The Japanese Amateur Textual Production Scene: Activities and Participation in Dōjin Cultures

Abstract

This paper focuses on Japanese amateur text producers–often addressed as dōjin–who have been frequently described in contrasting terms: either as isolated, insular individuals who lack social skills or interest in intersubjective interaction, or as communities built on shared mutual interest and emotive bonds. In this paper I argue that a focus on the different orientations of dōjin cultures towards the value of media texts allows us to build a bridge between both of these stances. Along with analysis of texts and appropriative practices, this perspective advocates for the analysis of institutions as a different empirical field in the study of contemporary popular culture. In this paper my goal is to propose a distinction within dōjin cultures between activities and participation, described as two different forms of social action shaped by different orientations towards the value of texts. Both orientations share however an acknowledgment of a certain value in specific texts, which becomes the driving force behind textual production. As I will suggest, the word activities is useful to represent a vertical orientation towards value. This is a kind of orientation that lies at the foundation of individualistic attitudes within the practices of dōjin cultures. In contrast, the word participation helps to characterize a horizontal orientation towards value. This is a kind of orientation that supports collective participation and links individuals into wider groups and networks. Activities and participation are constitutive elements of amateur dōjin culture.