Popeye (stylized asPOPEYE) is a monthlyfashion andmen's magazine published byMagazine House with the name licensed fromKing Features Syndicate. Founded in 1976, it is one of Japan's oldest magazines featuring articles aboutmen'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]
Popeye was conceived in 1976 as a male counterpart toan an, Magazine House's successful women's magazine.[2][5][6] The magazine emerged from the merger of two existing publications,Ski Life andMade 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 onPopeye.[8]
The first issue appeared in July 1976[9] and featured the fashion trends ofLos 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]
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]
FollowingPopeye's success, publisherKodansha launchedHot-Dog Press in 1979 as a direct competitor and "nearly identical rip-off".[18] In 1982,Hot-Dog Press outsoldPopeye for the first time.[19] By 1991,Hot-Dog Press reported greater sales thanPopeye, which had a circulation of 700,000.[20]
BothPopeye andHot-Dog Press struggled by the mid-1990s as readers became less interested in magazines that dictated fashion trends.[21]
In 2012, Takahiro Kinoshita became editor-in-chief and initiated a magazine redesign.[9][3] Circulation grew to 100,000 during his tenure.[22] Kinoshita left his position in 2018 to joinFast Retailing as an executive officer.[23][24]
Other Magazine House titles includean an,Brutus, andCroissant.[13] In 2013, bothPopeye andBrutus received the Fifth Best Magazine Award.[25]
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.[26]
In 1999,Popeye reported a circulation of 220,000.[27] As of 2024[update], the magazine continues monthly publication with digital editions and an online store.[4][28]
^Poul, Alan (19 August 1990). "Japan's Glitzy, Busy New Info-Mags Are Training Manuals for the 21st Century".San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday ed.). p. 7/Z1.
^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.ISBN978-0-19-029026-9.
