Shodensha

Shodensha (株式会社祥伝社, Kabushiki kaisha Shōdensha) is a Japanese publisher of mostly non-fiction magazines and books, though it has recently begun publishing light novels and manga, including magazines which contain both. Shodensha publishes magazines such as Feel Young (an all-manga magazine), Zipper (a fashion magazine aimed at junior high and high school girls), and Nina's (a fashion and lifestyle magazine aimed at younger housewives).

Shodensha is a member of the keiretsu Hitotsubashi Group of publishing companies.

History

Shodensha was founded on 1970-11-05 by five people: Shōzō Sasabe (from Shogakukan), Isamu Kurosaki (from Kobunsha), Kōzaburō Iga, Hidenori Sakurai, and Toshio Fujioka.

The company was able to release a number of best selling titles which helped the company get off to a running start. They began their "Non-Novel" imprint in 1973, and their "Non-Pochette" imprint in 1975. In 2000, Shodensha created their Shodensha Gold imprint, and their most recent imprint, Shodensha Shinsho, was released in 2005.