This paper explores the central paradox of resistance media: their evolution from imaginative, grassroots origins into normalized entities, a process that often entails a loss of their original emancipatory purpose for marginalized groups. By analyzing the historical trajectories of Japanese Minikomi, Dojinshi, and Kikanshi, this study demonstrates how the expansion of such media frequently leads to their co-option and the erosion of their radical edge. There was a historical period when Minikomi, Dojinshi, and Kikanshi were once regarded as “illegal publications” in Japan. The development of Dojinshi and Kikanshi historically coexisted for a period, and this paper will begin by examining the historical background of Kikanshi, which can be traced back to 1874 (Meiji 7) and served not only as a platform for “people’s journalism”, but also as a stage for literary development. At that time, socialist, anti-war, and women’s liberation movements were surging, forming the primary context for the widespread use of Kikanshi. This period of successive emergence of such publications also coincided with intensified government censorship and suppression. But after 1950s Kikanshi developed on a large scale and lost their grassroots character. That is the period when the term “Minikomi” gained wider usage. However, after Minikomi seemingly replaced “publication organs” as the emerging media for marginalized groups, new norms once again emerged within Minikomi culture. In this paper, I aim to explore what the shift from rebellion to normalization signifies within the history of Japan’s independent publishing.

Authors:
Nan Zhao, Doshisha University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Nan Zhao is a PhD candidate in Global Studies at Doshisha University, focusing on zines in Japan from the perspective of feminist publishing history and cultural studies.

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