Nihon Bungeisha
Nihon Bungeisha is a privately held Japanese manga and book publisher founded in 1959, publishing the weekly magazine Manga Goraku, 600+ manga series, and practical books across print and digital channels to general consumer readers in Japan.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersKoto, Japan
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Nihon Bungeisha does
Nihon Bungeisha (株式会社日本文芸社) is a privately held Japanese manga and book publishing company founded in 1959 and headquartered in Tokyo (Palace Side Building, Chiyoda-ku). The company publishes the long-running weekly manga magazine Weekly Manga Goraku (週刊漫画ゴラク), which reached its 3000th cumulative issue in July 2026, alongside monthly and special-edition magazines (Manga Goraku Special, Comic Heaven). Its catalog includes 600+ active manga series across genres such as action, sports, mystery, gourmet, and drama, with flagship franchises including Silver Fang (銀牙, 310+ volumes), Edomae no Shun (130+ volumes), Sake no Hosomichi (59+ volumes), Tenpai, and Minami no Teiou.
The company's product portfolio spans multiple comic imprints (Nichibun Comics, KAREN Comics, G Comics, Manga BANG! Comics), pocket-book collections (NICHIBUN BUNKO, KAREN 文庫), practical/non-fiction books, and MOOK specialty series. Digital distribution is operated through proprietary web platforms (urakoi, Flavors, meltybullet, Goraku Web!) and 20+ third-party e-book platforms including Amazon Kindle, Rakuten Kobo, Comic Cmoa, BookWalker, and DMM. Physical distribution covers major Japanese bookstore chains (Kinokuniya, Maruzen), regional booksellers, and specialty manga retailers (Animate, Toranoana). Pricing is structured as unit pricing for volumes (¥607–¥990 for manga tankobon, ¥1,089–¥1,870 for practical books) and subscription pricing for the weekly magazine (¥550/issue).
Revenue is generated through three primary streams: physical book sales, digital/e-book sales, and recurring magazine subscriptions. The customer base is horizontally segmented toward general consumer readers in Japan with no enterprise or B2B concentration. The company has no disclosed AI capabilities, no proprietary technology stack, no public listing, no parent company, and no disclosed ownership structure. No M&A activity, leadership changes, funding rounds, or international operations are documented in the available sources. The company's strategic positioning centers on content library depth, multi-channel distribution, and brand longevity within the domestic Japanese manga market.
Nihon Bungeisha firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nihon Bungeisha
- Legal name
- 株式会社日本文芸社
- Website
- https://nihonbungeisha.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Nihon Bungeisha is a privately held Japanese manga and book publisher founded in 1959, publishing the weekly magazine Manga Goraku, 600+ manga series, and practical books across print and digital channels to general consumer readers in Japan.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nihon Bungeisha industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Manga Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Manga Publishing (Japanese & Global) (MPAJAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Adult/Seinen/Josei Comics Publishing (MPAJAGAJ), Digital Comics, Manga & Serialized Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAJ)
Keywords
Where Nihon Bungeisha is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Koto
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Nihon Bungeisha business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Physical Book Sales: Sales of physical manga volumes, comics, and books through traditional retail channels and direct sales
- Digital/E-book Sales: Sales of digital manga and books through various e-book platforms including Amazon Kindle, Rakuten Kobo, Comic Cmoa, and others
- Magazine Subscriptions: Publication and sales of Weekly Manga Goraku and other periodical manga magazines
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Physical manga volumes (tankobon) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Magazine subscriptions (週刊漫画ゴラク) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Practical/Non-fiction books |
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Nihon Bungeisha product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nihon Bungeisha is a Japanese publishing company that produces, prints, and distributes manga magazines, individual manga volumes (tankobon), digital manga, and practical/non-fiction books. Its flagship publication is the weekly manga magazine Weekly Manga Goraku (週刊漫画ゴラク), which celebrated its 3000th issue in July 2026, alongside long-running manga series such as Silver Fang (銀牙), Edomae no Shun (江戸前の旬), and Minami no Teiō (ミナミの帝王), distributed through physical bookstores, online retailers, and more than 20 e-book platforms.
