The Role of Trust in the Creation of
Popular Cultural Products: The Case of
Japanese Manga
Keiko Kawamata
Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
kwm2002@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp
Abstract: This research aims to explore the role of trust in Japanese content development, focusing on the
dyadic relationship between the mangaka (comic strip author) and the editor, and to examine the evolution of
trust between these two creative actors in the course of their relationship. It also analyses the creation process
used by the major Japanese publishing companies. This analysis allows for an understanding of the foundational
role of trust in creative development and the factors that facilitate the creation of popular cultural products.
Keywords: trust, dyadic relationship, manga, popular culture product, content creation
Introduction
In 2002, Douglas McGray used the term ‘GNC (Gross National Cool)’ to refer to Japan as a cultural
superpower. He stated that ‘Japan’s global cultural influence has quietly grown. From pop music to
consumer electronics, architecture to fashion, and animation to cuisine, Japan looks more like a
cultural superpower today than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic one’ (McGray, 2002).
Over the past few years, the Japanese content industry has been attracting considerable attention as the
nation’s next leading industry. According to the Japanese government’s Shin Seicho Senryaku (‘New
Growth Strategy’) and Sangyo Kozo Bijon (‘Industrial Structure Vision 2010’), announced in June
2010, it is expected that ‘Japan’s cultural industries, such as design, animation, fashion and movies
will become a strategic sector that drives the nation’s future economic growth’.
Despite this optimism, the industry shrank slightly to JPY 12.1 trillion (USD 150.8 billion or EUR
120.6 billion) in 2011. The outlook for the Japanese content industry is thus uncertain, yet it continues
to have enormous potential and scope.
John A. Lasseter, PIXAR’s Creative Executive Vice President, has stated that the most important
aspect of animation is story creation (Harada, 2004). This implies that one of the most significant
factors in the success of the content industry is the power of story creation. In an interview with a
Japanese magazine, Douglas E. Glen, CEO of IMAGI International—who delivered Astro Boy’s1
first
CGI feature film to the world in 2009—stated that his job is to identify stories that feature heroes who
can be worldwide icons. He further observed that Japan is a reservoir of such stories (Shukan
Daiyamondo [Diamond Weekly Magazine] 2008).
1
Astro Boy is one of the best-known and most-loved action heroes in the world. Originally created in Japan by
Osamu Tezuka, popularly known as the ‘god of manga’, in the early 1950s, Astro Boy has played the protagonist
in over 300 television episodes and several 2D features. (Retrieved 18 March 2009, from
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=204598.)
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 2
Where do all these stories come from? The answer is ‘manga’.2
Japanese manga (comic strips) are
known for their strong storylines and serve as sources for many other content formats, such as
Japanese anime, TV programmes, and motion pictures. For the Japanese content industry, having good
manga stories is indispensable to sustained growth.
This research has sought to identify the factors important to content creation. In the course of
interviewing manga editors in Japan and France, ‘trust’ was often mentioned as the most important
factor in manga creation. A French editor of bande dessinée (Franco-Belgian comics) shared this view,
stating that trust is the foremost concern in relationships with authors and argues that trustworthiness is
even more important than the ability to draw pictures. What, then, is the role of trust in manga creation
and popular cultural products?
This research aims to explore the role of trust in Japanese content development, focusing on the dyadic
relationship between the mangaka (comic strip author) and the editor, and to examine the evolution of
trust between these two creative actors in the course of their relationship. It also analyses the creation
process used by the major Japanese publishing companies. This analysis allows for an understanding
of the foundational role of trust in creative development and the factors that facilitate the creation of
popular cultural products.
Market Overview
A. How manga are read
Unlike in the Western reading style, Japanese people read manga from right to left. For example, in
Figure 1, reading would begin at (1), (in the upper right-hand frame), and continue through (2), (3),
(4), (5), (6), and (7). Moreover, the lines of the characters are written vertically and are read from right
to left. Western editions of manga are now also increasingly being published in the authentic right-toleft
format (Ashby, 2003).
Figure 1: How to read manga
Source: Aoike (2005, p.117).
2
For more details regarding Japanese manga, please refer to Matt Thorn’s website: http://www.matt-thorn.com.
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 3
Manga magazines are unique to Japan. Figure 2 is a cover page of the most popular manga magazine
for boys, the Shônen Jump, or the Weekly Shônen Jump (WSJ). The WSJ has approximately 470
pages (19 to 20 pages per episode) and sells for only JPY 240 (USD 3.00 or EUR 2.40). Even though
manga sales have been declining, they still amount to over 500 million units per year. Successful
weekly serials are turned into paperbacks, with manga magazines thus serving as their trial versions or
promotional tools.
