A Comprehensive Guide to Dakimakuras as a Hobby

LAST UPDATED: 19th AUGUST 2025

Need to bookmark this guide for future reference? Link here -> http://daki.info

Still a work in progress, multiple sections are being rewritten or are to be updated with better detail.

Quick Shortcuts

• How to find Japanese covers, and why they are limited
• Fabric ratings and Sealed examples
• Avoiding Bootlegs and How to spot them
• Primary Market (direct from the artist/circle) stores and links
• Secondary Market (after release) stores and links 
• Cover and Inner maintenance
• Folding covers and hanging them with magnets

What on earth are these things? (An Introduction)

Dakimakura (抱き枕) lit. hugging pillow, are body pillows that are roughly the size of an average person, the standard size being 160cm x 50cm although variations do exist. Once only good for helping side sleepers to get their posture in check, the number of people this has become more useful towards has increased due to the interest of artists and fans alike in Japanese media. While anyone can get any pillow, the hobby mainly focuses on the covers people put on them.

The hobby generally covers three parts, and the guide will cover likewise.

• Finding a cover you like
• Purchasing the cover/inner
• Maintaining your covers/inner
• Finding a community for questions and assistance (optional)

First and foremost, this hobby is primarily a Japanese hobby, so most of the resources, places to buy, and methods of purchasing are catered on focusing on the Japanese domestic market. Understanding this will explain most of the niches and difficulties of this hobby.

BEFORE WE START : A NOTE ON BOOTLEGGERS

The major stores on google results such as animedakimakurapillow.com, moemarket.com and others are all bootleg sites that are overpriced, print on subpar fabric, and steal or treat/pay artists ridiculously poorly. Do not buy from them. The Golden Rule of the Dakimakura hobby: As the ease for a hypothetical naive westerner to buy a cover rises, the likelihood of the cover or design being bootlegged, traced, or stolen from an artist approaches 100%.

Reasons to Avoid Bootlegs and Fakes

If you’re reading this guide, chances are you want to know why you should avoid fakes and are aiming to support artists and overall get better covers. Generally speaking, bootlegged covers lack detail, are on easily damaged and subpar fabric, and often profit by stealing or tracing the work of other artists and circles. When these circles can commission artists for original work, they often pay them barely anything, if at all, often less than 5% of the cost of the cover, and no upfront commission payment to the artist as well. The majority of money paid for original work dakimakura from bootlegger circles go to the art thieves themselves. Artists can be paid as little as $20 total (including sales/art) for original art commissions from a bootlegger circle. If you want to support the artist, bootleggers (whether traced or copied designs) are not the way to go.

There have been reports of people having medical side effects from using bootlegged covers that were using dangerous chemicals during the printing process. You wouldn’t buy a subpar figure, so why do the same to something you’re going to hug, put your body up against, and put your face next to for up to a whole third of your day. If you’re going to be using the cover every night, you may as well enjoy how good it looks and feels instead of settling for subpar trash.

Here are a few examples to show how bad they can get. Note that bootlegs often lack colour, flatten the colours, remove detail and shading, and are printed on far worse fabric.

By buying bootleg, not only do you not support the artist, but you also get a subpar product for your money. Everyone loses except for the scumbag who duped you out of your cash. Bootleggers have a heavy profit motive, meaning that they will cheap out on anything and everything in order to make a quick buck out of unsuspecting fans.

Red flags to look out for when in the secondary market are discussed later in the guide in the section “Avoiding bootlegs and how to spot them”.

Finding a cover and inner you like

Types of Circles and Covers

Covers are usually made in one of a few ways. The way you find and buy your cover can be roughly divided on where the artist resides, Japan, China, and the west. They also differ if the cover is officially licenced by the IP holder, or are purely fan works.

Japanese Licenced Covers

These covers are the ones that are officially licenced by the IP holder (duh). These covers are usually the easiest to find as they’re available at most hobby shops already open to foreigners online that stocks adult supplies. The upshot is that as the art is officially licenced, the art is directly the style used in the source material. Companies that dabble in this are COSPA, Movic, as well as the multitude of visual novel (eroge) studios such as Neko Works and NEXTON.

Visual novel tie in/magazine bonus covers fit into this category as well. These are usually cheaper but are often printed on subpar material.

Japanese Doujin Covers

Here you will find the majority of designs. Unlike the first variant, most circles are not businesses for profit, but are independent artists, hence the term doujin (同人 lit. alike people) referring to fans who share the same interest.

Circles are often either a single artist in a solo circle or a commissioner circle, who pay artists to either make or use existing artwork for doujin goods. These circles often don’t dabble in dakimakura covers alone but also often do tapestries, artbooks, apparel, and card supplies. These are the equivalent of artists in the artist alley in western conventions. Note that OC covers also fall into this category if they are made by independent artists.

These circles release their wares at events and conventions in Japan (Comiket, Comic1, Treasure Market, Ore no Yome) and often don’t list their goods for sale online (however this is becoming less of the case). The artwork is often superior and printed on better fabric, the downside being that these covers are often limited releases which make this category the hardest to pin down after events.

Covers from these circles usually print on the various different types of Japanese printers, and as such, usually have the best quality fabrics and print results.

Chinese Doujin Circles

These circles can be organised similar to the japanese circles, however the majority are often the latter half. Being in China, these artworks are usually much more lewd and often are able to get away with covers for IP that Japanese circles can’t (because they’d be sued to oblivion, or the Japanese printers will refuse to print certain types of explicit content).

Chinese circles often have a far larger catalogue of covers to choose from and are usually printed to demand meaning that you don’t need to worry about missing out. That means, damaging these covers isn't as large of a loss because they are essentially always replaceable as they are usually always available, unlike Japanese covers who usually have one print run or two at most if at all, and are limited for practicality reasons.

The giant caveat being that the large majority of these circles steal artwork and bootleg Japanese circles or even each other, and if they don't, chances are they are running a bootlegging gig on the side on a different shopfront. While these circles often commission original designs, they often pay the artists barely anything and by supporting these circles, you’re supporting their shady side business. Dealing with most Chinese circles depends primarily on your moral compass.

Western Doujin Circles

While Japanese circles are for the most part one man affairs, western circles are often commission circles. As a result these circles often have some of the largest catalogues of covers available and pay their artists well.

These circles also print to demand, which also means like Chinese covers and unlike Japanese covers, covers from these circles are always replaceable as they are usually always available.

While most of these circles are based in the west in either the US or Europe, their printing and warehousing operations are mainly in China due to costs. In a way they can be considered ethical Chinese circles with western management. Depending on management, they either have an inhouse blend of fabrics for larger circles, or print with bootleggers for those sites that usually go through ‘service companies’ or bulk buy via aliexpress. Do your research here first.

Why are Japanese covers expensive and limited?

Often the biggest question for poor horny bastards who find the cover of their dreams only to realise that the cover is years old and not available anywhere. While many Chinese and western circles can print on demand and have their entire catalogue available, Japanese artists (and even official covers) are only usually ever available once, in limited quantities, and never again. Limited covers are not usually the result of a “picky, scummy, greedy artist” but is often for purely practical reasons such as:

• Copyright law and enforcement, usually meaning that the artist cannot appear to make a large profit off their goods. Even though doujin work is an accepted concept in Japan, it’s still a very grey area open to selective enforcement by the rights holders, with some who are well known to go out of their way to send lawyers and shut down booths if their IP are parodied by an independent artist (Pokemon, Nintendo etc). Keeping the item limited and at near cost price ensures that the money to be gained by a potential suit is too small compared to the cost to carry it out, and reduces the chance that the circle will get a tap on the shoulder. But even if the artist can’t profit, the main reason why they are expensive is because people who go to events often buy multiples and flip them on the aftermarket. As you who are reading this most likely do not live in Japan, the main reason you can enjoy this hobby is because a scalper was able to buy it and sell it to you for a profit, which often means you paid the scalper premium and are directly encouraging this activity. Limited supply and high demand is the perfect recipe for a good that is open to market abuse. Non-japanese circles often avoid this problem by being outside of Japan, which increases the legal costs for the rights holder for little potential gain, due to dealing with laws and regulations that may be different from their home country. In addition, many of these circles operate out of China, whose legal system is well known for its liberal use of selective enforcement, meaning that most complaints will fall on deaf ears.

