コミケkomike
Quick definition:Comiket is a huge convention held twice a year in Tokyo where fans and amateur creators sell self-published comics, games and music, and it is the largest event of its kind.
Meaning
Comiket, short for Comic Market, is a convention where independent creators sell their own work directly to fans. It is held in Tokyo twice a year, in summer and winter, and lasts several days. Thousands of circles, which are small groups or individual creators, rent tables to sell comics, fan books, games, music, costumes and goods.
Visitors travel from all over Japan and abroad, and there are long queues before opening, with fans planning their routes in advance using catalogues. Cosplayers gather in a designated area, and companies also have booths. The event has rules on queuing and behaviour that visitors are expected to follow.
The event takes place at Tokyo Big Sight, an exhibition centre on the waterfront in Tokyo, and the halls fill quickly after the doors open.
Origin:Comiket is a shortened form of Comic Market, the name chosen for the first event, held in 1975 with a small number of attendees. The abbreviation became the standard name, and the gathering grew over the years into the huge event it is today, with komike as the form fans use in Japanese.
Example:A fan queues for hours on a winter morning, carrying a bag and a printed catalogue marked with the circles they want to visit. When the doors open, they walk to a table, buy a small book of fan comics from a creator they follow, and then join another line at the next stand.
Did you know?Comiket is run by a volunteer organising committee as a non-profit event, and its catalogue is so large that it is sold as a thick printed book as well as in digital form.
