Kitan Club (奇譚クラブ) holds a unique place in the history of postwar Japanese popular and fetish culture. Founded on October 25, 1947, the magazine carved out a singular niche in Japan’s publishing landscape for decades. It served both as a space for readers with unconventional tastes and sensibilities and as a forum where people who might otherwise have remained isolated could connect and share what they cared about.
In many ways, Kitan Club functioned like what we would now call a community built around a print medium: readers did not just consume the magazine — they wrote for it, formed relationships through its pages, and in some cases developed lasting bonds.
For this reason, the publication has been described as the “spiritual home” of its readers — a place of formation, belonging, and solidarity for those who found in its pages a refuge or a voice.
The magazine was published by Akatsuki Shobō (暁書房), under the editorial direction of Yoshida Minoru (吉田稔) and Sugihara Kōji (杉原幸治). These key figures are now at real risk of being forgotten, since everyone directly involved in the publication has passed away.
This makes Kitan Club an invaluable historical document, and the urgency of recovering and preserving its legacy cannot be overstated. Any testimony, however small it may seem, about the magazine, its publisher, or its editors carries immense value for the history of Japanese fetish subculture.
In October 2027, Kitan Club will mark its 80th anniversary — a milestone that has inspired the organization of a major commemorative project.
Who Is Behind This Tribute?
The commemorative project is being led by Kawahara Azumi (河原梓水), a researcher and editor affiliated with Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University (Faculty of International and Humanities Studies). She is also the editor of the online literary journal Antitled, published by the Antitled Friends Circle (Antitled友の会), which will serve as both the organizing body and the publishing platform for this tribute.
What Will the Tribute Look Like?
The commemorative project will take two complementary forms:
a) A special dossier in the online journal Antitled. All submissions received — personal essays and reader letters — will be compiled and published as a special issue within Antitled, specifically Issue 6, scheduled for May 2027. This digital publication will be freely accessible online through the Antitled Friends Circle website.
b) A print edition. In addition to the digital release, the dossier will also be produced in physical format. Contributors who submit personal essays will receive a copy free of charge. Those who submit reader letters will be able to purchase a copy at cost price only, estimated at approximately 500 to 1,000 yen per copy.
The tribute has a twofold goal: to celebrate the magazine’s 80th anniversary through the living testimonies of its readers, and to preserve for posterity the memory of a publication whose history risks disappearing along with the people who experienced it firsthand.
Who Can Participate?
The only essential requirement is having purchased and read at least one physical copy of Kitan Club (奇譚クラブ). It does not matter when — any period in the magazine’s history is equally welcome and represented.
There are no restrictions by nationality, age, or background, making this an open invitation to all readers who have had direct contact with the printed publication at any point during its decades of existence.
How to Contribute
There are two ways to participate:
(1) Personal Essay
A text of approximately 1,200 to 12,000 characters. The topic is entirely open: favorite works or artists from the magazine, experiences as a contributor, exchanges with fellow readers, the personal significance Kitan Club held in your life, anecdotes related to the publisher Akatsuki Shobō (暁書房) or to editors Yoshida Minoru (吉田稔) and Sugihara Kōji (杉原幸治), or any other memory or reflection you would like to share.
Important: Each participant may submit no more than one essay. Depending on the overall volume of contributions received, publication of all essays cannot be guaranteed. In some cases, contributors may be asked to shorten or revise their text.
(2) Reader Letter
A text of up to 1,200 characters. This is a shorter, more informal format, designed to capture impressions, specific memories, or brief reflections about the magazine.
Multiple letters per participant are welcome. Since letters will be published in vertical layout across four columns, contributors are encouraged to use tategaki (縦書き) typographic style and kanji numerals (一、二、三、十、百…).
A note on content: any sexual descriptions, if included, should remain within the limits that were standard in Kitan Club in the early 1950s.
The pen name used for the essay and for the reader letters does not need to be the same.
Submission Guidelines
Required Information
Essays must include:
Name (pen name is acceptable).
Contact details (email address, postal address, or phone number).
Authorization — or not — for publication in Antitled.
If authorizing publication: the pen name to be used and a brief bio (maximum 300 characters).
Mailing address for the print book, or an explicit note indicating that you do not wish to receive it.
Reader letters must include:
Pen name.
Contact email (if submitted via Google Form).
If sent by post, contact details are optional — unless you wish to purchase the print book, in which case they are required.
How to Submit
Essays
Word file: send by email (check the Antitled and Antitled Friends Circle website for the address).
Handwritten original: send by post to the following address:
〒813-8529
Fukuoka-shi, Higashi-ku, Kasumigaoka 1-1-1
Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University
Faculty of International and Humanities Studies
Attn: Kawahara Azumi (河原梓水)
Reader Letters
Online: via the Google Form available on the special project website for the Kitan Club 80th Anniversary.
By post: same address as listed above for essays.
Submission Deadline
Monday, August 31, 2026. For postal submissions, the postmark date of that day will be accepted as valid.