On average (unsurprisingly), a Japanese person reads 16 pages of manga per minute (Berndt, 1991). A
typical episode of a weekly manga serial has 19 to 20 pages, which a Japanese reader can finish in
under a minute and a half.
Figure 2: The W eekly Shônen Jump
Source: Weekly Shônen Jump. Retrieved 1 July 2012
from http://www.shonenjump.com/e/index.html.
Native speakers of Japanese can read manga in the manner described above because of the nature of
the language and the brain’s functioning. The Japanese language comprises both ideograms and
phonograms. Further, the two writing systems of Japanese orthography are processed differently: kana
(syllabic symbols) are processed similarly to phonetic languages such as English, while kanji (a
logographic writing system) is processed similarly to logographic languages such as Chinese. As a
result of this duality, native speakers of Japanese read by using different parts of the brain. Yoro states
that manga was created and developed in Japan because it was suited to the way the Japanese brain
functions when reading (Yoro and Makino, 2005).
The large volume of manga, combined with the instinctive and highly experienced manga readers
(consumers), has produced a vast reservoir of Japanese manga stories.
B. The Japanese manga market
Before the 2008 financial crisis, Japanese content industry accounted for JPY 13.2 trillion (USD 164.7
billion or EUR 131.7 billion)3
. According to Dejitaru Kontentsu Hakusho 2011 (Digital Content White
3
The foreign exchange rates used in this article are USD/JPY = 80 and EUR/JPY = 100.
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 4
Paper 2011, p. 22), in 2011 the market size of the Japanese content industry was estimated at JPY 12.1
trillion (USD 150.8 billion or EUR 120.6 billion), a slight decrease (0.8%) from the previous year.
On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake hit Tohoku, the northern part of Honshu Island.
The Tohoku area had produced about 40% of Japan’s printing paper, and consequently there was a
supply shortage. A fuel shortage forced the distributors of books and magazines to change their
delivery frequency from daily to every other day. Masahiro Oga, president of the Japan Book
Publishers Association, commented online that ‘This serious distribution problem has occurred for the
first time since the Second World War’ (Oga, 2011).
According to Shuppan Shihyo Nempo 2012 (The Publication Annual 2012), total 2011 sales of all
Japanese publications, including books and magazines, was JPY 1.8 trillion (USD 22.6 billion or EUR
18.0 billion), a 3.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline. The total unit sales of 2.7 billion comprised 0.7
billion units of books and 2.0 billion units of magazines. Due to the delivery problem mentioned
above, magazine sales suffered the steepest decline in the past, falling 6.6% in sales and 8.4% in unit
sales (y-o-y).
In 2011, the manga market (including periodical magazines and paperbacks), garnering almost one
fifth (21.6%) of total book sales, was estimated at JPY 390 billion (USD 4.9 billion or EUR 3.9
billion), a 4.6% (y-o-y) decline. This represents unit sales of 968.2 million, including 452.2 million
units of paperbacks and 516.0 million units of magazines. This accounts for 35.8% of the total units of
all publication sales in Japan (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Japanese manga market (1991–2011)
Source: Shuppan Shihyo Nempo (2007–2012).
C. Three major publishers: Shogakukan, Kodansha, and Shueisha
According to Joho Media Hakusho 2012 (Research for Information and Media Society 2012), 194
manga publishers in Japan released 29,364 titles in 2010. The top three publishers accounted for
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 5
26.6% of the output: Shogakukan (3, 202 titles), Kodansha (2, 388 titles), and Shueisha (2, 211 titles).
Table 1 presents their annual sales.
Table 1: Three major publishers in Japan
(JPY, USD=$, EUR= in millions)
Publisher 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Shueisha
¥143,437 ¥137,611 ¥133,298 ¥130,470 ¥131,865
1,434.37 1,376.11 1,332.98 1,304.70 1,318.65
$1,792.96 $1,720.14 $1,666.23 $1,630.88 $1,648.31
Shogakkan
¥146,951 ¥141,344 ¥127,541 ¥117,721 ¥111,113
1,469.51 1,413.44 1,275.41 1,177.21 1,111.13
$1,836.89 $1,766.80 $1,594.26 $1,471.51 $1,388.91
Kodansha
¥144,301 ¥135,058 ¥124,522 ¥122,340 —
1,443.01 1,350.58 1,245.22 1,223.40 —
$1,803.76 $1,688.23 $1,556.53 $1,529.25 —
Source: Research for Information and Media Society (2012, p.52).
