Bunkobon

Bunkobon (Japanese文库 本) denotes a common format in Japan for small, portable and cheap books, used mainly for novels. Most of these books are of a size that corresponds to the format DIN A6 and possess, like Japanese paperbacks general, a protective envelope around the cover.

Similar to the widespread on the western market paperbacks, Bunkobon are already published as a cheaper variant as ceiling strip published books.

Manga, which are published as a Bunkobon in the same format, as Bunkoban ( " Bunko " for short) refers.

Name

In the late Meiji period published paperback series that described themselves on the basis of their scale as bunko (library ), eg Shūchin Meicho Bunko (袖珍 名著 文库) with 50 volumes of 1903 Shūchin Bunko (袖珍 文库) with 80 volumes of 1910 and Tachikawa Bunko (立 川 文库) with 200 volumes of 1911. A single band was as Bunkobon, so Bunko book referred to what later became synonymous with paperback books.