An An Explained

Publisher:Magazine House Ltd.
Language:Japanese
Country:Japan
Based:Tokyo
Firstdate:20 March 1970
Category:Women's magazine
Frequency:Weekly
Website:an an

An An (stylized as an an) is a weekly Japanese women's lifestyle magazine. It is one of the earliest and popular women's magazines in Japan.[1] [2] In 2009 it was described by Japan Today as a mega-popular women's magazine.[3] It is also one of the best-selling women's magazines in the country.[4]

History and profile

The magazine was started as a sister publication of French magazine Elle and was named as Elle Japon.[4] [5] The first issue of the magazine was published on 20 March 1970.[6] [7] [8] The magazine was renamed as an an in 1982,[9] which was the name of a panda bear.[5] Its content was also changed to reflect the trends affecting Japanese women and their self-identity.[5]

At the end of the 1990s an an was published biweekly.[10] The magazine has its headquarters in Tokyo and is published on a weekly basis on Tuesdays.[11] [12] The publisher is Magazine House Ltd., a Tokyo based publishing company.[11] [13] The company, which was also the founder of the magazine, was formerly named Heibun Shuppan.[14] The magazine has two versions, a regular one and a cheaper one.[1]

Like other young women's magazines in Japan an an frequently features articles on fashion, cosmetics and relationships.[7] On the other hand, it emphasizes the visual aspect and advertisements rather than text.[15] However, instead of focusing on gossip, an an and another women's magazine Non-no provide their readers with self-help materials.[16] In addition, since its inception an an has been instrumental in changing attitudes of young Japanese women as well as in reinforcing new and subversive identities.[17] In 1984 it began to publish an annual sex special issue.[4] Its April 1989 cover read "Become Beautiful through Sex" (sekkusu de kirei ni naru).[4]

The male version of an an, Popeye magazine, was started in 1976.[15]

In the mid-1990s the target audience of an an was stated to be women aged between 19 and 27 years old who were mostly unmarried, office workers and university students.[18]

an an celebrated its publication of 2,000 issues with an exhibition at the Tokyo Metro Omotesando station between 11 April and 17 April 2016.[19]

Circulation

The circulation of an an was between 540,000 copies and 720,000 copies in the period of 1970 and 2009.[7] In the mid 1990s the magazine sold 650,000 copies.[10] In 2006 its circulation was 280,683 copies.[20]

Notes and References

  1. News: Kindle celebrity image rights scandal hits anan magazine. 28 April 2016. Japan Trends. 21 September 2015.
  2. News: Kaori Shoji. 12 May 2008. The New York Times. Health-conscious Japanese women are running in style. 28 April 2016.
  3. News: 'Marriage-hunting' is latest buzzword. Japan Today. 1 March 2009. 28 April 2016.
  4. Book: Youna Kim. Women and the Media in Asia: The Precarious Self. Women and sexual desire in the Japanese popular media. https://books.google.com/books?id=6CEYa4bnLD0C&pg=PA119. Palgrave Macmillan. 115–129. 2012. 978-0-230-29272-7. Alexandra Hambleton. Basingstoke; New York.
  5. The Art of Seduction and Affect Economy: Neoliberal Class Struggle and Gender Politics in a Tokyo Host Club. 2008. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 57. PhD.
  6. Book: Lise Skov. Brian Moeran. Women, Media, and Consumption in Japan. https://books.google.com/books?id=OLXfn3_YXqgC&pg=PA60. 1995. Honolulu. 978-0-8248-1776-3. 60. University of Hawaiʻi Press. Introduction: Hiding in the light: from Oshin to Yoshimoto Banana. Lise Skov. Brian Moeran.
  7. Book: Bryan S. Turner. Zheng Yangwen. The Body in Asia. 2009. 104. https://books.google.com/books?id=x6m3WEmqbv8C&pg=PA104. Berghahn Books. 978-1-84545-966-6. Junko Ishiguro. New York; Oxford. Westernized body or Japanized Western body: The desirable female body in contemporary Japanese women's magazines.
  8. Emiko Ochiai. Decent Housewives and Sensual White Women. 1997. 9. Japan Review. 151–169. 25791006.
  9. Web site: Section 2: Fashion. 26 September 2016. National Diet Library.
  10. Book: Aviad E. Raz. Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland. 1999. Cambridge, MA; London. Harvard University Asia Center. 978-0-674-76894-9. 76.
  11. Web site: an an Magazine for Japan's Young Women. Japan Visitor Blog. 28 April 2016. 15 May 2014.
  12. Book: The Far East and Australasia 2003. Europa Publications. 2002. 978-1-85743-133-9. 625. London; New York.
  13. News: Jonti Davies. Women's magazine enters Japanese DS market. 28 April 2016. engadget. 14 February 2007.
  14. Keiko Tanaka. The language of Japanese men's magazines: young men who don't want to get hurt. The Sociological Review. May 2003. 51. 1. 222–242. 143669392. 10.1111/j.1467-954X.2003.tb03613.x.
  15. MA. Barbara Németh. Masculinities in Japan. 2014. Palacký University Olomouc.
  16. Book: Yoko Tokuhiro. Marriage in Contemporary Japan. 2009. 45. Routledge. 978-1-135-23032-6. London; New York.
  17. Book: Jennifer Robertson. A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan. 2008. https://books.google.com/books?id=U51zs-HHchQC&pg=PA320. Blackwell Publishing. 978-1-4051-4145-1. 320. Katsumi Nakao. Malden, MA. The imperial past of anthropology in Japan.
  18. Reiko Hayashi. Hierarchical interdependence expressed through conversational styles in Japanese women's magazines. Discourse & Society. 1997. 8. 3. 361–362. 10.1177/0957926597008003005.
  19. News: Anan Magazine Commemorates 2,000 Issues Publication with an Exhibit. Arama! Japan. 28 April 2016.
  20. Web site: Manga Anthology Circulations 2004-2006. ComiPress. 6 February 2017. 27 December 2007.

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