Table 2 indicates that Shueisha produced the most mega-hit titles. The circulation of Shueisha’s topselling
magazine, the Weekly Shônen Jump, increased to 6.53 million per issue in 1995 due to megahit
manga serials such as Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk. Although far from its former glory, WSJ’s
average 2011 weekly circulation reached 2.89 million, for which the recent mega-hit One Piece was
largely responsible (Shuppan Shihyo Nempo 2012, p. 238).
Table 2: Top-selling manga title in 2011
Ran
k
Title Author
Total
Copies
Publisher/Magazine
1 One Piece Eiichiro Oda 37,996,373 Shueisha/WSJ
2 Naruto Masashi Kishimoto 6,874,840 Shueisha/WSJ
3 Blue Exorcist Kazue Kat 5,223,712 Shueisha/Jump Square
4 Fairy Tail Hiro Mashima 4,701,596
Kodansha/Weekly Shônen
Magazine
5 Toriko Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro 4,665,634 Shueisha/WSJ
6 Gintama Hideaki Sorachi 4,415,491 Shueisha/WSJ
7 Bakuman.
Story: Tsugumi Ohba,
Art: takeshi Obat
4,399,938 Shueisha/WSJ
8 Bleach Tite Kubo 4,187,258 Shueisha/WSJ
9 Kimi ni Todoke Karuho Shiina 4,109,481 Shueisha/Monthly Margaret
10 Gantz Hiroya Oku 4,056,981 Shueisha/Weekly Young Jump
Source: Oricon. Anime News Network. Retrieved 1 July 2012 from
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-11-30/top-selling-manga-in-japan-by-series/2011.
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 6
Theoretical Background
Mutual trust is universally considered a key success factor in business relationships. This is especially
true for the content industry, where a high level of uncertainty makes it impossible to predict the
success of a product. Takaaki Kidani, a well-known Japanese game producer at Bushiroad, Inc., stated
at a conference that ‘You never know if the product will be a hit or not. If someone you trust is a
member of the production team, then you will think of the product as an investment. Trust is what
counts’ (Kawamata, 2011). Trust is thus deemed to reduce the perceived risk felt by members involved
in a project.
In interviews with manga editors in Japan and France, ‘trust’ was often mentioned as the most
important factor in the creation of manga. The way ‘trust’ was used, however, varied from situation to
situation, sometimes indicating expectations of the work created by the artist, other times implying the
artist’s integrity or moral responsibility. Usage of the word also depended on the phase of the existing
relationship.
The Academy of Management Review defines ‘trust’ in their 1998 issue as ‘a psychological state
comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or
behaviour of another’. The reference to ‘vulnerability’ indicates that trust implies the notion of risk in
a relationship and entails a state of vulnerability or risk in which individuals always experience
uncertainty regarding the motives, intentions, and prospective actions of others upon whom they
depend (Kramer, 2007). Despite the many definitions of ‘trust’, almost all research has accepted (at
least implicitly) that trust is a belief, attitude, or expectation about the likelihood that the actions or
outcomes of another individual, group, or organisation will be acceptable or serve the actor’s interests
(Sitkin and Roth, 2006).
McKnight and Chervany (2006) reviewed and re-evaluated their initial trust formation model.
According to them, the initial phase, before interaction or experience, can be characterised by
uncertainty and doubt, in which parties seek the right level of mutual trust. Nonetheless, many critical
tasks/transactions occur during this initial phase. As Kidani’s comment above indicates, initial trust is
key to the parties’ ability to work together and a sign of the future nature of the relationship
(McKnight and Chervany, pp. 29–30).
Given the high risk involved in a relationship, how do we start one? Kramer (2009) studied trust
dynamics in high-risk situations, such as those encountered in the entertainment industry, where
betrayals of trust are commonplace. He suggests seven preliminary rules for tempering trust: (1) know
yourself, (2) start small, (3) write an escape clause, (4) send strong signals, (5) recognize the other
person’s dilemma, (6) look at roles as well as people and (7) remain vigilant and always question. He
found that people who put forth clearly worded contracts for disengagement (such as an escape clause
stipulated at the outset) can engage in their work to a greater extent and with more commitment than
those who do not. Contrary to the view that this kind of hedging undermines trust, it actually allows
people in an organisation to trust more easily and openly (Kramer, 2009, p. 7).