• Minimum order quantity is the second reason. Artists in Japan don’t own printers and often have to go through the main printer shops who have set minimum order requirements before you can order a cover (20 for A&J, 20 for Shiromoufu, 12 for Fules) which is a large financial investment. As a result, artists cannot afford to continually keep stock as the financial risk to make a shipment is too high if they are unable to sell the covers as fabric disposal is also expensive, especially since they cannot appear to make profits. The circle cannot throw unsold fabric away because it costs money to throw away fabric in the garbage in Japan. This is also the reason why Japanese covers often do not have variants because they need to meet minimum order quantity for this second variant, effectively requiring a doubling of commitment for essentially one cover. The only exceptions are artists that print on P80 as there is no minimum order requirement. Even for official covers, often these covers come out of a production committee made solely for the respective IP which does not last long, and the main point of the merch is purely promotion or to capture hype. The amount of goods that would sell after the source material has aged is too small to be considered worthwhile to the production committee to keep the item available for not too long after initial release.

How do I find them?

There are a few ways for finding information on releases. As this hobby is primarily Japan-focused, the majority of research resources are in Japanese. These will cover all the information required to track covers down, being the circle, the artist, event the cover was released at, fabric type, the characters, and places to purchase from.

Dakimakura specific resources

Omiai (http://omiai-dakimakura.com/)

This blog is fairly comprehensive and covers most releases after 2015. Note that chinese circle releases (including those that are original arts commissioned by circles who bootleg) are also listed on this site if they are sold on a Japanese facing shopfront, listing here does not confirm the cover is genuine if the cover is from a chinese circle.

Umoreru Dakimakura (埋もれる抱き枕er Blog) (https://xn--er-573a1isbf1441e2hs87j.jp/)

Site is no longer functional due to not being updated and the lease on the URL ending.
Formerly the Japanese database for covers before 2015.

NijigenShingu (http://www.nijigenshingu.info/index2.shtml)

Covers official releases. Is the least user friendly of these, however covers items that are not dakimakura covers as well.

General resources

Pixiv. (https://www.pixiv.net/en/)

The premier artist site for japan, as doujin circles are usually independent artists by definition, you will find (most of) their work here. Links provided from the artwork from these sites are usually legitimate, but beware of artists who list a lot of dakimakura, or dakimakura covers only, these are often a front for a chinese bootlegger store

Twitter (https://twitter.com/)

Most artists use this site to communicate with their fanbase. If you support a particular artist, they’ll usually announce new covers here on their personal accounts. Official covers are occasionally announced here as well.

Still don’t like anything you find? Your last hope is setting up your own commission (explained at the end of this guide) but before you go straight into the deep end, it is best to read ahead and figure out everything else first. Commissioning is often the final stage for those who are in the hobby.

Fabrics

Now that you’ve found your cover, you may be curious what the cover is printed on. The majority of covers are printed on 2-way tricot, which is a blend of polyester and polyurethane (think of the fabric used for top end stockings). The fabric is both soft and flexible but is prone to damage when handled roughly. The majority of Japanese covers are printed by three major printers (A&J, Fules, and Shiromoufu) who have varying types of fabric they print on.

Each can feel distinctly different while also having varying levels of resistance to damage. Damage often comes in the form of piling (think of a used old sweater with all the fluff coming out of it like a forest) or nicks caused by sharp or hard objects brushing past the surface of the cover.

Regardless of how strong the tricot is, the fabric is inherently fragile and must be respected with care if you wish for your fluffy waifu to have a long life.

When looking for covers, note that you as the buyer will usually not have a choice of what 2wt fabric a particular cover is printed on, as that is completely decided by the artist. If a listing has a choice of fabric options (peach, smooth knit, 2WT), it's usually a bootlegger store. Targeting covers based on printer/fabric is not a healthy way to look around for things to buy. This section should just give you an expectation based on what the artist decided to print on.

Most japanese fabric retails around 12k-15k yen (USD120-USD150) with little variance. The price can change depending on where it is sold to cover merchant fees. Assuming you’re not buying in the secondary market, direct from the circle is cheapest, followed by BOOTH, and with Melonbooks being the most expensive place to buy from.

General Disclaimer: This section will be full of >opinions, as while Japanese fabrics are very good, picking them apart is similar to picking a flavour of ice cream, what people like in their preferred fabric is highly subjective. Take all opinions with a pinch of salt. Ratings are on a scale from one to ten stars for visual effect, however many fabric choices have particular nuances that cannot be put into numbers alone. Note that artists don’t usually offer fabric choices so this guide should just inform you what to expect, not what to aggressively aim for.

Note that due to the rarity of some fabrics being in sealed condition, some fabrics may have incomplete documentation for imaging and description, and are documented as a historical footnote due to their past use.

Where possible, sealed examples will be shown so you have a general idea what to look for when you are browsing auction listings to determine if the item the seller is listing is genuine. If you have the physical cover to inspect, the care tag (if kept with the item) and zipper on the cover also will help you identify the fabric or confirm if it is not a bootleg.

When searching for bootlegs, this section will be the most important for you, as you can compare the cover in the listing to sealed examples. When appraising auctions or others, research what fabric the cover is printed on and compare your listing to the relevant fabric here.

If you want to consider how to get a dakimakura custom printed, refer to the Custom Printing section at the end of the guide.

Explaining The Scoring Categories

• Softness

This is how soft the cover feels to the touch (duh) at a single point, pretty much just generic touch feel. Higher scores here mean the cover is softer and more pleasant to touch at a single point, inversely the cover is much rougher the lower the score.

• Durability

How easily the cover can resist pilling, and generic damage from rough skin, nails, hair, and other careless damage. The higher the score, the better the cover can resist.

Note that all 2WT regardless of score is inherently fragile, so please handle it with care.

• Smoothness

How smooth the texture of the cover is when you move your hand across the fabric. The higher the score, the less resistance the cover has to your hand moving across it. Lower scores mean the fabric has more resistance to you moving your hands across the cover, or has increased resistance or changes in feel if you move your hands in different directions across the fabric.

• Print Quality

How good the colours and the crispness of the lines on the fabric. Higher scores mean the fabric generally has better colour brightness and resolution. Lower scores can usually mean desaturation, less vivid colours, or blurring of lines.

• Impression

How well the cover does in factors not covered by the other four scores, more better described as (Overall Impression). This can include (but is not limited to) user experience, and overall synergy or view of the product as a whole.

• Overall

The average of the five scores listed. Essentially an average of averages.

Scores were taken from a voluntary survey of daki cover owners (n = 333), results are from the most recent survey where participants ranked fabric based on letter grades. This survey also contains the spending habits such as amount spent total, demographics, and lifestyle choices of the participants.

New fabrics since 2023

NOTE: Newly released fabrics that have been released since last year have not been included yet.

These will be added when items are available.

This includes:

• [JP] A&J Lyctron Rich
• [JP] MapleSyrup
• [JP] P80 True Moist
• [CN] SAS
• [CN] Black Sakura

A&J

Digi-Club

(Not to be confused with the Taiwanese fabric DC-01)

Fules

Full Graphic Factory (FGF)

P80

Pixiv

Seiren

Shiromoufu

Also sells non-anime/plain pattern dakimakuras from their booth for those who don't want an anime girl next to them in bed https://shiromoufu.booth.pm/ (requires proxy or forwarder).

