Kodansha Explained

Kodansha Ltd.
Native Name:株式会社講談社
Native Name Lang:ja
Romanized Name:Kabushiki gaisha Kōdansha
Former Name:Dainippon Yubenkai-Kodansha (1911–1958)
Type:Family-owned private KK
Founded: (as Dai Nippon Yūbenkai)
(as Kodansha Ltd.)
Founder:Seiji Noma
Area Served:Worldwide
Hq Location:Bunkyō
Hq Location City:Tokyo
Hq Location Country:Japan
Key People:[1] (president and CEO)
Industry:Publishing, music
Products:Books, light novels, magazines, manga, comics, CDs and DVDs (through King Records)
Subsid:King Record Co., Ltd.
Kobunsha Co., Ltd.
Kodansha USA
Ichijinsha
Wani Books
Num Employees:914
Owner:Noma family (Noma Cultural Foundation 39.2%)

is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo.[2] Kodansha publishes the manga magazines, Afternoon, Evening, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, as well as the more literary magazines Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary, Nihongo Daijiten. Kodansha was founded by Seiji Noma in 1910, and members of his family continue as its owners either directly or through the Noma Cultural Foundation.

History

Seiji Noma founded Kodansha in 1910 as a spin-off of the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai ("Greater Japan Oratorical Society") and produced the literary magazine, Yūben, as its first publication.[3] The name Kodansha (taken from Kōdan Club, a now-defunct magazine published by the company) originated in 1911 when the publisher formally merged with the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai. The company has used its current legal name since 1958. It uses the motto .

Kodansha Limited owns the Otowa Group, which manages subsidiary companies such as King Records (official name: King Record Co., Ltd.) and Kobunsha, and publishes Nikkan Gendai, a daily tabloid. It also has close ties with Disney and officially sponsors Tokyo Disneyland.

Kodansha is the largest publisher in Japan. Revenues dropped due to the 2002 recession in Japan and an accompanying downturn in the publishing industry: the company posted a loss in the 2002 financial year for the first time since the end of World War II. (The second-largest publisher, Shogakukan, has done relatively better. In the 2003 financial year, Kodansha had revenues of ¥167 billion compared to ¥150 billion for Shogakukan. Kodansha, at its peak, led Shogakukan by over ¥50 billion in revenue.)

Kodansha sponsors the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award which has run since 1977 (and since 1960 under other names).

Kodansha's headquarters in Tokyo once housed Noma Dōjō, a kendo practice-hall established by Seiji Noma in 1925. However, the hall was demolished in November 2007 and replaced with a dōjō in a new building nearby.

The company announced that it was closing its English-language publishing house, Kodansha International, at the end of April 2011.[4] Their American publishing house, Kodansha USA, will remain in operation.

Kodansha USA began issuing new publications under the head administrator of the international branch, Kentaro Tsugumi, starting in September 2012 with a hardcover release of The Spirit of Aikido.[5] Many of Kodansha USA's older titles have been reprinted. According to Daniel Mani of Kodansha USA, Inc., "Though we did publishing new books for about a year starting from late 2011, we did continue to sell most of our older title throughout that period (so Kodansha USA never actually closed)."

In October 2016, Kodansha acquired publisher Ichijinsha and turned the company into its wholly-owned subsidiary.[6]

On November 30, 2022, Kodansha announced an extended partnership with Disney to release anime originals based on its manga exclusively on video streaming service Disney+ starting with the second season of Tokyo Revengers.[7]

On March 21, 2023, Kodansha announced a manga distribution service called "K Manga" which will initially launch exclusively in the United States on May 10, 2023. The service will consist of approximately 400 titles, of which 70 are simultaneous publications of ongoing series.[8]

On May 24, 2024, Kodansha announced that they acquired publisher Wani Books and turned it into a wholly-owned subsidiary.[9]

Relationships with other organizations

The Kodansha company holds ownership in various broadcasting companies in Japan. It also owns shares in Nippon Cultural Broadcasting and Kobunsha. In the 2005 takeover-war for Nippon Broadcasting System between Livedoor and Fuji TV, Kodansha supported Fuji TV by selling its stock to Fuji TV.

NHK

Kodansha has a somewhat complicated relationship with NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai), Japan's public broadcaster. Many of the manga and novels published by Kodansha have spawned anime adaptations. Animation such as Cardcaptor Sakura, aired in NHK's Eisei Anime Gekijō time-slot, and Kodansha published a companion magazine to the NHK children's show Okāsan to Issho. The two companies often clash editorially, however. The October 2000 issue of Gendai accused NHK of staging footage used in a news report in 1997 on dynamite fishing in Indonesia. NHK sued Kodansha in the Tokyo District Court, which ordered Kodansha to publish a retraction and pay ¥4 million in damages. Kodansha appealed the decision and reached a settlement whereby it had to issue only a partial retraction and to pay no damages.[10] Gendais sister magazine Shūkan Gendai nonetheless published an article probing further into the staged-footage controversy that has dogged NHK.

Honors

List of magazines

Manga magazines

This is a list of manga magazines published by Kodansha.

Male-oriented manga magazines

Kodomo (children's) manga magazines

Shōnen manga magazines

Discontinued

Seinen manga magazines

Discontinued

Female-oriented manga magazines

Shōjo manga magazines

Discontinued

Josei manga magazines

Web magazines

Literary magazines

Book series

Published by Kodansha Ltd.

Published by Kodansha International/USA Ltd.

