PVLF 2025

The Rise of One-Person Publishers in Japan’s Book Industry

Japan's one-person publishers create unique books with full creative control, facing challenges yet shaping the industry with originality and niche appeal.
on Mar 04, 2025

The term "hitori shuppansha" (one-person publisher) is used to describe a single individual who edits and publishes a book that he or she believes only they can bring into the world, even if it is with a small print run.

Today, I am frequently hearing the phrase "hitori shuppansha" (one-person publisher), indicating that an individual edits and releases a book in that they believe only they are capable of offering to the world, even with just a limited quantity of copies. A number of these publications have achieved strong profiles.

I met with a few one-person publishers to listen to the delights and challenges of working independently.

Masako Nishiyama operates her solo publisher, Moon & Compass, out of her home office in a residential neighborhood of Hachioji, Tokyo.

Nishiyama worked on reporting and editing for culture magazines and other publications after graduating from university and later transferred to a children's book publisher to produce magazines and picture books for babies. She quit the company because she felt that she could not do well in an organization most of the time.

As a freelance editor, in 2015, she worked on editing a book entitled "Hitori shuppansha to iu hatarakikata" (How to work as a one-person publisher) for the Kawade Shobo Shinsha publishing company.

She was spurred on to find out, while editing the book, about the different ways of living of people who are single-person publishers, such as a woman who quit working for a broadcasting company and brought out a picture book and also brought up children, and an individual who has been bringing out books of friends for over 10 years.

Nishiyama established her solo publishing company in 2018, with the intention of presenting readers with books that are of value but would otherwise go unremarked because no mainstream publisher would publish them.

Her initial undertaking was a volume of paintings by an artist who paints live to music. To make the book noticeable on bookshelves, the cover was made to resemble a picture frame.

A children's book store with which Nishiyama had been familiar for years in spring of 2022 that an illustrator sought a publisher for a Japanese translation of her original picture book published in Belgium.

Seeing the delicate and elaborate book design, Nishiyama was convinced that it was the type of book that no major publisher would be able to handle, and she agreed to take on the project.

The book by Shizuka, who goes by one name, was published last year as “Je suis la: Koko ni iruyo” (I’m right here).

The title is stamped on the cover in gold leaf. When the book is opened, it starts with a sepia-tinted photo and a one or two-word sentence. A boy is extremely saddened by the loss of his cat. The cat, as a ghost, tells the boy things. The photographs of the cat are published on transparent sheets, and when laid over the boy's photographs on the previous or next pages, the cat appears to be in close proximity to the boy.

The 48-page book is priced at ¥2,640. Three thousand copies were printed in November 2023, and they have now almost sold out.

In September last year, the book won the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Award at the Japan Book Design Awards, which recognize books with beautiful design and bookbinding. It has come in as a representative of Japan to the Best Book Design from Around the World competition in Germany. As stated by the Japan Book Design Awards, all the books that had entered the competition in Germany will be displayed at the Frankfurt book fair in October.

For every book, Nishiyama does much of the work independently, like editing the manuscripts that she gets from the author on her computer in her home office, talking with designers about the layout and book design, and negotiating with printing companies.

One-person publishers have greater liberty compared to big publishers who print a big number of copies of every book to print niche and specialty books.

Meanwhile, a book with much added detail is expensive, and it's difficult to implement sales promotion because there is no manpower. It takes a while to sell the stock, and warehousing expenses increase, which is a problem that challenges Nishiyama's management skills and has even kept her awake at night.

When Nishiyama is stuck, she goes to her network of colleagues, which comprises a night of drinking with fellow one-person publishers and a mailing list of professionals in the publishing business.

She queries printing houses, "How much would you pay to buy this book?" or for introductions to printing houses.

The "one-person" in "one-person publisher" is "independent," says Nishiyama. "It seems counterintuitive, but the more you attempt to do something on your own, the less alone you are able to be."

Still, no matter the size of the publisher, Nishiyama enjoys being able to work in a world where you can win or lose with a book that you publish.

"Any book I produce as a solo publisher is a ship that transports me to a vast world," Nishiyama explained. "When I work alone, I am more aware that a single act of mine can change the future."

Publisher of own books

Ryo Sasaki established his solo publishing company to create his own books.

Sasaki, 40, graduated from art college and served as a museum curator before becoming a freelance writer. When his book-writing job that included research work abroad was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he rented a room in his hometown of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, for ¥4,000 a month and began Manyosha Inc., his solo publishing firm.

"Aisuru yorimo aisaretai" (I want to be loved more than I love), one of his books that he released in 2022, was noticed. It is an unusual book that translates some pieces from the Manyoshu anthology of ancient waka poems into the contemporary Nara dialect. The initial printing was only 500 copies.

Through his casual, easy expressions, Sasaki’s works gained popularity. More than 260,000 copies of the book and two sequels that followed have been published in total.

Sasaki is very particular about book design. He uses Gothic typefaces for kanji characters and Ming-style typefaces for hiragana. For the pages, he uses special paper, such as that used for wrapping high-quality confectionery.

As stated by Koho Co., a printing firm with business relationships with Sasaki, when they conduct extra printing, they are forced to request paper producers to produce more.

Sasaki intends to continue with his business approach, stating, "I never know what's going to happen next. I can't be responsible for other people's lives." He also states that frequently he is asked for advice by individuals in other walks of life, including sushi chefs and lawyers, on the nuts and bolts of establishing and operating an independent business.

Agents for smooth distribution

Most books printed by one-person publishers are difficult to sell through the direct distribution networks employed by big book distributors. To address this issue, there are direct transaction agents with bookstores.

I met Hideyuki Kudo, 52, president of Transview Co. and an agent based in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. Nishiyama is one of the company's clients.

We now handle 205 one-person publishers (including those operated by multiple individuals). Our business has grown six times in the past eight years," Kudo stated. "Independent bookstores are increasingly targeting special product lines. This trend has promoted the operation of one-person publishers.

"Each month, we mail out a flyer that includes books published by one-person publishers to 4,000 bookstores that are our business partners," Kudo said. "We stuff the flyers into envelopes with assistance from around 20 people who operate one-person publishers, and then we have a drink and swap information."

"Sometimes we receive questions from individuals interested in attempting to publish. My response is, if you can produce four book projects per year that can be sold 2,000 units each, then your business can work."

Lonely labor leads to originality. I regularly notice new books appear on bookshop shelves in bulk. I have developed an appreciation for one-man publishing, which impresses through publishing original books, even when the print quantity is low.

One-person publishers are under enormous pressure, as they have to do everything themselves, from planning to negotiating with various parties and worrying about inventory costs, but I’d say judging everything on their own leads to books only they can create.

I believe that there are lots of things that can be done by an individual alone and lots of things that can be done by an individual alone only, not just in the publishing world but even in other domains.

Follow For More: Frontlist