Women Writing Manga Production of BL in the Professional and Amateur Industries of Japan
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Women Writing Manga Production of BL in the professional and amateur industries of Japan Ariane Mignault East Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts McGill University, Montreal April 2013 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts © Ariane Mignault 2013 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Résumé ..................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgment........................................................................................................................ v Notes ......................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: The Creation of Manga in a Gendered Industry .................................................. 7 The manga industry ................................................................................................................................ 8 Women in the publishing industry ........................................................................................................ 13 The manga amateur world.................................................................................................................... 25 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Chapter 2: Dreams, fantasies and love: What truly is the boys' love genre? ....................... 36 A short history of boys’ love manga ..................................................................................................... 38 Genre analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 46 Semantic elements ................................................................................................................................ 48 Syntactic elements ................................................................................................................................ 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 58 Chapter 3: Connections between the manga industry and its readers ................................. 60 The capitalist economy of the manga publishing firms ........................................................................ 61 Japanese women’s purchasing power .................................................................................................. 63 The amateur dōjinshi alternative economy .......................................................................................... 66 Fujoshi, fans of boys’ love manga ........................................................................................................ 70 Interdependence of both industries ...................................................................................................... 78 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 80 Appendix A.............................................................................................................................. 83 Appendix B.............................................................................................................................. 84 Appendix C.............................................................................................................................. 85 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 87 ii Abstract This thesis explores manga in two kinds of production system in Japan. It examines similarities and differences between the professional manga industry and the amateur dōjinshi world in relation to the boys’ love genre in three different perspectives: production, genre, and markets. First, I explore employment opportunities for women in the professional manga industry and develop a comparison with women in the amateur world. I then shift to the boys’ love genre itself. The analysis of the emergence of this form of expression in the amateur world and its move into the professional manga industry allows a better understanding of basic characteristics of such narratives and exposes whether or not it may be considered a real genre based on Rick Altman’s theory of genre. Finally, the readers and fans of boys’ love manga, also referred to as fujoshi, are studied in relation to the economic systems associated with these two kinds of manga production. The goal of these three chapters is to understand the interactions between the two industries as well as with their readers as a coherent system where professional mangaka, amateurs and fans all play an important role in the production of manga in Japan. iii Résumé Cette thèse traite des manga dans deux systèmes de production au Japon. Elle présente des ressemblances et disparités entre l’industrie du manga professionnel et le secteur amateur, connu pour ces dōjinshi, en lien avec le genre boys’ love dans trois différentes perspectives : la production, le genre et les marchés. Le premier aspect abordé concerne les possibilités d’emploi pour les femmes dans l’industrie du manga professionnel et les compare avec les femmes engagées dans le monde amateur. Le second aspect abordé dans cette thèse concerne le boys’ love comme forme d’expression dont l’émergence au sein du secteur amateur suivi de son transfert dans l’industrie professionnelle permet une meilleure compréhension des caractéristiques fondamentales de ces récits. Il s’agira de démontrer si l’on peut considérer le genre boys’ love comme étant un genre au sens où l’entend Rick Altman dans sa théorie des genres. Cette thèse abordera finalement le lectorat des manga, principalement du genre boys’ love, les fujoshi, en relation avec les systèmes économiques ayant cours dans l’industrie professionnelle et dans le monde amateur. La visée de ces trois chapitres est de démontrer les liens entre ces deux différentes facettes du manga en plus du rôle du lectorat dans cette équation pour mettre en évidence la cohérence de ce système au sein duquel les mangaka professionnels, les amateurs et les fans jouent tous un rôle important dans la production de manga au Japon. iv Acknowledgment I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor LaMarre, my research supervisor, for his support and constructive critiques. His helpful suggestions and his willingness to give his time so generously during the writing of this thesis have been more than greatly appreciated. I could not have wished for a better supervisor. I also wish to acknowledge the extensive help provided by Livia Nardini and Angela Lapenna for handling all of the administrative procedures during the last two years. Their dedication to their jobs is truly exceptional and I always appreciated their smiles and warm welcomes every time I entered the East Asian Studies building. Their help made my time at McGill University exceptional. Generous fellowships from McGill University, the SSHRC Scholarship and funding from Professor LaMarre provided me with the opportunity to entirely focus on this thesis. On a last note, I would like to express my great appreciation to all of my friends, in Montreal and abroad, who took time to read and review this thesis for the final proofreading. I would also like to thank my family and boyfriend for supporting me during the last two years. This would not have been possible without your help. I truly treasure your support and help. v Notes Japanese names will follow the traditional Japanese system in which the family name appears first followed by given name. All Japanese words in this thesis follow the Hepburn Romanization System. Chinese characters or kanji will only be written to refer to the individual character meanings and for reference purposes. Also, in the case of direct quotes, the original spelling will be respected even if the Romanization writing system is different than the one previously mentioned. vi Introduction Manga, originally a Japanese word, is now generally used around the world to refer to any comic books from Japan. The global popularity depends largely on relations to readers. The involvement of readers, both consuming and sharing their passion, is integral to the success of manga. Fans drive the publishing industry. Consequently, manga proliferate and transform rapidly. Manga today cover broad range of themes, styles and genres. They also constitute a significant share of the book market. It is estimated that 40% of all books and magazines sold in Japan are related to manga.1 Clearly, manga are not simply comics for children. They appeal to readers of all ages and diverse backgrounds. As such, manga are ubiquitous. In 2000, Sharon Kinsella described Japanese comics as follows: One of the most common synonyms used to describe manga is ‘air’, something that has permeated every crevice of the contemporary environment. Manga can be purchased from train platform kiosks, in books shops near