Chinese Fabrics

Non Tricot Fabrics

Smooth Knit

This is a blend that you normally see with magazine cover bonuses and older visual novel covers. These covers are on the super cheap end (3-5k yen) and you get what you pay for. The feel is slightly abrasive, stiff and a little hard. Somewhat durable compared to most low end tricot, but even generic chinese tricot will give this fabric a run for its money.

Softness:        2/10        ★★

Durability:        8/10        ★★★★★★★★

Peach Skin

The go to for bootleggers and convention hawkers alike, if you bought a dakimakura from a western con it’s 90% this fabric and 99% fake. This fabric feels like sleeping with a wet tarpaulin, very uncomfortable and not even close to soft. The print quality is usually blurry and smudged and sometimes tinted warm. Has a distinctive glossy satin-like sheen. It offsets this by being almost indestructible in use. But then again, literal plastic is hard to break, isn’t it.

Softness:        0/10        
Durability:        10/10        ★★★★★★★★★★

Inners

A quality hugging experience requires not only good covers, but a good inner. You can’t hug a cover by itself. A good pillow should be filled enough to keep your cover taut while providing enough weight or resistance for hugging. Modern covers and inners are sized for 160cmx50cm, however older covers may be only 150cmx50cm. Smaller sizes should only be considered if you are using legacy covers as the standard size has moved on.

Note that this section, like the one above, is also full of opinions and some salt may be required while reading. Regardless of purchase, shipping costs will be large as inners are heavy and take up a large volume of space, even when vacuum packed.

A&J DHR Series (15-16k yen | USD150-170)

One of the best inners available from the Japanese market and the mainstay for most Japanese hobbyists. Inners are vacuum packed and the stuffing is relatively firm and provides a surprising amount of resistance for its supposed weight. The anti-slip lining makes changing covers difficult however and the lining makes any fine adjustments while putting on the cover is annoying if you don't get it right the first time. Usually the most expensive but premium option. Tends to clump more easily over time.

Has multiple sizes to choose from, the most popular being the DHR7000H. A new lighter variant has been announced (DHR7500) which appears to be the successor to the DHR6500, however the inner has not been out to have any opinions.

Buy here (all these links need proxy buying/forwarding):

Amazon JP: https://amazon.co.jp/抱き枕本体-Jオリジナル-DHR7000H-プレミアム-160×50/dp/B07CC527QZ/

Booth: https://a-and-j.booth.pm/

Gate Japan: https://gate-japan.co.jp/

Dakimakuri  (10k-13k yen | USD100-130)

Widely regarded by the western community as the leading contender for best inner. The anti slip on these while effective is not overly aggressive and changing covers is relatively easier. Has the bonus of optional extra stuffing in smaller sizes, and comes with extra stuffing (400g) by default. Recently they have consolidated their offerings, instead of offering multiple weights for the same stuffing, each stuffing now has a set weight as standard.

There are two types of filling, the wataame and the Kumochi. Wataame is the more firm stuffing, similar to a DHR, while the Kumochi filling has less resistance and is easier to ‘sink’ into.

Recently a new inner was developed. Called the kumoame, it is the heaviest inner available in the market coming in at 6kg. The filling has less resistance but is more squishy, cloudlike, and even in distribution.

The shopfront offers free surface mail (read: boat) shipping, but be warned you get what you pay for. 

Due to covid and current shipping fuckery, free shipping has been suspended. If you do not want to be blue balled for three to four months without a single scan event because surprise surprise, nobody will scan a parcel in a container in the middle of the ocean, it’s recommended to upgrade at least to EMS. SAL users have reported shipping times of one to two months due to the current pandemic. DHL is now no longer an option for Dakimakuri due to logistical issues, however UPS is an option upon request.

Occasionally has stock in the US, these are bulk shipped to the states and are available at certain times if you order SAL shipping. Contact the shopfront first before doing this as timing of when US based stock is available is random.

All orders in NA are being shipped from the United states. Inners are sold on a first come first served pre-order basis as pillows are being mass imported on shipping containers from over the sea. I highly recommend purchasing now if you want a kuri inner, as waiting until later will get you on the end of the waiting list for new inners.

Buy here (ships internationally): https://dakimakuri.com/shop/item/inner

Shiromoufu Marumimi  (12.5k yen | USD125)

This is Shiromoufu’s first attempt into piercing the dakimakura inner market. Not enough buyers from the west have come forward on how this inner performs, meaning general ideas on how it goes is still up for debate. Weight is typical of Japanese inners coming in at 2.3kg, which may be relatively light for some foreign appetites.

Buy here (needs proxy buying/forwarding): https://shiromoufu.booth.pm/items/5989500

Cuddly Octopus (11.5k yen | USD115)

Recently released, early reports state that the inner is somewhat clump resistant and more firm and consistent than comparable inners in its weight category. Would filter current reviews with a hype filter, and will wait to see how it performs once more people get their hands on the inner. Weight comes around to about 4kg which is typical of western focused inners.

Buy here (ships internationally): https://cuddlyoctopus.com/product/inner/

Fules WithAqua (8k yen | USD80)

A lighter japanese inner coming in at 2.2kg (2kg for older variants with antimicrobial filling), the pillow has slightly firm but squishy filling, however it may come as light to the average user. Has an aggressive non-slip lining which may cause some difficulty when adjusting covers. Was discontinued for a time, check their twitter for updates (https://twitter.com/fules_jp).

Buy here (needs proxy buying/forwarding):

Amazon JP: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B075S9YPSB

Comodo (8k yen | USD80)

A pillow that is considered the absolute minimum for ‘decent’. The stuffing is more sufficient and at a better quality than the cospa pillows at the same price point. It however lacks an anti slip covering to keep your covers from moving around the pillow in use, which can be irritating when your cover rotates around a full 90 degrees and the face of your cover is the seam of the inner. Reports of the stuffing clumping very easily have been seen. A decent budget option if you cannot get a Kuri or DHR inner, but may come off as underfilled relative to better options.

Buy here (needs proxy buying/forwarding):

Amazon JP: http://amazon.co.jp/抱き枕-CMD9000-ハイクラス-160cm-50cm/dp/B01MV3T1ED/

Cospa (7k-8k yen | USD 70-80)

An entry level inner, it’s not as heavy or as voluminous at the other pillows. Can be understuffed and can bottom out if you hug it too hard over time. Tends to ‘shrink’ over time and use. Has no internal zipper to access the stuffing, so when the stuffing eventually clumps, the pillow cannot be declumped without destroying the pillow. Pillow has no anti-slip lining so the cover will rotate in use. Generally not recommended.

This inner can be bought from AmiAmi and other anime merchandise stores. Goes on rolling preorder periods every few months.

Other (...not recommended)

There are other inners made cheaply which are cospa equivalent or worse. Generally not recommended as they are underfilled, have no zipper to access the filling in some cases, and are in general a really shitty experience. Do not buy these, your money is better saved to get yourself something decent, as these can ruin the hobby for you. Examples include:

• UTDream
• Grand Siberian
• Anything you find on eBay

Receiving and priming your inner

When your inner arrives, it is usually vacuum packed to ensure that the item is cheaper to ship and takes less space in warehousing. Cut the seal at the edge to avoid damage to the inner, most manufacturers have extra space in the packaging to allow a safe cut away from the inner.

Once cut, fluff your inner by hitting it with your hands spread out wide and flat opposite each other where the seams of the covers are, start from one end then more towards the other patting the inner in along the seams. Keep the pillow flat on the surface without a cover and no items on top of it for at least three days (or one day if the pillow is only in a partial vacuum) to allow the cover to regain its shape and to pull in air. Using the inner prematurely at this stage will cause your inner to have noticeably less volume over its useful life. If the inner is partially vacuum sealed and has a weaker compression, like the kuri inners, one day is sufficient time to allow the cover to prime before use.

