Popeye (magazine)

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Popeye
Popeye logo.svg
Popeye magazine cover, July 1976, issue 1.jpg
Cover of the first issue (July 1976)
Editorial DirectorKen Miyamoto [1]
CategoriesMen's fashion magazine
FrequencyMonthly
Publisher Magazine House Ltd.
Founded1976
First issueJuly 1976
Country Japan
Based in Tokyo
Language Japanese
Website

Popeye (stylized as POPEYE) is a monthly fashion and men's magazine published by Magazine House with the name licensed from King Features Syndicate. Founded in 1976, it is one of Japan's oldest magazines featuring articles about men's fashion. Its tagline is "Magazine for City Boys". [2] [3] The magazine introduced American youth culture to Japanese audiences and is Japan's longest-running men's fashion magazine. [4]

Contents

History and profile

Founding

Popeye was conceived in 1976 as a male counterpart to an an , Magazine House's successful women's magazine. [2] [5] [6] The magazine emerged from the merger of two existing publications, Ski Life and Made in U.S.A. [7] According to cultural historian W. David Marx, founding editor Jirō Ishikawa originally wanted to name the publication "City Boys" before settling on Popeye. [8]

The first issue appeared in July 1976 [9] and featured the fashion trends of Los Angeles. [7] [10] Art director Seiichi Horiuchi created the logo in 1976 and designed every issue throughout the decade. [11] [12] Yoshihisa Kinameri served as the launch editor. [7]

Publishing details

The publisher is Magazine House Ltd., a Tokyo-based publishing company. [13] [14] The company, originally named Heibun Shuppan, founded the magazine in 1976. [15]

The magazine was initially published biweekly [16] before transitioning to monthly publication. [13] Popeye covers fashion, clothing, accessories, bags, and shoes, and targets young, educated urban men. [17] [13]

Editorial leadership and redesign

In 2012, Takahiro Kinoshita became editor-in-chief and initiated a magazine redesign. [9] [3] Circulation grew to 100,000 during his tenure. [18] Kinoshita left his position in 2018 to join Fast Retailing as an executive officer. [19] [20]

Cultural impact and recognition

Other Magazine House titles include an an , Brutus , and Croissant . [13] In 2013, both Popeye and Brutus received the Fifth Best Magazine Award. [21]

The magazine celebrated its 40th anniversary in July 2016 with a special issue that included a complete reprint of the original 1976 edition. [7] [9] The anniversary included collaborations with major fashion retailers, including a limited collection with BEAMS celebrating both brands' 40th anniversaries. [22]

Circulation and publication

In 1999, Popeye reported a circulation of 220,000. [23] As of 2024, the magazine continues monthly publication with digital editions and an online store. [4] [24]

References

  1. ↑ "Staff". Popeye Magazine (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 "A Guide to Japanese Fashion Magazines". Hypebeast. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 Klassen, Matthew. "Takahiro Kinoshita". Inventory Magazine. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Marx, W. David (19 September 2024). "Japan's Coolest Men's Magazine: Popeye Magazine". Valet. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Németh, Barbara (2014). Masculinities in Japan (MA thesis). Olomouc: Palacký University Olomouc.
  6. ↑ Moeran, Brian (1996). A Japanese Advertising Agency: An Anthropology of Media and Markets. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 304. ISBN   978-0-8248-1873-9.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Makinen, Julie (19 July 2016). "What's hot in Japan right now? Los Angeles, circa 1976". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Ohlendorf, Cory. "Issue #9: The Story of 'Popeye' Magazine". Bandana. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 Mingo, Chais (9 June 2016). "Popeye Magazine 40th Anniversary Issue & Issue 01 Re-Print". Intelligence. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Levith, Will (25 November 2016). "Japan's Popeye Magazine Is a Surprising Relic of the Not-So-Distant Past". Real Clear Life. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Li, Nicolaus (26 April 2022). "Iconic Japanese Magazine 'Popeye' Launches Online Store with Merch Release". Hypebeast. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Pajkovic, Niko (27 April 2022). "Japanese Label Popeye Launches Web Store and Merch Collection". TrendHunter. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Popeye". Japanese Streets. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Wilson, Fiona (November 2015). "Press Ahead". Monocle. Vol. 9, no. 88. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Tanaka, Keiko (May 2003). "The language of Japanese men's magazines: young men who don't want to get hurt". The Sociological Review. 51 (S1): 222–242. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2003.tb03613.x. S2CID   143669392.
  16. ↑ Europa World Year Book. London; New York: Europa Publications. 2004. p. 2357. ISBN   978-1-85743-254-1.
  17. ↑ Monden, Masafumi (2014). Japanese Fashion Cultures: Dress and Gender in Contemporary Japan. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 26. ISBN   978-1-4725-8673-5.
  18. ↑ "Takahiro Kinoshita". Hypebeast. 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "Former Popeye Editor-in-Chief Takahiro Kinoshita Joins Fast Retailing" (Press release). Fast Retailing. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Wetherille, Kelly (1 May 2018). "Former Popeye Editor in Chief Joins Fast Retailing". WWD. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  21. ↑ "The Fifth Best Magazine Award Winners Including Brutus and Popeye Announced". Fashion Headline. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  22. ↑ Chin, Mallory (31 October 2016). "BEAMS & 'Popeye' Magazine Celebrate Their 40th Anniversaries with a Collaboration". Hypebeast. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  23. ↑ Miller, Laura (2004). "You are doing Burikko!". In Okamoto, Shigeko; Shibamoto Smith, Janet S. (eds.). Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 150. ISBN   978-0-19-029026-9.
  24. ↑ Li, Nicolaus (26 April 2022). "Iconic Japanese Magazine 'Popeye' Launches Online Store with Merch Release". Hypebeast. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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