Sitkin and Roth (2006) hypothesise that, in a ‘context-specific task reliability condition’, violations of
‘trust’ can be viewed as isolated exceptions because they do not question the ‘generalized value
congruence’. Even repeated violations of trust can be excused as personal quirks as long as the
violations are confined to a specific domain. As observers become more familiar with an individual’s
strengths, such as his or her creative talent, these can compensate for the person’s unreliability. In
addition, they state that legalistic mechanisms are rather effective in ameliorating context-specific
problems. In line with Kramer’s findings, they find that legalistic measures were satisfactory for
common betrayals and violations of trust that were domain-specific.
Even with Kramer’s seven preliminary rules in Sitkin and Roth’s ‘context-specific task reliability
condition’, how trust unfolds over time remains unknown. McKnight and Chervany (2006) point to the
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 7
fragility of trust. Although there are many theories about this, very little research on trust has been
conducted longitudinally through process theory.
In the following sections, this article aims to explore the role of trust in Japanese content development,
focusing on the dyadic relationship between the mangaka (comic strip author) and the editor, and to
examine the evolution of trust between these two creative actors in the course of their relationship.
This analysis allows for an understanding of the foundational role of trust in creative development and
the factors that facilitate the creation of popular cultural products.
Manga Production System
A. Editor’s role in Manga production
The typical creation of a weekly manga episode begins with ideation, proceeds to storyboarding, and
finally, to the finished product (Kawamata, 2011). This is known to be an extremely painstaking and
cumbersome task for the mangaka. Naoki Urasawa, a professional mangaka, has produced four weekly
serials and two biweekly serials for over 20 years. His production process usually begins with a
meeting with Takashi Nagasaki, a freelance editor and storywriter. After the meeting, Urasawa starts
creating nêmu (the storyboard). Storyboarding is perhaps the most time-consuming and difficult part
of manga development. In fact, in April 2006, Urasawa had to stop his serial manga due to a dislocated
shoulder (caused by excessive leaning on his left side while drawing). Urasawa usually completes his
storyboarding in two days, after which his assistants join him in completing the work, pending
Nagasaki’s approval (Kawamata, 2011).
Nagasaki emphasises that the first step in becoming a successful mangaka is finding a good editor.
Takao Saito, author of Golgo 13 and a prominent mangaka, shares this view. Saito is known to have
said to winners at an awards ceremony, ‘Your future is determined by your first editor. If you are lucky
to get a good editor, you can become a professional mangaka and produce hits. If not, you may not be
successful. Try to find a better editor’ (Kawamata, 2011).
Why is the editor so important in creating manga? Although the creation and ideation of manga are
individual tasks, team production is relatively common in Japan. The Japanese mangaka–editor
relationship is considered unique, in that it is very personal. In the initial stages of a project, the editor
may even have to play a parental role because mangakas sometimes debut as teens. The editor must
then guide the rookie mangaka; depending on the rookie’s success, the editor will gradually loosen his
grip.
In the course of a mangaka’s career, the editor acts as a co-author and occasionally as a storywriter. If
a mangaka has appointed a storywriter, conflicts between the mangaka and the storywriter can often
occur. In this case, it is the editor’s responsibility to solve the problems, making the manga editor akin
to a film producer. Moreover, the editor serves as an intermediary between the mangaka and the
publishing company. Sometimes, he or she must assist and protect the mangaka from company
pressure. At other times, the editor must toe the company line, consider the profits, and act against the
mangaka’s desires. Therefore, when new entrants begin their careers as professional mangakas, they
must rely on their editors.
According to Nagasaki (2006), the success rate of a new manga never exceeds 30%; in fact, 20% is
considered excellent. In the face of these statistics, he claims that a good editor must have the
following three traits: (1) ambition, (2) the ability to provide sound advice, and (3) an inclination to
share. Excellent editors aspire to produce successful manga with their mangakas and change the world
through the power of their manga. They share the mangaka’s passion, understand what the mangaka
wishes to draw, generate new ideas on how to make their stories more interesting, and share the risks.
Good editors also convey their valuable experience to the mangaka or suggest themes with the
potential to be successful. They are aware of their mangakas’ weaknesses and have the know-how and
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 8
ideas to compensate for them. When suffering failure, good editors share the disappointments and
regrets of their mangakas and use persuasion to negotiate with their publishers over the comeback.
