Dōjin

Dōjin (同人), often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement. The word is sometimes translated into English as clique, coterie, society, or circle (e.g., a "sewing circle").

In Japan the term is used to refer to amateur self-published works, including but not limited to manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, music and video games. Some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular publishing industry.

Annual research by the research agency Media Create indicated that of the 1.65 billion USD of the Otaku industry in 2007, doujin sales made up 48% (792 million dollars).

Literary societies
Literary circles first appeared in the Meiji period when groups of like-minded waka writers, poets and novelists met and published literary magazines (many of which are still publishing today). Many modern writers in Japan came from these literary circles. One famous example is Ozaki Koyo, who led the Kenyusha society of literary writers that first published collected works in magazine form in 1885.

Manga circles
After World War II manga dōjin started to appear in Japan. Mangaka like Shotaro Ishinomori (Kamen Rider, Cyborg 009) and Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon) formed dōjin groups such as Fujio's New Manga Party (新漫画党). At this time dōjin groups were used by artists to make a professional debut. This changed in the coming decades with dōjin groups forming as school clubs and the like. This culminated in 1975 with the Comiket in Tokyo.

Dōjin today
Avid fans of dōjin attend regular dōjin conventions, the largest of which is called Comiket (short for "Comic Market") held in the summer and winter at Tokyo Big Sight. Here, over 20 acre of dōjin materials are bought, sold, and traded by attendees. Dōjin creators who base their materials on other creators' works normally publish in small numbers to maintain a low profile from litigation. This makes a talented creator's or circle's products a coveted commodity as only the fast or the lucky will be able to get them before they sell out.

Over the last decade, the practice of creating dōjin has expanded significantly, attracting thousands of creators and fans alike. Advances in personal publishing technology have also fueled this expansion by making it easier for dōjin creators to write, draw, promote, publish, and distribute their works.

Western perception
In Western cultures, dōjin are often perceived to be derivative of existing work, analogous to fan fiction. To an extent, this is true: many dōjin are based on popular manga, anime or video game series. However, many dōjin with completely original content also exist. It is also important to note that among the numerous dōjin categories, dōjinshi (同人誌) are the ones getting by far the most exposure outside of Japan. It is also true to a certain extent in Japan itself, as dōjinshi are by tradition the most popular and numerous dōjin products.

Types

 * Dōjinshi: manga. A sub-category would be dōjin CG (同人CG) for CG artworks.
 * Dōjin soft / dōjin game (同人ソフト / 同人ゲーム): games, software
 * Dōjin music (同人音楽): music
 * H dōjin (エッチ同人), or "hentai", is a form of dōjin which is sexually explicit in nature.