was a

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

comic book store The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Luna ...

Jinbōchō, Tokyo , commonly known as Jinbōchō or Jimbōchō, is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Jimbōchō Book Town is known as Tokyo's center of used-book stores and publishing houses, and as a popular antique and curio shopping area. The center of Jinb ...

, Japan. Opened in 1880 as a general bookstore under the name , the store changed its name after it began selling manga exclusively in 1979. Comic Takaoka is noted as one of the first specialty manga bookstores and, prior to its closure in 2019, was one of the longest continually-operating manga bookstores in Japan.

History

The store opened in 1880 under the name Takaoka Shoten, where it operated as a general

used bookstore Used bookstores (usually called "second-hand bookshops" in Great Britain) buy and sell used books and out-of-print books. A range of titles is available in used bookstores, including in print and out-of-print books. Book collectors tend to freque ...

. The store was founded by Yasutarou Takaoka and Torajiro Takaoka, two brothers who moved to Tokyo from

Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...

; the brothers later entered the publishing industry, where they focused on publishing reference books by mathematician and scientist . The store closed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

before re-opening as a

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

in 1948, and after beginning to sell

exclusively in 1979, changed its name to Comic Takaoka. Upon re-establishing itself as Comic Takaoka, the store became one of the first specialty manga bookstores in Japan. Comic Takaoka developed a reputation as "one of the most iconic manga stores in Tokyo" for its sale of a wide breadth of manga, from works by major publishers to niche ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

'' books. The store was one of the few manga-focused stores in Jinbōchō, a district in Tokyo noted for its high volume of used bookstores, where it was distinguished by its bright yellow facade. At its peak of popularity in the mid-1980s, Comic Takaoka reported selling 1,700 books per day. In February 2019, Comic Takaoka announced that it would close on March 31, 2019. The Japanese , the proliferation of

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

s, and the rising cost of rent in Jinbōchō were cited as causes for the closure. That same year, the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

included a virtual recreation of Comic Takaoka in its exhibit '' The Citi Exhibition: Manga'' on the history of manga.

References

External links

* (defunct, link via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

)
Comic Takaoka
on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

{{Authority control Bookstores of Japan Retail companies established in 1880 Japanese companies established in 1880 Japanese companies disestablished in 2019 Retail companies disestablished in 2019 Comics bookshops Chiyoda, Tokyo