B: Editor as a ‘salaried man’
Unlike Nagasaki, Japanese editors are usually ‘salaried men’, employees of publishing houses. They
are subject to personnel transfers caused by job rotations because they work for publishers. This
system has its own merits and demerits because editors can have significant influence on their
mangakas and affect their performance. Even mangakas unfortunate enough to have a mediocre editor
appointed to them know that the editor will be transferred within a few years through job rotations;
however, the reverse is also true, and a mangaka can lose an excellent editor. Nagasaki claims that he
can identify the editor behind a mangaka just by looking at the manga because their tone and manner
vary drastically across editors.
Urasawa and Nagasaki identify the job-rotation system as the current problem in manga creation. Even
if an editor wants to be involved in the production of an entire serial or to work only with a certain
mangaka, the system makes it almost impossible. Nagasaki, who works as a freelancer, is one of the
few exceptions, and he identifies only two similar freelance editors. He was the first to be credited as a
‘producer’ of a manga serial. According to Nagasaki, the only way a manga editor can work with only
one mangaka is to leave the publishing house (Japan FM Network Online, 2008). Naoki Urasawa says
that, since editors are paid regardless of the performance of the manga, they are not always concerned
about the mangaka’s work. Urasawa also criticised the current situation whereby mangakas cannot
choose their editors unless they are prominent (Kawamata, 2011).
From the publisher’s point of view, however, the job-rotation system has considerable benefits. Editors
are in an ambivalent position between the publisher and the creator, but long-term commitments can
entail the personal involvement of the editor with the mangaka. Thus, the job-rotation system balances
the power between the publisher and the mangaka.
Editors can be given responsibility for more than one project, which they have to manage in parallel.
Although this places an excessive workload on the editors, it is necessary for their career development,
as they are supposed to learn on the job. As a result, publishers can screen a limited number of
potential editors to stay longer in their manga divisions. Moreover, the job-rotation system minimises
one risk that comes with any long-term creative relationship: mannerism.
In the following sections, two cases of manga creation are examined: (1) Naoki Urasawa and Takashi
Nagasaki, one of the most well-known creative professional teams, and (2) Shueisha, the leading
publisher of manga. This is followed by a discussion on the issue of trust in the creative context.
Case 1: Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki4
Naoki Urasawa made his professional manga debut in 1981 with Return from Shogakukan, one of
Japan’s three largest manga publishers (see Table 1). Takashi Nagasaki has worked as his editor ever
since Urasawa’s debut. Nagasaki’s first assignment was Big Comic, a manga magazine for young
adults; Nagasaki assigned Urasawa to start a serial in the special edition of manga by Takao Saito. The
editor-in-chief gave Nagasaki a chance to train mangaka within a certain latitude; Nagasaki recalled
that, in the beginning, he used Urasawa as a means of achieving his own goal. Nagasaki dictated the
relationship; Nagasaki told Urasawa to draw pictures as he instructed. Nagasaki gradually changed his
stance consistent with Urasawa’s career development as a professional mangaka. Urasawa is now one
of the most popular mangaka, often referred to as ‘1 okusatsu wo utta otoko’, or ‘the man who sold
100 million manga’ (NHK Publishing, 2007). He has received numerous awards throughout his career,
4
This part of the paper is primarily based on Kawamata (2008).
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 9
as listed in Table 3. While Nagasaki believed in Urasawa’s potential, he much later commented that he
never thought Urasawa would become such a popular mangaka.
Table 3: Naoki Urasawa’s award-winning manga titles
Year Awards Manga titles
1982 New Manga Artist Award of Shogakukan Return
1990 Shogakukan Manga Award Yawara!
1997 Japan Media Arts Festival, Excellence Prize Monster
1999 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, Grand Prize Monster
2001 Shogakukan Manga Award Monster
2001 Kodansha Manga Award 20th
Century Boys
2002 Japan Media Arts Festival, Excellence Prize 20th
Century Boys
2003 Shogakukan Manga Award 20th
Century Boys
2004 Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for a Series 20th
Century Boys
2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, Grand Prize Pluto
2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, Excellence Prize Pluto
Source: Kawamata (2008).
Nagasaki left Shogakukan and became a freelance manga editor and storywriter in 2001. He also
became a kind of co-producer, sharing all responsibilities with Urasawa. When referring to Nagasaki’s
role, Urasawa has described it as a compass. He states that, when he would be at a creative crossroads,
discussions, and sometimes arguments, with Nagasaki would help him find solutions. Urasawa asserts
that, given the pressure of deadlines when creating a serial manga, he required someone like Nagasaki
to share the burden and help him maintain the quality of his manga.