Product overview
Nihon Bungeisha is a Japanese manga and book publishing company offering a diverse portfolio of print and digital products. Its core offerings include weekly and monthly manga magazines (週刊漫画ゴラク, 漫画ゴラクスペシャル, コミックヘヴン), digital manga platforms (urakoi, フレーバーズ, meltybullet, ゴラクうぇぶ！), and various comic imprints (ニチブンコミックス, KAREN COMICS, マンガBANG！コミックス, Gコミックス). The company publishes numerous manga series including the 銀牙 (Silver Fang) series, 天牌, 男塾, 江戸前の旬, 撲殺ピンク, 酒のほそ道, and ミナミの帝王. It also publishes illustrated book series like 図解 眠れなくなるほど面白い, and maintains paperback imprints including NICHIBUN BUNKO and KAREN 文庫. Products are available in both physical (単行本) and digital (電子書籍) formats.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 漫画ゴラク: Weekly manga magazine published by Nihon Bungeisha
- 漫画ゴラクスペシャル
- コミックヘヴン
- urakoi
- フレーバーズ
- meltybullet
- ニチブンコミックス
- KARENコミックス
- KAREN 文庫
- ゴラクうぇぶ！
- NichibunTube
- ラブすぽ
- つくりら
Products and services
- Weekly Manga Goraku (週刊漫画ゴラク)
Companies that use Nihon Bungeisha
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Nihon Bungeisha technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Nihon Bungeisha partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Nihon Bungeisha competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Shogakukan: One of Japan's leading manga publishers (Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Big Comic) and part of the Hitotsubashi Group. Competes in the same weekly/monthly manga magazine and collected volume categories as Nihon Bungeisha.
- Shueisha: Japan's largest manga publisher (Weekly Shōnen Jump, Jump Comics) and a division of Hitotsubashi Group. Comparably publishes weekly manga magazines and serialized manga volumes across the same value chain as Nihon Bungeisha, but at vastly greater scale.
- Kodansha: Major Japanese manga and book publisher (Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Morning, Afternoon). Direct competitor in weekly manga magazine format and tankōbon publishing, with broader portfolio scale and digital platforms like Comic Days.
- Square Enix (manga division): Publisher of Monthly Gangan Joker and Young Gangan via its manga division. Comparable weekly/monthly manga magazine and collected volume business, though Square Enix is much broader as a games-and-media conglomerate.
Direct peers
- Futabasha: Japanese manga and book publisher of Manga Action and Weekly Manga Goraku's closest competitive set. Comparable mid-tier publisher with a similar mix of weekly/monthly manga magazines and manga/comic imprints.
- Hakusensha: Publisher of Young Animal and Hana to Yume, owned by Shueisha. Directly comparable manga magazine and tankōbon publisher operating in the same seinen/josei niches as Nihon Bungeisha's titles.
- Leed Publishing: Mid-sized Japanese manga and adult comic publisher, focused on seinen/adult tankōbon. Closest competitor in the mature manga segment that Nihon Bungeisha's catalog emphasizes.
- Tokuma Shoten: Japanese publisher of Comic Zenon, Monthly Comic Ryū, and manga tankōbon. Similar mid-sized publisher with overlapping seinen manga magazine and collected volume business.
- Akita Shoten: Mid-sized Japanese manga publisher of Weekly Shōnen Champion and Young Champion. Closely comparable in scale and product mix (weekly seinen/shōnen magazines plus tankōbon) to Nihon Bungeisha.
Emerging players
- Coamix: Japanese manga publisher (Monthly Comic Zenon successor ventures, manga apps). Comparable as a mid-sized publisher of seinen manga magazine and tankōbon, with growing emphasis on digital/webtoon distribution.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Nihon Bungeisha social profiles
Digital presenceNihon Bungeisha financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nihon Bungeisha leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Nihon Bungeisha funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nihon Bungeisha M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nihon Bungeisha
What does Nihon Bungeisha do?
Nihon Bungeisha is a Japanese publishing company that produces, prints, and distributes manga magazines, individual manga volumes (tankobon), digital manga, and practical/non-fiction books. Its flagship publication is the weekly manga magazine Weekly Manga Goraku (週刊漫画ゴラク), which celebrated its 3000th issue in July 2026, alongside long-running manga series such as Silver Fang (銀牙), Edomae no Shun (江戸前の旬), and Minami no Teiō (ミナミの帝王), distributed through physical bookstores, online retailers, and more than 20 e-book platforms.
Is Nihon Bungeisha a public or private company?
Nihon Bungeisha is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Nihon Bungeisha founded?
Nihon Bungeisha was founded in 1959. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Nihon Bungeisha based?
Nihon Bungeisha is headquartered in Koto, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Nihon Bungeisha make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Physical Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are digital/E-book Sales and magazine Subscriptions.
Who are Nihon Bungeisha's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Shogakukan, Shueisha, Kodansha and Square Enix (manga division). Direct peers are Futabasha, Hakusensha, Leed Publishing, Tokuma Shoten and Akita Shoten. Coamix is listed as an emerging player.
Does Nihon Bungeisha have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nihon Bungeisha.
What industry is Nihon Bungeisha in?
Nihon Bungeisha's product category is Manga Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAGAA, Manga Publishing (Japanese & Global), with a secondary code of MPAJAGAJ, Adult/Seinen/Josei Comics Publishing. Its NAICS code is 51313 and its SIC code is 2731.