After allowing the inner to rest, you will need to beat your inner up every two or so weeks to keep the stuffing from firming up and losing its spring. Please refer to this video by A&J (the makers of the DHR pillow) for a visual representation on what to do. 【公式】エイアンドジェイ抱き枕本体開封方法紹介

Purchasing your Cover

Now that you’ve found out what inners and what covers you like, it’s time to go hunting! When you go out finding your cover you’re going to run into one of these categories:

• It’s in pre-order period or print to order: Congratulations, you’re one lucky bastard and life is easy. You can preorder at the circle’s website, or at their booth. Least amount of hassle and often the cheapest way to access your cover. Certain circles are prone to sell out so be as fast as you can.

• You missed the pre-order period but it was recently released (within a week or two): Not as bad, but still lucky. You will need to scour the secondhand market (Mandarake/Suruga-ya/YJA) for copies. These copies are often from enterprising scalpers who bought multiples at the event and listed it online for a quick flip.

• The cover is physical release (at an event) only: Repeat as above, camp secondary market places on the days after release, and maybe you get lucky.

• The cover is old as hell and hasn’t had a reprint in forever: Welcome to the majority of most covers and patience and zen incarnate. You’ll need to do like the above in the second option, but you’ll need to search on a regular basis on the off chance a cover is listed. Hunting is the main experience (and pain) of this hobby, and covers older than at least two years are almost impossible to find depending on how popular the circle or artist is, and the character involved.

ADDENDUM: If you have enough money, some doujin circles and artists will consider a reprint if you are able to pay for the entire minimum order (which may be in the range of 1.2k-4k USD for twelve to twenty covers depending on fabric choice and printer). Only attempt if you are desperate, the circle is still active, and your Japanese is at least decent. The larger the circle or artist is, the less likely this will be successful.

Either way, if you aren’t purchasing from a western circle (or Mandarake), you will need to use a proxy buyer or forwarder.

Forwarders and proxy buyers

Most Japanese shops cannot be accessed by foreign buyers directly, as most of these businesses only ship domestically and accept domestic payment methods only.

Forwarders allow you to shop by allowing you to have a postal address in foreign countries, however due to most anti-fraud measures (your home address not being the same as the shipping address), your payment methods may not work either. Proxy buyer services buy the items for you and manage payment issues for you as well, as most foreign stores do not use paypal. Both of these services will cost a fee.

Note that proxy buyers have a relation to cost, the easier it is to use a proxy service, whether through integration with existing services, or by their amazing customer support, the more expensive the service will be. Inversely, the more barebones a service is (putting more of the input and impetus on you, the buyer, knowing what you are doing), the cheaper the service is.

Proxy Buyers for Japan

Buyee (https://buyee.jp/)

The most mainstream proxy buyer service. Cost per item is ¥300, plus plans which vary from free to ¥500 per item covering inspection and insurance. Consolidation fees are no longer charged. Photos of the items received will cost ¥300. This service will refuse to buy R-18 dakimakura or may dispose of your purchase if it is discovered to be R-18. The most expensive and forces a subpar conversion rate (there is no option to use your card’s rate), but has integration with BOOTH and other websites, and is one of the few proxy buyer services where you can buy from mercari.

Blackship (https://blackship.com/)

The forwarding arm of White Rabbit Express, their fees are set based on a ‘subscription fee’ that reduces other fees if used frequently. Charges in USD. Similar to tenso, this allows you to buy goods with an address in Japan, however all payment and ordering will need to be done by you yourself.

DeJapan (https://www.dejapan.com/en/)

Charges based on plans from free to ¥300 per item if you want inspection/insurance. If you don't use a plan you will pay ¥100 per item on consolidation. Usually quite fast to place orders, sometimes as soon as 20 minutes after first payment. Does not undervalue.

Tenso (https://www.tenso.com/en)

Not a proxy buyer but a forwarding service. Allows you to buy goods with an address in Japan, however all payment and ordering will need to be done by you yourself. Like buyee, tenso is known to on rare occasions not accept adult goods or items. Suitable if the store takes foreign forms of payment and only ships domestically.

Japan Rabbit (formerly White Rabbit Express) (https://japanrabbit.com/)

One of the most expensive buying services available, however their customer service is top tier and they are able to provide personalised assistance on hard to find items if the item can be only bought at a physical location (that is not at an event). Only charges in USD and has a very slick and clean UI. Use if the item that is to be bought requires special attention or has some difficulty of acquisition. Has a minimum fee of 9 USD, service fees are charged based on item value with a sliding scale, refer to their calculator at https://app.japanrabbit.com/pricing for more details

Zenmarket (https://zenmarket.jp/)

Charges ¥500 per item, but you will need to load currency onto the site effectively having the proxy fee being 3.5% of item value + ¥500 if you load via credit card. Does not charge for consolidation. Offers a credit limit if you ship out multiple parcels a year. No longer undervalues purchases. Purchases in daily weekday batches at around 3-6pm JST, may be relatively slower due to volumes.

Other Proxies or Forwarders

They exist, but I haven't personally used them, however they are apparently decent options. Read their guides as well as their schedule of fees and prohibited items before using.

• Baggage Forward: https://baggageforward.co.jp/en/index.html
• BigInJapan: https://www.biginjap.com/
• FromJapan: https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/
• Sendico: https://www.sendico.com/

Proxy Buyers for China/Taobao

Taobao Direct

Only available to certain regions including but not limited to: Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and the US. You can buy directly from the stores, however the website is entirely in chinese. You will either need to be very comfortable with Chinese or have a translation on hand. Refer to this guide https://www.howtotao.com/buy-from-taobao/.

Superbuy (https://www.superbuy.com/en/)

One of the more popular proxy buyers, even for those who have access to Taobao directly.

Avoiding Bootlegs and how to spot them

Now this is what you’re really here for. While not all bootlegs meet all the criteria, spotting one or a few of these criteria should raise a few flags when you’re trying to assess whether a listing is a bootleg or a genuine item. Note that regardless of platforms, bootlegged items are inescapable, and learning how to pick them apart is a skill you need to pick up.

Most bootlegs are avoided by doing your research on the database websites above in the “dakimakura specific resources” section, as those list the details that the real deal has. 99% of bootlegs can be discovered by checking these characteristics and others.

Generally speaking, if a website is in English, is easy to navigate, and has plenty of options, it's going to most likely be a bootleg website. Inversely, if the site is in Japanese, is annoying to navigate (as a foreigner), and looks straight out of the 90s, it’s most likely to be a legitimate site. It’s actually that stupid. Exceptions exist however, and they are listed later in this guide.

Image Red Flags

Recently there has been an increase in sellers on auction and similar sites that have been using a ‘green screen’ effect and posing fake images of bootleg products. Be incredibly careful if you see listings with this image, as the scammers use editing software to put in digital preview images and attempt to fake a photo that looks like a candid shot. Oftentimes these scammers will use the exact same image template because it is easier for them to generate fake digital copies this way.

Be very wary if the listing only shows the front of the cover, especially if the printer is known only to put care stickers at the back of the covers. Note that these fakes will have side perforated plastic bags, which is an instant giveaway that it is a bootleg.