In fact, Nagasaki sometimes became a writer, providing Urasawa with stories. Nagasaki explains that
‘co-plot producer’, another of his titles, refers to his involvement in manga plot lines. Mangakas are
usually too busy to think of stories for their weekly serials and sometimes just have images they want
to draw; Nagasaki provides words for those images. In a brief interview, Nagasaki said that he
provides the stories and Urasawa develops them into a manga according to Nagasaki’s vision. Only if
the mangaka is competent and trusted can this be taken as a matter of course. Thus, considerable trust
is required for the creative process to move forward. Nagasaki notes, with reservations, that, while the
manga belongs to the mangaka who draws the pictures, editors are equivalent to ‘E wo egakanai
mangaka’, ‘a mangaka who does not draw pictures’ (NHK Sogo, 2007).
Unlike the ordinary mangaka-editor relationship, the Urasawa-Nagasaki relationship is only
professional: they have never gone out for dinner or a drink in 30 years of working together. Nagasaki
states that too much personal involvement should be avoided because too much intimacy can hinder
candid assessments of the work. Bidault and Castello (2008) suggest that people who become too
accommodating tend to quickly accept their partners’ ideas and consequently reduce the effectiveness
of the creative partnership.
Case 2: Shueisha
A. Weekly Shônen Jump (WSJ)
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 10
In 1968, Shueisha launched the Weekly Shônen Jump (WSJ) to compete with two already successful
publications: the Weekly Shônen Magazine (Kodansha) and the Weekly Shônen Sunday
(Shogakukan). Since the WSJ was a latecomer to the market, it had to be differentiated from the two
front-runners. Since Shueisha had budget restrictions, they had to discover and enlist rookie mangakas
in order to reduce costs.
The WSJ has three editorial policies that contribute to their overwhelming success in the manga
magazine market. (1) They monitor feedback from surveys and reader opinions; the WSJ closely
monitors surveys and polls and provides immediate feedback to the editor and the mangaka. (2) They
established the manga award for newcomers, a passport to success as a professional mangaka; the WSJ
was the first company to establish an award for the best rookie mangaka, which served as a powerful
means of discovering new talent. (3) They sign contracts exclusively with rookies; the WSJ signed
one-year contracts exclusively with rookies, and the WSJ’s editors thus became committed to the
process of story creation through rookie mangaka (Yamane, 2004).
Through their three editorial policies, the WSJ put itself far beyond the reach of its rivals (Nakano,
2011). The more the WSJ sells, the more it attracts promising young talent. Besides the best rookie
mangaka award, their in-house manga production system functions well in recruiting new young
talent. Figure 4 depicts the WSJ’s serialisation process.
Figure 4: Road to serialisation
Discussion: Role of Initial Trust and its Evolution
A. Role of Initial Trust
The entertainment industry is high-risk, making trust a prerequisite for content creation. For editors,
trust reduces the perceived risk of the business. During an interview with a Shueisha editor, he asserted
that trust is the most important factor. He added that he has to trust the rookie mangaka to accomplish
his job. Sharing this view, a French editor of bande dessinée (Franco-Belgian comics) stated that trust
is the foremost concern in the relationship with the author. This editor said that trustworthiness is even
more important than the ability to draw pictures. In this case, ‘trust’ refers to the expectation that the
mangaka will complete the work before the deadline—task reliability. The editor does not expect too
much creativity in the beginning and starts with a ‘shallow trust’ (Kramer, 2009) in the ‘contextspecific
task reliability condition’ (Sitkin and Roth, 2006) of creating manga.
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 11
What is the role of trust, and why is it necessary for the creator? As stated in the previous section, the
rookie mangakas depend on their editors, whose quality is initially unknown. As shown in the case of
the Urasawa-Nagasaki relationship, without editorial guidance, rookies cannot produce manga
consistently. Creators must be able to expect and believe in their editors’ ability and good intentions.
Thus, initial trust is seen as supporting the production process.
B. Evolution of Trust
Even in the case of the Urasawa Nagasaki relationship, one of Japan’s most famous creative duos,
Nagasaki said that he believed in Urasawa’s potential but was unsure how successful Urasawa would
become (Kawamata, 2011). Nagasaki, exaggerating slightly, said that mangaka consider it an honour
to receive the newcomer award, allowing them to envision a bright future, whereas award-winning
rookies mean almost nothing to editors, who see them as no more than new entrants to the market
(Nagasaki, 2006; Japan FM Network online, 2008).