Miss iD

Kodansha organizes the Miss iD pageant, which started in 2012. iD stands for "identity", "idol", "I", and "diversity", and it is described as a pageant to discover diverse role models for the "new era" without being bound to conventional beauty and lifestyle standards. Married and transgender women are allowed to participate.[17] [18] [19] The Miss ID title is awarded to more than one person each year, and holders of the title include actress Tina Tamashiro,[20] singer Rie Kaneko,[21] and musician Ena Fujita.[22] Computer-generated character Saya and AI character Rinna were semifinalists in the 2018 pageant.[23]

Awards given

Kodansha presents the following awards:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Message(language->en->message) . 2024-01-11.
  2. Web site: About us . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221224175003/https://children.kodansha.co.jp/about/ . 2022-12-24 . 2022-12-24 . Kodansha Children's Books.
  3. September 10, 1934 . Books: Clubby Magazines . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221224175305/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,747935-2,00.html . 2022-12-24 . May 26, 2022.
  4. News: Kamiya . Setsuko . Aoki . Mizuho . March 4, 2011 . Kodansha International to close doors . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180406230052/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/03/04/news/kodansha-international-to-close-doors/ . April 6, 2018 . The Japan Times.
  5. Book: Ueshiba, Kisshomaru. The Spirit of Aikido. https://web.archive.org/web/20151101091246/http://www.kodanshausa.com/books/9781568364094/. November 1, 2015. Kodansha USA, Inc.. September 4, 2012. 9781568364094.
  6. News: Pineda . Rafael Antonio . 2016-10-14 . Kodansha Acquires Ichijinsha, Makes It Into Subsidiary Company . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221005050107/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-10-14/kodansha-acquires-ichijinsha-makes-it-into-subsidiary-company/.107650 . 2022-10-05 . Anime News Network.
  7. News: Brzeski . Patrick . 2022-11-29 . Disney Expands Partnership With Japan's Kodansha to Release More Anime Originals (Exclusive) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221224175718/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/disney-expands-partnership-with-japans-kodansha-to-release-more-anime-originals-exclusive-1235271990/ . 2022-12-24 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. Web site: Hazra. Adriana. Kodansha to Launch New 'K Manga' Platform in U.S. (Updated). Anime News Network. April 29, 2023. March 21, 2023. April 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230430013519/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-03-21/kodansha-to-launch-new-k-manga-platform-in-u.s/.196121. live.
  9. Web site: Tai. Anita. Kodansha Acquires Wani Books. Anime News Network. May 26, 2024. May 26, 2024.
  10. Web site: NHK インドネシア「爆弾漁法」 . August 13, 2012 . April 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220407103543/http://engei.s17.xrea.com/gendai1/0001.html . live .
  11. Web site: Awards and Special Prizes: Recipients List: 19731995. December 24, 2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629002301/https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/award/archive/archive1973-1995.html. June 29, 2022.
  12. https://www.publishinghistory.com/kodansha-bilingual-books.html Kodansha Bilingual Books - Book Series List
  13. https://www.tofugu.com/reviews/kodansha-international-bilingual-books/ Kodansha International's Bilingual Books Series
  14. https://www.publishinghistory.com/kodansha-globe.html Kodansha Globe (Kodansha International) - Book Series List
  15. https://www.deseret.com/1994/8/19/19126219/kodansha-globe-aims-to-keep-old-titles-on-shelves Kodansha Globe aims to keep old titles on shelves
  16. https://www.publishinghistory.com/this-beautiful-world-kodansha-international.html This Beautiful World (Kodansha International) - Book Series List
  17. Web site: Miss iDって？ . July 31, 2022 . ミスiD . ja . May 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220530110450/https://miss-id.jp/about . live .
  18. Web site: Miss iD . July 31, 2022 . Japanese kawaii idol music culture news Tokyo Girls Update . en . August 16, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220816040551/http://tokyogirlsupdate.com/miss-id.html . live .
  19. Web site: December 19, 2019 . 「かわいい」よりも「強い武器」を手に入れよう。年間4000人のオーディションを運営して思うこと . July 31, 2022 . ハフポスト . ja . July 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220731071740/https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/entry/story_jp_5df2eeaee4b0ca713e5c4386 . live .
  20. Web site: 玉城ティナ・ゆうこすら輩出「ミスiD 2020」グランプリ決定 15歳・嵐莉菜に栄冠 - モデルプレス . July 31, 2022 . モデルプレス - ライフスタイル・ファッションエンタメニュース . ja . August 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220828082248/https://mdpr.jp/news/detail/1899738 . live .
  21. Web site: 「ミスｉＤ２０１５」グランプリ金子理江 衝撃の貧乏エピソード「ワゴン車が実家」 – 東京スポーツ新聞社 . July 31, 2022 . 東スポＷeb . March 30, 2016 . ja . March 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327112019/https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/entertainment/523912/ . live .
  22. Web site: 今、一番脱げる「私」。藤田恵名、独占インタビュー cinemas PLUS . July 31, 2022 . cinema.ne.jp . ja . July 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220731070140/https://cinema.ne.jp/article/detail/40283/ . live .
  23. Web site: "実写にしか見えない"3DCG女子高生「Saya」、「ミスiD」セミファイナリストに . July 31, 2022 . ITmedia NEWS . ja . July 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220731072414/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1707/21/news122.html . live .
  24. Web site: SUSTAINABILITY｜KODANSHA CORPORATE SITE Inspire Impossible Stories . 2024-07-14 . KODANSHA.com . en.

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