ABSTRACT
At the opening of the twentieth century, girls’ magazines entered the Japanese publishing scene. This chapter explores the range of materials found in girls’ magazines, with a focus on the ways in which these materials simultaneously reflected a growing sense of Japanese girls as a distinct part of the modern nation of Japan and as part of a world culture of ‘girlhood’. As shōjo is a category that has remained important in contemporary Japanese publishing – and now known beyond Japan via the world of anime and manga – the chapter also reflects on the legacy of early shōjo publishing for contemporary identities and publishing culture.