Experienced editors know how to begin their relationship with a mangaka. They start with ‘shallow
trust’ and ‘swift trust’ (Kramer, 2009). For instance, when Nagasaki first assumed responsibility for
Urasawa, Nagasaki believed in Urasawa’s potential but was unsure of the quality of his work.
Nagasaki’s initial trust in Urasawa was ‘shallow’ and ‘context-specific’. In other words, Nagasaki did
not trust Urasawa enough to let him work as he wished. As Urasawa grew into a professional
mangaka, their relationship changed into a creative partnership.
It is assumed that initial trust is necessary in any high-risk creative context, but this creative pair, an
editor and a creator, gradually built trust through their working relationship. Success then substituted
for the perception of ‘trust’, as the concerned party perceived less risk through experience. The lower
the risk, lesser the trust.
Figure 5: Trust evolution
However, Urasawa and Nagasaki try to avoid much personal involvement because this may hinder the
expression of honest and candid opinions about the mangaka’s work. According to Bidault and
Castello (2009), too much trust can too easily make people accommodating and accepting of their
partners’ ideas, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the partnership. They also observe that the
correlation between creativity and trust is mixed. Based on the above model, it could be assumed that
trust evolves and can be replaced by experience. Thus, too much experience can hinder creativity.
The Urasawa-Nagasaki relationship is rather exceptional, but is trust necessary in the WSJ system? As
stated above, initial trust is indispensable: the editor must start with ‘task-specific shallow trust’. Even
though the mangaka is uncertain of the ability and intention of the editor, the ‘WSJ brand’ works to
reduce the perceived risk since one of the functions of a brand is to signal trust. Then, the editor and
the creator gradually build trust through their working experience. Thus, ‘trust’ in this relationship is
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 12
not static, as it is observed that experienced editors can change the level of expectations of their
partners. An editor’s ‘trust’ in a relationship can be an expectation and risk. It is assumed that
mangakas can commit themselves to creating manga on a foundation of trust, and this interactive
working relationship evolves. After the creative team gains significant experience, success can
substitute for trust; this substitution will not be perceived by the concerned parties as long as the
relationship goes well.
The working relationship evolves, but the WSJ’s system works to automatically terminate this
relationship after a few years in order to maintain the balance of power between the publisher/editor
and the mangaka. The WSJ has chosen to follow this system even at the expense of manga quality. In
order to compensate for this deficit, the popular serials tend to continue for longer periods, such as
with One Pierce and Naruto. Under this system, editors learn how to start the relationship and build
trust through experience with various types of mangakas. This has made WSJ’s human resources more
competitive, and the WSJ’s circulation speaks for itself; ‘WSJ’ is the strongest manga magazine brand
and is a symbol of trust.
Limitations and Further Research
This study aims to explore the role of trust in Japanese content development, focusing on the dyadic
relationship between mangakas and their editors, and examines the evolution of trust between these
two creative actors in the course of their relationship. It finds that the creation of a manga necessitates
initial trust in the dyadic relationship between a mangaka and an editor. If their performance is
successful, initial trust can be replaced by this success because the concerned parties will perceive less
risk in content development. However, too much trust (too much experience) may undermine the
relationship’s creativity.
The findings’ generalisations are limited, as only a few case studies were examined in this article.
Hence, more case studies and empirical validation are necessary. Moreover, the study has relied on
secondary data for analysis, and its research methodology needs to be re-examined.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (kakenhi: #21530447) for
providing the necessary funding for this study.
References
Abe, Shinobu 2005. “Manga Jisshakagatomaranai! (Making manga into live-action films never
ends!).” Nikkei Entertainment!, October, pp.48—53.
Aoike, Yasuko 2005. “’Eroikayori Ai wo Komete’ no tsukurikata (How to create From Eroica with
Love).” Tokyo: Magazine House.
Ashby, Janet 2003. “Manga culture ignites craze in media markets overseas.” Retrieved 19 March
2009 from http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20030814br.html.
Berndt, Jaqueline 1990. Bilderfluten-Phänomen Manga (Japanese translation: Manga no kuni
Nippon).
Dejitaru Kontentsu Hakusho 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 (Digital Content White Paper 2008, 2009, 2010,
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 13
2011). Tokyo: Digital Content Association of Japan.
