Hot-Dog Press

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Hot-Dog Press
Cover of issue 28, 25 July 1981,
designed by Hiroshi Nagai
Native name
ホットドッグ・プレス
CategoriesMen's magazine
Frequency
  • Semimonthly/biweekly (1979–2002)
  • Monthly (2002–2004)
Circulation210,000 (2003–2004)[1]
FoundedJuly 1979
Final issue
Number		December 2004
558[2]
CompanyKodansha
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
OCLC49778640

Hot-Dog Press (ホットドッグ・プレス, styled as Hot•Dog PRESS) was a Japanese men's magazine published by Kodansha,[3] launched in 1979 as a rival to Magazine House's Popeye[4] and characterized as "a nearly identical rip-off" of it.[5] During the 1980s, it was among the most popular magazines read by Japanese youth.[3][6][7]

It began publication in July 1979.[8][9] At launch, it published semimonthly;[8] under editor Yamada Gorō, it published biweekly;[10] and switched to monthly when it was renamed HDP in 2002.[2] Its print run ended with the December 2004 issue.[2] It briefly returned in 2010 as a limited-run web magazine, OYAJI Hot-Dog Press, and was rebooted in 2014 as a digital magazine.[4]

Description

It was in the johoshi genre of Japanese trend-information magazines that advised readers on food, fashion, and lifestyle, and that covered lifestyle trends in Los Angeles and New York.[5] Contributors included Seikō Itō,[11] Kenzo Kitakata,[4] Ryū Murakami,[12] and Nancy Seki.[11] The magazine had two distinct parts: a "manual" of how-to articles, often about women and sex, and a "catalog" focused on fashion.[10]

History

In 1982, the magazine devoted an issue to Kensuke Ishizu, who was credited with bringing Ivy League style to Japan, and the issue became the first to outsell Popeye.[13] According to a Japanese publishing trade annual, the following year was "the year of men's magazines".[3] By 1991, Hot-Dog Press claimed higher sales than Popeye, which had a circulation of 700,000 copies per issue.[14]

By the mid-1990s, both Hot-Dog Press and Popeye struggled as the current generation of Japanese youth rejected being told what to buy.[6] By 1997, the Kodansha website contained the full text of issues.[15] Its circulation was 360,000 c. 1998.[3]

In November 2002, the magazine was renamed HDP, with a target audience aged 19–24.[2][1] Its circulation was 210,000 c. 2003.[1] The print edition's final issue was December 2004.[2]

In 2010, it launched as a website on the Infoseek platform under the name OYAJI Hot-Dog Press.[16][17] In June 2014, Kodansha relaunched the magazine as a digital magazine, aimed at middle-aged men.[4]

In April 2015, BS NTV launched 月刊ホットドッグプレスTV (transl. Monthly Hot-Dog Press TV), a variety program produced in collaboration with Kodansha's digital magazine. The show aired monthly on Tuesday nights and was hosted by comedian Hiroya Yamazaki of the duo Untouchable.[18][19] It targeted the same audience and covered the same content as the digital magazine.[18][20]

References

  1. Barancovaitė, Kristina (2006). "Construction of Gender Images in the Advertisements of Japanese Style Magazines". Socialiniai Mokslai. Vytautas Magnus University: 223. ISSN 1392-0758.
  2. "HDP: Hot-dog press". National Diet Library. Archived from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  3. Tanaka, Keiko (2003). "The Language of Japanese Men's Magazines: Young Men Who Don't Want to Get Hurt". The Sociological Review. 51 (1 suppl): 222–242. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2003.tb03613.x.
  4. "「Hot-Dog PRESS」が10年ぶりにスマホで復活" [Hot-Dog Press Returns to Smartphones for the First Time in 10 Years]. ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). 14 May 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  5. 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. ProQuest 302467023.
  6. Shirouzu, Norihiko (24 April 1995). "Twentysomethings in Japan Spurn Haute Couture, Frustrate Retailers". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company Inc. p. A7B. ProQuest 398602216.
  7. Chira, Susan (25 January 1988). "Tokyo Journal; Motto for a New Breed: Less Work and More Play". The New York Times. p. A4.
  8. "Hot・dog press". National Diet Library. Archived from the original on 13 April 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  9. "Hot-dog press". Library of Congress. LCCN 2019211744. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  10. Yamashita, Eisuke. "最短距離はつまらない！勉強嫌いの〈山田五郎〉が西洋美術と時計のカリスマになった理由" [The Shortest Route Is No Fun: How Study-Averse Gorō Yamada Became an Authority on Western Art and Watches]. Mon Oncle (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  11. Karashima, Izumi (1 April 2025). "【没後23年】"史上最強のテレビウォッチャー"ナンシー関とは何者だったのか？" [23 Years On: Who Was Nancy Seki, the "Greatest Television Watcher"]. CREA (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  12. Sasaki, Keiichi (25 February 2014). "講談社の子会社社員、天下り社長によるセクハラ・パワハラで提訴" [Kodansha subsidiary employee sues over sexual and workplace harassment by parachuted-in president]. MyNewsJapan (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  13. Marx, W. David (9 December 2017). "The Man Who Brought Ivy to Japan". Ivy Style. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  14. Ono, Yumiko (28 June 1991). "Magazine House: Tokyo's Trend-Setter". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company Inc. p. B1. ProQuest 398250687.
  15. Troost, Kristina Kade (Fall 1997). "Surfing the Internet for Japanese Popular Culture". Journal of Popular Culture. 31 (2). Oxford: 23–28. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1997.00023.x. ProQuest 195372163.
  16. "「TOKYO1週間」は休刊、「Hot-Dog PRESS」はオヤジ向けにWeb復刊" [Tokyo Isshukan Ceases Publication; Hot-Dog Press Relaunched on the Web for Middle-Aged Men]. ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). 24 March 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  17. "Oyaji Hot-Dog Press" (in Japanese). Rakuten. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010.
  18. "「矢作さんはモテる!」ザキヤマがモテる大人を目指す新番組スタート" [Zakiyama launches a new show about becoming the kind of man people are drawn to]. Natalie (in Japanese). 14 March 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  19. "ザキヤマ司会「月刊ホットドッグプレスTV」"モテ大人"になるための情報発信" [Zakiyama hosts Monthly Hot-Dog Press TV, delivering tips on becoming a more attractive adult]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). 7 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  20. "BS日テレ「月刊ホットドッグプレスTV」4月7日(火)23: 00〜放送開始" [Monthly Hot-Dog Press TV premieres on BS Nittele, Tuesday 7 April at 11:00 p.m.] (Press release) (in Japanese). Kodansha. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2026.