ABSTRACT
Phil Tomsovic and Jeremy A. Yellen
Playboy, Shūeisha, and the Birth of Men’s Magazines in 1960s Japan
This article explores the transnational emergence of popular men’s magazines in 1960s Japan. It highlights how Hugh M. Hefner’s Playboy inspired Japanese publishers to create new men’s magazines that incorporated elements of its style. Shūeisha’s release of Shūkan Pureibōi (Weekly Playboy) in 1966, in turn, triggered a legal conflict over intellectual property infringement that lasted until 1973. The conflict convinced Hefner to partner with Shūeisha to produce Playboy Nihonban (Playboy Japan, also known as Gekkan Pureibōi, or Monthly Playboy). This partnership in 1975 signified the rise of Shūeisha as a general publisher and bookended the first era of popular men’s magazines in Japan.
Volume 48, Number 2 (Summer 2022)
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