Listing and Other General Red Flags

Warning signs that may denote bootlegs can include:

• The fabric type listed is incorrect/care tag is missing (if the cover is sealed), this is where your research comes into play. Artists usually print a cover on one or at most two types of fabric. If the listing doesn’t list the correct fabric or has ‘generic’ 2way tricot, it is likely to be a bootleg. In addition, if the cover is in ‘peach skin’, usually a bootleg as well. This fabric is the equivalent of tarpaulins, it’s never worth it.
• The sizes are incorrect, as above, a design is usually printed on one size, covers that are printed on 160x50 are not usually printed on 150x50 and vice versa.
• The zipper is incorrect, Japanese covers usually have YKK, JK or A&J brands on the zipper. If the zipper looks like a rounded dong, it’s 100% a chinese print. This doesn’t mean it’s a bootleg, but if you see a Chinese zipper on a Japanese design (and vice versa), you’re looking at a bootleg.
• The printer tags are missing or incorrect, this particularly is useful if the items are listed as ‘unopened’ or unused. Refer to the fabric section to see what tags you should be looking for. If the cover is sealed, cover tags are the primary way to spot legitimate items in the aftermarket. If the tags are missing, or are not the correct tags for the fabric, the daki is a bootleg. This tip is less useful if the cover is open or loose, but some owners keep tags to prove authenticity.
• The cover is folded incorrectly, especially when the cover is new. Certain printers fold their covers in certain ways. If the cover is sealed and doesn’t adhere to the standard, the cover is either repacked or a bootleg. Picture to compare coming soon™.
• The artist is not credited, or an incorrect artist is credited, this is where your research again comes into play. Check if the art was posted to either pixiv and twitter and the art links the store (if the listing claims to be new). Bootlegger circles also have inhouse artists who they attempt to attribute the artist credit to.
• The original circle’s name is absent in the listing, legitimate listings usually list the circle as that is a major selling point domestically in the Japanese secondary market.
• The price is far lower than expected, if the price is too good to be true it usually is. Covers that are new are around 12-13k yen, and are often more expensive as they age and remain sealed. Allow for some drop if the cover has been opened.
• The listing is full of ‘keywords’ or random numbers/codes in the title, simpler is better. Listings that are long and have buzzwords such as ‘sexy anime soft’ in the listing are 99% fakes trying to game the keyword search system. Listings that list multiple unrelated circles also fall into this category. If a code is visible, that is usually a reference to a taobao seller that is selling the same item (often for cheaper), and these items may be bootlegs or from legitimate chinese circles. The lister in this case is a reseller attempting to mark up their price to meet the Japanese market, but with substandard fabric compared to Japanese blends at the same price point.
• The listing has a large amount of variable sizes and fabric types, usually for Japanese covers. Legitimate Chinese circles often list multiple sizes and fabrics. If the original did not list these options for the cover, then the listing offering these options are bootlegs.
• The seller has a large number of listings with varying art styles with no credit, this normally implies a bootlegger stealing from multiple artists, or a chinese circle reseller attempting to arbitrage the price difference between China and Japan.
• The seller has poor or negative feedback, the seller is likely a scammer. This should generally be online shopping common practice. Not that positive feedback ratios do not mean that the seller is legitimate either, they can have easily successfully duped many naive buyers.
• The cover ships from China or a different country from the circle’s origin, or lists the design is print to order if the design was originally a japanese circle or had a limited print run, this literally tells you they’re not original covers. 99% of Japanese covers are not printed to demand. This flag holds less weight in Chinese or western circles as most of these circles are printing to demand.
• The listing only has stock images, or have censors different from the artist’s preview. In short, if the preview doesn’t have the actual cover images, if the listing is in the secondary market, it’s likely to be fake. Generally speaking do not trust any listing in YJA/Mercari that only has the digital preview and not a photo of the physical item.
• The website has a lot of “Security Certified (e.g Norton Tick)” “Trust Verified” or other accreditation badges under each listing, these are usually faked or are real but overly emphasised in bootleg sites to provide a false sense of security. Yes, you may be able to get your product from bootleg stores, but these badges do not protect you against the art theft these websites engage in, or the poor fabric the cover is printed on.
• The websites use pressure tactics (such as “X amount of viewers are viewing this item” or “X amount has been sold in the past 24 hours” etc.). This is an attempt to get a horny and otherwise desperate weeb to think with their dick and capitalise on their fear of missing out. If a website resorts to this tactic it usually means they’re bootleg heaven who just want a quick buck.

If you wish to return to the section on where to research what the details of a legitimate copy are and the circles that make them, go to the earlier section “Finding a cover and inner you like”.

Primary Market Stores

These are where you’re able to get your covers directly from the artist if the cover is still in it’s preorder period, and where you can get it the cheapest. Possibly the best way to buy covers as the money you pay goes to supporting the artist directly.

More details about each store is listed in the addendum to this guide. Note that this list is still under construction but has most major circles listed. Dakimakura Circles & Shops List

Physical Events

For the most part, most covers until recently were only available in physical events. That being, the only way to get the cover was to be in person. However due to the current global situation more circles are offering their covers online instead.

BOOTH (https://booth.pm/en)

The main outlet for most japanese circles. BOOTH is a marketplace, not a stand alone store, kind of like ebay for artists, so a blanket statement cannot be made because there are hundreds of independent (both malicious and benign) actors on the site.

Bootlegs have appeared on Booth being listed by Chinese circle resellers.

Do not blindly browse through booth as the site admins refuse to take down these stolen designs. Only go to the stores directly linked by the artist and travel no further, as the site is now swamped with spammed designs.

Note that not all covers listed on booth are real, as chinese sellers often spam the platform with bootlegs or are resellers of chinese covers that can be bought for often half the price on taobao.

If a cover does not list a specific recognized Japanese fabric, you are either buying a bootleg, or a chinese cover that can be bought from taobao for cheaper. Specific red flags you need to watch out for when browsing booth to avoid bootlegs and chinese covers that can be bought for far cheaper elsewhere include:

• Not specifying fabric type outside of generic “2 Way Tricot” (Note: The fabric type must be one of the types listed under the Japanese section of the guide to avoid this red flag)
• Shop has the exact same cover art available on pillowcases of smaller size not suited to dakimakuras, or as a tapestry.
• Cover has more than two variants, usually a signifier of a chinese cover
• Name of the cover has an SKU or item number in the title or description. Anything with MGF is usually a bootleg or bootleg original.
• The circle has a large number of products not out of stock and available to purchase, anything more than three pages is generally suspicious as JP covers are notoriously limited and only on sale for small periods of time, with some circles removing listings after the preord
• Circle name is in pinyin (romanised chinese)

Legitimate shops usually take down their listing after their pre order period, so do not be concerned when this happens, your purchase is still tracked by the website. As most circles don’t have a large inventory, most legitimate circles only have a handful of covers up for sale at any time, if at all. You can buy non-adult covers through buyee integration, but it is cheaper to use a forwarder. Does not take foreign credit cards or foreign modes of payments. All booth stores do not ship internationally, you will need a proxy buyer or forwarder to buy from them.

AVOID THESE bootleggers or are third party arbitrage resellers (nonexhaustive list):

• 山枫樱乡/Sfyx/Baka (Reseller/Bootlegger)
• 次元同萌/cytmnew (Chinese circle with a markup on booth listings, Reseller/Bootlegger)
• さくら飴/MGF/Sakuranoame (Reseller/Bootlegger)
• D-M.N/22JiGen (Reseller)
• Daidatu (Known Bootlegger)
• Moe (Reseller)
• MoeAnime/萌えアニメの小店 (Known Bootlegger)
• Xuecheng (Reseller/Bootlegger)

AVOID THESE Shopfronts who list on Taobao for significantly less (nonexhaustive list):

• 祈愿之羽/qyzy (Chinese circle with a markup on booth listings, cheaper on taobao)
• 雨の日アリス  (Cheaper on Taobao, has traced covers)
• MoeMarket (One of the largest bootleggers out there)

• Scarlet-Kikyou (Chinese circle with a markup on booth listings, cheaper on taobao)

Melonbooks (https://www.melonbooks.co.jp/)

The second most popular place for doujin circles to list online. Note that 95% of all covers listed as a ‘Monthly order’ are resold from taobao where the same cover can be bought for cheaper. These also come from circles that are often dabbling in bootlegs. Does not ship internationally, you will need a proxy buyer or forwarder. Usually more expensive as melon charges a higher fee for items to be listed on their website compared to their competitors.

