What SHUFUNOTOMO does

Shufunotomo (株式会社主婦の友社), founded in 1921 and headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, is a privately held Japanese publishing company that has operated for over 100 years. The company's core business is producing and selling magazines and books across lifestyle, cooking, health, beauty, fashion, parenting, senior living, gardening, crafts, and manga categories, with key titles including Ray, S Cawaii!, GISELe, andGIRL, 声優グランプリ, ゆうゆう, 健康, and Baby-mo. It reaches consumers through a proprietary online bookstore (books.shufunotomo.co.jp) and at least ten third-party e-commerce and retail channels in Japan, including Amazon Japan, Rakuten, 7net, Honto, Kinokuniya, e-hon, Honyaclub, HMV&BOOKS, Yodobashi, and Tower Records, with magazines priced at 920-1,610 yen per issue and books at 979-4,840 yen.

The company has built a network of nine branded media sites (OTONA SALONE, 暮らしニスタ, GISELe, ゆうゆうtime, 赤ちゃんが欲しい, Baby-mo, 健康, TOMO COMICS, and 暮らしのAI) and the @tasonote membership community, targeting women across life stages from preconception through senior years. In 2024 it launched "Kurashi no AI" (暮らしのAI), a LINE-based AI consultation service that applies conversational NLP and knowledge retrieval over its editorial corpus to answer daily-life questions on health, money, household management, and administrative procedures, with enterprise variants offered to local governments (resident consultation) and corporations (sustainability and customer support). The business is complemented by a B2B service (Yorozuya Shufunotomo) for content production, event planning, and sustainability/SDG-aligned marketing, and by the Candle Characters Studio (CANST) character IP label, which launched its first e-book and capsule toy products in October 2025.

Revenue is generated through a mix of subscription (magazines), one-time purchases (books), enterprise services, advertising, and a freemium AI service currently in trial. The company is led by Representative Director Omiya Toshiyasu (大宮 敏靖). No external investors, parent company, or public listing are disclosed, and no revenue figures have been published.

Name

SHUFUNOTOMO

Legal name

株式会社 主婦の友社

Website

https://shufunotomo.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Shufunotomo (主婦の友社) is a privately held Japanese publishing company founded in 1921 that produces lifestyle magazines, books, and a LINE-based AI consultation service for women and families, with additional enterprise content, sustainability, and character IP businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Magazine & Book Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF)

Keywords

• Magazine publishing
• Book publishing
• Lifestyle media
• Women's content
• AI consultation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Publishing: Publishing and selling magazines across categories including lifestyle, beauty, health, parenting, and entertainment through subscription and retail channels.
2. Book Publishing: Publishing books in categories such as cooking, lifestyle, crafts, health, parenting, and comics sold through bookstores and e-commerce platforms.
3. AI Service (Free currently): Currently offered free as a trial period, with plans for potential future monetization based on service expansion.
4. Corporate Services (よろず屋): Enterprise services including advertising, sustainability project consulting, and content creation for businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SHUFUNOTOMO is a Japanese publishing house that produces and sells magazines and books across lifestyle categories including cooking, health, parenting, beauty, fashion, and entertainment. The company also operates web media properties, character IP (Candle Characters Studio), and has launched Kurashino AI, a LINE-based AI consultation service answering daily life questions using 100+ years of editorial expertise. It additionally offers B2B content production, sustainability consulting, and enterprise AI services.

Product overview

SHUFUNOTOMO operates as a diversified publishing and media company with both consumer and enterprise offerings. The core business centers on magazine and book publishing across lifestyle categories (cooking, health, beauty, fashion, parenting, gardening, hobbies), supported by a network of web media properties targeting women across life stages. The company has expanded into AI-powered services (暮らしのAI), which provides LINE-based lifestyle consultation leveraging the company's editorial expertise. Additional offerings include character IP development through CANST, sustainability-focused content initiatives, and B2B enterprise services for content marketing and corporate SDG branding. The company also operates membership communities and publishes books and magazines both in physical and digital formats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OTONA SALONE: Lifestyle media platform targeting mature women with editorial content, community features, and event projects.
• 暮らしニスタ
• GISELe
• ゆうゆうtime
• 赤ちゃんが欲しい
• Baby-mo
• 健康
• TOMO COMICS
• 暮らしのAI
• キャンドルキャラクターズスタジオ

Products and services

• Magazines & Books (雑誌・書籍) Core publishing division producing and selling magazines and books across lifestyle categories (cooking, health, beauty, fashion, parenting, lifestyle, hobbies, manga). Key titles include 声優グランプリ, andGIRL, ゆうゆう, ロト・ナンバーズ「超」的中法, GISELe, etc. Sold via subscriptions, own online store, and major e-commerce platforms.
• Kurashino AI (暮らしのAI) LINE-based AI consultation service that answers daily life questions about health, household finances, relationships, and administrative procedures. Built on 100+ years of editorial expertise and available 24/7. Free for consumers; enterprise versions for local governments and businesses.
• Yorozuya Shufunotomo (よろず屋 主婦の友) B2B enterprise service offering companies content production, event planning, marketing support, and sustainability/SDG project collaboration. Targets businesses seeking content marketing, ESG branding, and promotional strategy support.
• Candle Characters Studio (CANST) Character IP development and licensing label creating original characters and stories for social media and merchandise. Develops characters including Usata Happy Monday, Onyanko Nyonko, Opantsu Rock, Gyoza-san, Shibary-man, and others. Operates online store for character merchandise and gachapon toys.
• TOMONI THINK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT Sustainability-focused content project promoting sustainable living and SDG awareness. Delivers content through events, workshops, and sustainability-related publications, with corporate partnership programs for companies seeking SDG-aligned branding.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI consultation available 24/7 for daily life questions
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major.

• Studio Ghibli (スタジオジブリ)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on children's cooking picture books, including titles such as '子どもりょうり絵本　ジブリの食卓　崖の上のポニョ'.
• Imazica Infos (イマジカインフォス)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-publishing relationship for magazine titles including 'S Cawaii!' and '声優グランプリ'.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shfntm_PR
• Facebookfacebook.com/otonasalone
• Instagraminstagram.com/otona_salone

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SHUFUNOTOMO