“From Eroica With Love.” Retrieved 1 July 2012 from http://www.eroicafans.org/.
Harada, Yasuhisa. “PIXAR no himitsu (Secret about PIXAR).” Yomiuri On Line (11 May 2004)
Retrieved 26 November 2005 from www.yomiuri.co.jp/entertainment/ghibli/cnt_pixar_2004
0511.html.
Japan FM Network online 2008. “Nagasaki Takashi, Manga prodyusa, Manga gensaku-sha” (Takashi
Nagasaki, Manga producer comics original writer) Rajio-ban gakumon no susume (Radio version of
"The Science of Learning") 7 September 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2012 from
http://www.jfn.co.jp/susume/y2008/#81.
Joho Media Hakusho 2012 (A Research for Information and Media Society). Tokyo: Diamond.
Kawamata, Keiko 2008. “Manga kontentsu no shohinkaihatsu: Mangaka Urasawa Naoki (Preliminary
research on manga content development: A Case of Urasawa Naoki).” Kyoto Management Review,
No.13, pp.131–146.
Kawamata, Keiko 2011. “Preliminary research on the Japanese content development process: Cases of
manga,” Kyoto Management Review, No.19, pp.17–41.
Kramer, Roderick M. 2007. Organizational Trust, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kramer, Roderick M. 2009. "Rethinking Trust." Harvard Business Review, June, pp.2-10.
McGray, Douglas 2002. “Japan’s Gross National Cool.” Foreign Policy. Retrieved 1 July 2012 from
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~ikalmar/illustex/japfpmcgray.htm.
McKnight, D. Harrison, and Norman L. Chervany 2006. “Reflections on an initial trust-building
model.” in Bachmann R. and Akbar Zaheer, Handbook of Trust Research. Cheltenham, UK: Edward
Elgar, pp.29–51.
Nagasaki, Takashi 2006. “Urasawa Naoki shikakenin ga kataru! Manga Henshucho kara mita mega
hit no hosoku.” Kino, Kyoto Seika University (Naoki Urasawa’s promoter talks! Common law of
mega-hit manga from the eye of comic editor in chief). 1. pp.12–15.
NHK Publishing 2007. “Mangaka Urasawa Naoki no Shigoto (Works of Naoki Urasawa, manga
author),” Professional Shigoto no Ryuugi (The Professionals) on DVD.
NHK Sogo (NHK General) 2007. “Aito to kakugo no hit maker: Manga henshu-sha/gensakusha
Nagasaki Takasi (Manga editor/story writer, Takashi Nagasaki, hit manga maker possessing love and
resolution)”, Professional Shigoto no Ryuugi (The Professionals) on DVD.
Nakano, Haruyuki 2011. “Manga (Japanese comics),” Dejitaru Kontentsu Hakusho 2011 (Digital
Content White Paper 2008). Tokyo: Digital Content Association of Japan, pp.50–56.
Oga, Masahiro 2011. “Letter from the President of the Japan Book Publishers Association.” (22
March 2011) Retrieved 5 July 2012 from http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/03/letter-from-
president-of-japan-book-publishers-association-in-tokyo/.
KEIKO KAWAMATA The Role of Trust in The Creation of Popular Cultural Products: The Case of Japanese Manga
The 7th
Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts (5–8 September 2012) 14
Shukan Diayamondo 2008. “Tetsuwan Atomu ni tozai no deai wo mita (The West meets the East in
‘Astro Boy’).” (17 December 2008). Retrieved 25 December 2008 from
http://diamond.jp/series/worldvoice/10037/.
Sitkin, Sim B., and Nancy L. Roth 2006. “Explaining the limited effectiveness of legalistic
“Remedies” for trust/distrust.” in Kramer, Roderick M., Organizational Trust. UK: Oxford University
Press, pp.295–330.
Shuppan Shihyo Nempo 2012 (The Publication Annual 2012). Tokyo: The Research Institute for
Publications.
Thorn, Matt. “A History of Manga.” Retrieved 1 July 2012 from http://www.matt-
thorn.com/mangagaku/history.html.
Yamane, Takashi 2004. “Manga gyokai, Case: Shueisha/Shônen Jump (Manga industry, Case:
Shueisha/Shônen Jump), in Producer Curriculum 1, Vol.1, pp.126–134.
Yoro, Takeshi, and Keiichi Makino 2005. Manga wo Motto Yominasai (Read manga more!), Kyoto,
Japan: Koyo Shobo.