Shops/Circles to avoid include (nonexhaustive list): 

• 次元同萌 (Cheaper on Taobao)
• 尚萌 (Known Bootlegger)
• 雨の日アリス (Cheaper on Taobao, has traced covers)

Circle specific standalone websites

Some japanese circles also list their releases outside of the main two options. Note that many bootleg stores continue to pop up faster than they can be reported, so not all are listed here. Most of these stores are able to ship internationally, but some may be domestic only. Examples of standalone circle websites include the following. Most non-Japanese circles print in China.

Ships Internationally:

Ships Japan Only (Forwarder/Proxy Buyer Required):

You may also need to pay via a Japanese domestic bank transfer. If its too much hassle, use a proxy buyer service.

Shops/Circles to avoid include (nonexhaustive list):

• AnimeDakimakuraPillow (Known Bootlegger)
• AnimeLovePillow (Known Bootlegger)
• Baka (Known Bootlegger)
• Case Maka (Known Bootlegger)
• Diipoo (Known Bootlegger)
• Dakimakura.info/.us/.nl/.de/.online/.xyz/etc (Known Bootlegger)
• Halo Dakimakura (Known Bootlegger)
• HzkDakimakura (Known Bootlegger)
• Maidoshop (Known Bootlegger)
• MoeMarket (Known Bootlegger)
• Sakume (Known Bootlegger)
• Shamoe (Known Bootlegger)
• Waifu Heaven (Known Bootlegger)

A website is being tested that lists all known bootleg sites and allows queries for websites to be tested against the database. A beta of this feature being built is currently being worked on in the dakimakura discord as a bot.

Generic merchandise stores

These stores don’t carry doujin covers, but will usually sell licenced covers during their pre order period. Most of these stores will also sell figures and other anime related merchandise. These stores will only accept credit cards for adult purchases.

• AmiAmi (Ships Internationally) https://www.amiami.com/eng/c/mature/
• Getchu (Forwarder/Proxy Buyer Required) https://www.getchu.com/goods/dakimakura.html
• Hobbystock (Forwarder/Proxy Buyer Required) http://www.hobbystock.jp/

Original Licenced Stores

These stores usually carry specifically licensed products from their own products. Usually for the light novels they produce, or their own line of original characters. Usually uncommon as most official licenced either go through the above general licensed stores, or release at events only.

• Amuse Craft (Makurabu) https://amusecraft.com/webshop/shop_thumb.php?jcode=B00014
• Fanza / DMM https://www.dmm.co.jp/
• Inemuri Hitsuji https://inemuri-hitsuji.com/
• Valkyria http://www.ordin-shop.com/

Taobao (https://world.taobao.com/)

Primary website for most Chinese circles. Bootleg heaven. Using a buying agent is heavily recommended. Do heavy amounts of research on any shopfront you aim to buy from before proceeding, as most circles participate in bootlegging, have a bootlegging arm, or rip off work from each other. Unscrupulous circles will charge you extra if they notice you are a foreigner that didn’t buy off their overpriced booth listings (but even with this fee, the covers are still cheaper here on Taobao). This is the wild west of the hobby complete with varying levels of black and grey morals depending on where you decide to shop.

Circles that are known to be completely bootleg free:

• AcHobby (occasionally prints at Sakura Palace) https://achobby.taobao.com/

Secondary Market Stores

This is where you’ll be hunting most of the time for covers. Doing your research on the cover you want is the best way to protect yourself from falling for fakes. As a general rule, keep in mind that the primary audience is the Japanese domestic market. If the website is easier for westerners to access, it’s going to more likely be a fake as bootleggers mainly target uninformed weebs who know nothing else but their waifu or want a gag gift for their friend. GOLDEN RULE: The risk that an item is a bootleg is equally as proportional to accessibility to a naive westerner.

Searching for your cover

As most of these stores are in Japanese, you will also need to search in japanese. Turns out searching in a foreign language will get you no results, who would have thought? The easiest way to search is by using a combination of:

• The name of the circle in japanese, this often at the start of most listings
• The japanese name of the character
• The name of the publisher (if the item was a licenced cover)
• The event name the cover was released at, replace ## with the event number, you can find this on the omiai/blog entry, common events for covers to be released include:

• コミケ## (Comiket ##)
• コミトレ## (Comic Treasure)
• COMIC1☆## OR コミック1☆## (Comic1)
• 俺の嫁## (Ore no Yome)

• 抱き枕カバー (lit. Dakimakura Cover)
• 抱き枕 (lit. Dakimakura)

You will find all the details you need to search for covers in the dakimakura cover databases listed earlier in the guide.

Second Hand Store Chains

These stores specialise in the secondary market, and have employees who are trained to check for bootlegs. Listings at these stores are 99.99% genuine, however some get through due to human error from time to time but these instances are very uncommon. Dakimakura is not their primary business, as they have a hand in figures, cards, games, preowned manga and light novels, memorabilia, and other merchandise.

Other second hand chain stores exist but generally do not either buy and stock dakimakura (such as Book-off), or do not have an online shop front (such as K-Books, however they sometimes list through Suruga-ya)

Mandarake (https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/)

One of the largest second hand stores in Japan for cultural related goods, this is a chain of stores spread across the country. Also carries sealed and opened covers. Note that items in different branches cannot be consolidated with each other for shipping as each store is responsible for their own inventory. Does ship internationally and accepts foreign credit cards, and is one of the easiest stores to deal with directly. Usually the best place to start hunting in the aftermarket for Japanese covers as dealing with them usually means no bootlegs and no chance of fraud from auctions.

If you buy and ship to a forwarder you will be charged domestic sales tax. Making an online mail order does not confirm purchase, the store will need to check its physical inventory for the item before asking for payment in case the item was sold at the location during the last time stock was updated, this process can take a day to a week. Will respond in english if english is selected for your account. Does not like buyers who flake and will card and address ban you if you cancel any single order made. Updates their collection daily and often has older harder to find covers.

The covers that are marked as ‘preorder’ or are ‘new covers’ that are not from the secondary market are usually chinese covers sold at a markup to take advantage of the foreign market. These can be found on taobao at half the price usually.

Suruga-ya (https://www.suruga-ya.jp/) or for some regions (https://www.suruga-ya.com/en)

Similar to Mandarake, it has a large selection of covers second hand and sealed. Needs a proxy buyer or forwarder for the JP site due to domestic shipping only, however the store will not accept foreign credit cards and using them will lead to order cancellation. If purchasing from the japanese site directly, use google pay or paypal if available.The global site is catered to foreigners but only ships to select countries and has a relatively more limited catalogue than their main JP site. Ordering from here is also a two step process if you are not using a proxy buyer service, with all correspondence sent in japanese.

Japanese Online Marketplaces

Generally speaking, all these sites have bootlegs galore but legitimate listings are still common and easy to spot. You will need to keep your guard up at all times here.

Yahoo Auctions Japan (https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/)

The ‘ebay of Japan’, this is the second main fallback site for secondary market purchases.  Using a proxy buyer is recommended as payment and dealing with wins is peer to peer. Proxy buyers also have useful alert features and autobids that can help you snipe listings. Besides that, it works similar to any auctions website online.

Mercari (https://www.mercari.com/jp/)

Unlike yahoo auctions, this is a peer to peer marketplace similar to craigslist. Note that bootlegs are more prevalent on this site but rare bargains can appear from time to time. Only use as a last resort. Buyee or White Rabbit Express are the only proxy buyers that are willing to operate on this site as the chances of scams are fairly high. If not obvious already, only use proxy buyers to access this website as the average mercari user will not accept international shipping or foreign methods of payment. Buyee has official integration with the website, however as above they will refuse to buy most heavily R-18 leaning items.

Amazon JP (https://www.amazon.co.jp/)

Actually a large primary source for licenced official covers. DHR inners are also easiest to buy from here. You will need at minimum a forwarder as most shopfronts ship only domestically. Generally speaking any doujin covers listed here are guaranteed to be bootlegs. Any licensed cover that is not listed by a well known primary anime merchandise store (amiami etc) or by their publisher is a guaranteed bootleg.

