publishing companies.

History

Shodensha was founded on November 5, 1970, by five people: Shōzō Sasabe (from

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of Japanese dictionaries, dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are to ...

), Isamu Kurosaki (from

Kobunsha Kobunsha ( ja, 光文社 ''Kōbunsha'') is a Japanese publishing company. It publishes literature, manga novels, and women's magazines. Company history Kobunsha was established on October 1, 1945, and belongs to the Kodansha group. The compan ...

), Kōzaburō Iga, Hidenori Sakurai, and Toshio Fujioka. The company was able to release a number of best selling titles which helped the company get off to a running start. They began their "Non-Novel" imprint in 1973, and their "Non-Pochette" imprint in 1975. In 2000, Shodensha created their Shodensha Gold imprint, and their most recent imprint, Shodensha Shinsho, was released in 2005. Shodensha has also published a variety of magazines throughout the years, including (a magazine which covers a wide range of women's issues, first published in 1996), ''Boon'' (a young street fashion magazine published from 1986–2008), (began publication in 2004), as well as the previously mentioned ''Feel Young'', ''Zipper'', and ''Nina's''.

Magazines

*'' Feel Young'',

josei manga , also known as and its abbreviation , is an editorial category of Japanese comics that emerged in the 1980s. In a strict sense, ''josei'' refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting ''shōjo'' manga, which is market ...

magazine. *'' Karada ni Ii Koto'', a lifestyle and health magazine aimed at women in their 30s and older. *'' Nina's'', a women's lifestyle and fashion magazine. *'' Shosetsu Non'', a magazine which serializes

s. *''

'', a young women’s fashion magazine. *'' Boon'', young men's fashion magazine. *'' Feel Love'', josei romance novels magazine. **''Coffret'', web magazine where all ''Feel Love'' serializations were moved after August 2014

External links

Official Shodensha website
{{Authority control Book publishing companies of Japan Comic book publishing companies of Japan Publishing companies established in 1970 Educational book publishing companies Magazine publishing companies of Japan 1970 establishments in Japan