Western Online Marketplaces and Conventions

Unlike Japanese marketplaces, covers you find on mainstream auction sites and market places are going to be bootlegs. Dakimakura do not have an active secondary market outside of Japan so the chances of any legitimate covers appearing are slim to non-existent. As above, you should avoid buying any dakimakura listed on these sites at all costs.

Websites to avoid include:

• Amazon (except for the JP website for licenced covers only)
• eBay (99.9% of listings are bootlegged)

• NOTE: If you use ebay, look for the cover on mandarake, scammers are known to take images from mandarake listings and use it on their own ebay listing.

• Etsy (for non-western artists)

In addition, the vast majority of dakimakuras sold at western conventions are going to be bootlegs, however some circles are known to frequent conventions. If the cover is not licenced and is not in the artist alley, they’re almost guaranteed to be bootlegged. Some independent artists do sell dakimakura in western conventions, but if it’s a JP design it’s a bootleg. Ensure the artist at the booth was the artist that drew the daki when buying at conventions in person.

Expecting Prices in the Aftermarket

Say that you missed the pre-order period and are now trying to figure out when is the best time to buy. Generally speaking, the sooner you buy after release, the cheaper it will be for you, up to a point, as the older a cover is without a reprint, the more expensive it will be.

There are multiple factors that can influence the price of a cover in the secondary market. Note that while this guide will list general trends, there are always exceptions to the rule. If you live outside Japan, pouring money to ‘invest’ is a bad idea as the market is very illiquid in the west. This should only be used as a way for a prospective buyer to figure out how much they should be prepared to spend for the cover that they want.

• Artist or Circle

Some artists and circles can be more expensive or less expensive in the aftermarket. Oftentimes this boils down to distribution methods, artstyle, and even down to the characters the artist is down to draw. Note that this usually does not apply to Chinese and western circles, as their designs are generally print to order, there is no real secondary market for these covers due to general accessibility. In most cases, the average price of most covers from the majority of circles is around 12,000 - 18,000 yen.

For further detail, please visit the addendum to this guide listing the artists, niches, and typical fabrics each circle prints on. Dakimakura Circles & Shops List

• Character

This often follows a bell curve, the more popular the character is, the more expensive it will be up to a point, where popularity means more covers are drawn, lowering the price. If the character is an OC, the cover is generally far cheaper in the secondary market. However, if the character is from a doujin series the artist has drawn, OC or not, this usually increases the price. The more chapters there are in the doujin series, the more exaggerated the price can be. Loli or loli-like appearance (unfortunately) generally also increases the price of the cover.

• Distribution Method

If a cover was released at an event only, the cover tends to be more expensive compared to a cover that was available for online pre-order or release. This does not hold if the online purchase was for a set number of stock only, or if the cover sold out during its pre-order reservation period.

• Eroge Licenced

More often than not, if a cover is an official cover from an eroge that is printed on branded two way tricot, and is not a ‘bonus cover’, these will often be very expensive in the aftermarket. This is due to the cover being shipped with an adult good where the character is lewded, so players often open these covers and abuse them at higher rates compared to other categories. Has a weaker effect on licenced covers from other media.

• Print Quantity

The majority of Japanese covers are printed to pre-order numbers and never again. This usually means that most average circles will only print around 30-50 covers of one design, and don’t replenish due to the minimum order quantity. As a result, supply is less, meaning that the cover becomes harder or impossible to find aftermarket, or the prices go up. This effect is exaggerated for smaller circles.

• Time

Often the largest contributor to price. As time goes by, the number of covers left unsealed or in acceptable condition deteriorates. Most covers upon release usually spike to roughly 20k (this spike is more aggressive for smaller circles), but mellow out as covers either don’t get sold or copies leave the market. Eventually the majority of covers exist as a ‘seller’s market’ where only a few examples are left and the owner will not sell unless the buyer pays an exorbitant amount.

• Variants

Usually rare due to the logistics of Japanese printing, if lewder variants exist, these will generally be more expensive. Usually denoted by a variant name, or if where on a cover ‘fold exists’ (SJあり) as a variant, the ‘fold’ or ‘suji’ referring to the line that is considered the limit of details on the genitals allowable by most japanese printers. Inversely, covers that are 'barbie dolled', i.e. have nothing drawn down there like a doll, are often cheaper. These variants often exist due to rules at the convention where this cover was initially sold, or by restrictions from the printer.

Tools to check prices

Aucfan (https://aucfan.com/)

Website that keeps track of sold listings on YJA for up to three months (for free users), and up to ten years (for paid users). Only useful if a cover has been released recently, as the older the cover is released, the less data there is available.

Mandarake (https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/)

While a store where you can buy covers, you can also have a look if a cover is sold at certain prices as mandarake keep listings of sold out items. If the cover is within the first few pages and has been sold, it is likely that the price listed is fair or lower than what the cover can go for. Only really useful if you are trying to gauge the ‘potential’ price of a cover.

Surugaya Kaitori (https://www.suruga-ya.jp/search_buy?category=&search_word=)

This is a link to what Surugaya would be willing to pay you if you were to sell them a sealed copy of just about anything. Note that this is neither the price that they are selling at, nor confirmation that they have covers in stock and selling it. The going price of a cover would be around two to three times the amount that they are willing to buy the cover at. Search in Japanese.

Shipping

Now that you’ve ordered the items, you need to be able to bring it back home. As is with most things, you get what you pay for. Given the current environment, international shipping is incredibly delayed, with the delays getting exponentially larger the more you cheapass on the shipping costs. Note that some countries are unable to receive air mail if any service at all. Here’s a rough guide on what to expect.

If you are the kind of person who refreshes tracking daily and doesn’t want to see “left Japan/China on a boat” for 50 days straight, please use the express options.

Update 20/09/22: While for most users in the western world the pandemic is over, international shipping still remains sluggish due to the war in Ukraine cutting off Russian flyovers, and the long lasting knock on effects on supply and demand in the shipping market. EMS is slowly returning, or has returned to most countries but issues still persist with no sign of improving in the immediate future. It is still generally worth it to pay more for express, or cope with surface mail if no other options exist and pray your goods get delivered on time.

Maintaining your Cover and Inner

Now that you’ve received by this point (hopefully) your inner and cover, you need to ensure they last and stay in fine condition whether you use them or not

Hygiene, Self-care and Good Habits

Generally speaking, being a responsible and hygienic adult will not only get you far with your fluffy cover, but in real life as well (who knew?!). Being dirty and doing nasty things to the cover will cause stains and smells and will increase maintenance over time, and can reduce the useful life of your cover. Contrary to popular opinion, cumdumping your cover is not even close to ideal or how you should treat your covers.

Regardless of how careful you are, all tricot covers will pill or damage over time due to use. Pilling is the most common form of damage, where small cuts cause the fibre to bunch up and cause ‘antennas’ of fluff that spike out of the fabric, not dissimilar to how an old winter sweater may look. This is usually due to friction or rough contact, intentional or unintentional during your sleep. Taking care and precautions can help lighten the time a cover is usable significantly.

A few tips to keep in mind:

• Shower yourself before bed or before a hug session, after a long day you’re likely going to be sweaty and tired from the day’s work and the last thing you want is for all of that gunk to be transferred into your cover for you to bury your nose in. Ensure that you are completely dry before hugging, wet hair can cause fading similar to overwashing.
• Shave your face, and avoid laying your hair on the cover, stubble is prime material to create damage to covers, especially when you’re rubbing your face into the covers. Going in unshaved is like getting a coarse piece of sandpaper and scraping it all over.
• Clip and file your nails, and/or wear socks, sharp nails or pointy edges can also result in accidental damage, particularly with more fragile blends. Bed socks can mitigate any damage from your toes while proper hand care should sort your fingers.
• Keep rough and/or sharp objects away from your covers, this should be common sense. These can include zippers from other covers and clothes, jeans and other rough textured fabrics, as well as even certain embroidered blankets. This also includes printed shirts.

Other good maintenance tips:

• Fluff your inner often, this ensures that the stuffing remains evenly distributed and not clumped up together. This involves beating your inner from the seams from opposite sides inward throughout the entire cover. Holding it hanging from your hands from one end while fluffing the ends will also promote clumping away from the ends. This is the same technique you use when you receive your inner for the first time.
• Keep on a flat surface when not in use, this will ensure that long term bends don’t cause gaps or ‘kinks’ in the structure of your stuffing.

Yome Protector (嫁プロテクター)

If you are paranoid about damaging your cover, you can get a thin cloth cover to put on top of your cover while on the pillow inner. This acts as a guard against damage, with the downside being that the artwork will be covered in a slight white mesh, and you will no longer be able to feel the softness of the cover.

Only recommended if you are intent on avoiding any damage on the cover at all costs.
As this item is essentially a doujin good, as it is made by an avid independent hobbyist in Japan, it is created in small pre order batches.

There are three fastener types:

2.4 スナップボタン型: Snap buttons along the bottom of the cover

2.4A 側面ファスナー型: Zipper along the side of the inner

2.4B 紐閉じ型: Tighening cord along the bottom

There are two sizes that are ideal for different inners:

M - Generic pillows, Fules withAqua

L - DHR Series, Dakimakuri, Shiromofu Marumimi, Marshmallow Series

Video from the creator showcasing the product (R18 warning): https://twitter.com/cate_nary/status/1554476447284469760?s=21&t=NIhnqXio5uKwsO3BBbCEIg

Buy here (Forwarder/Proxy Buyer Required): https://catenary.booth.pm/items/4759997

Note, the person who made these items has recently passed away (Jan 2024).

It is currently uncertain if these will continue to be made.

https://twitter.com/CATE_NARY/status/1750337993372807389

Putting on your cover

Now that you have finally gotten your cover, it’s time to actually use it. However, brute forcing your cover onto your inner will only cause misery and even damage if you do it incorrectly. You can't put the cover on as you would normally a pillow purely because the inner itself is far too long and thick to put covers on carelessly. Higher end inners also have anti-slip linings on the outside that stop the cover rotating around the pillow while in use, however because of the added grip, it also increases the difficulty of putting a cover on.

If you can just drag your cover onto your pillow, you have either a really unfilled pillow, your inner has no anti-slip lining, or your inner has lost so much volume that it needs replacement.

The most popular method to put on a cover is often called the roll-up or ‘condom’ method, due to its similarity to correctly putting on a condom (not like most weebs would know anyway).

Washing Covers

As a general rule, covers should be washed at the same frequency you wash your bed covers and sheets, once every month or few weeks depending how clean you are in bed. If you use a single cover, beware of overwashing as this will lead to colour fade. If you rotate covers, washing after an average rotation time (about one-two weeks) will be fine as long as you go through enough covers before you get to the same cover twice (which is effectively washing the cover once every few months, with one week or so of use). If you are storing the daki after use, ensure that the cover is washed beforehand so that the cover does not develop smells from your body oils/dirt.

No matter your wash method, always avoid corrosives (bleach, vinegar, etc.) and anything that is fragrant (fabric softener, scented detergents, etc.). If in doubt, always err on the side of caution and use a weaker detergent. Always refer to the care tags for proper use and wash recommendations.

Japanese Fabric Care Tag Symbols

These are usually printed on the care tags of japanese fabrics, refer to the care tag for which of these apply to you. Different fabrics can be washed and cared for differently.

For a complete list, refer to this link, this table will only list logos commonly seen on care tags common on dakimakura covers. https://en.montbell.jp/products/goods/washing/

Hand Washing

Generally speaking, the most gentle washer of covers will be your own hands. Use a tub and a small amount of washing (non-bleach) detergent and scrub your covers. Allow to soak for a period of time afterwards (no more than an hour). Do not overstretch or be overzealous while agitating the water or scrubbing as this may cause damage. Ensure that your nails are filed or at least neatly trimmed so that they do not cause unnecessary scratch damage to the fabric.

Machine Washing

For the lazy of you who are not willing to hand wash, most fabrics can be washed in a washing machine. Older machines with agitators are not recommended. There is no real test whether your machine is safe except for giving it a shot, except there is a chance your cover may be damaged or shredded if you do not use a delicates bag.

General tips with this method:

• Use delicates or washing bags, and put the zipper inside the elastic cover band after closing the bag to prevent unzipping in the wash (highly recommended)
• Turn the cover inside out to avoid damage to the face of the fabric
• Cold water only, slowest speed, delicates cycle (or the most gentle setting possible)
• Use a small amount of bleach-free detergent, avoid softener where possible

Drying

After washing, leave the covers inside out and dry in the air in the shade away from sunlight. Do not put covers in the dryer as this will expose the cover to excessive heat and rough agitation from the tumbler. Ensure that the covers are completely dry if being stored after washing to avoid mold. If you are paranoid, keeping silica gel packets in the bag or container you keep your covers in will keep the covers from being in a moist environment in storage (after the cover has been given sufficient time to dry).

If you are paranoid about the covers not being dry enough before storage, using an unused silica gel packet and putting it into the bag with the daki can help. This does not replace completely drying out the cover however.

Inner Maintenance

Washing Inners

Generally speaking, inners do not need to be washed. If your inner is to be washed, do not put the inner as a whole in your washing machine, this will ruin your inner and the stuffing inside. Most high end inners have a zipper that allows you to remove the stuffing so you can wash the cover of your inner separately. If your inner needs a wash and does not have a zipper, replacing your inner is your best bet if the inner needs a wash. The cover of your inner can be washed in the same manner as a normal cover.

Declumping Inners

While your inner cover is in the wash it may also be efficient to declump your inner stuffing as well. You know you need to do this when stuffing gets noticeably clumped up and fluffing does not solve the issue. This will also need to be done when the cover has lost a lot of volume due to being compacted in the covers during use. Generally speaking, you can only really do this with inners that have a zipper that allows you to access the stuffing.

This process can take several hours (5-20+ hours) depending on the state of your pillow, so plan accordingly. This involves taking all the stuffing out of the inner and tearing the stuffing apart into small pieces, the smaller the better. Forks have been used (apparently) to assist in the process. The aim is to increase the amount of air between and inside your stuffing, this process will be more rewarding the longer you do this. After declumping, you will need to restuff your inner. The resulting inner will have a large increase in volume so putting covers on straight after may be difficult. Putting something on in the background will help the time go by.

Multiple users have noted that declumping can be very unfulfilling if it takes too long, so weigh your options first whether it’s better to replace, or you think it is practical enough to declump, or you’re not willing or have the money for a replacement. Good Inners can last years before replacement, but a pillow is a pillow. If it’s too disgusting, better to get a replacement.

Storage

Storing and Folding Covers

A common way to store cover is to fold them and put them into ziplock bags. Note that the methods discussed in this guide is not the only folding method, and this method is not the method printers fold their cover when the cover is shipped to you.

Note that when using ziplock bags, it is recommended to use silica gel packets to ensure that moisture that is trapped in doesn’t cause mold to grow. These can be bought in bulk cheaply at a hardware store or on ebay. Alternatively, or in addition to the above, the bags can be left almost sealed with a (very) small section left to have air circulate. Regardless of method, it is important that you ensure that the covers are completely dry before storing them to avoid mold growth.

Covers are also stored on hangers to avoid the fold creases one can run into. The hanger must be anti-slip coated to avoid the cover falling off, and must be at least 52cm or longer in width. These hangers can be too wide for most wardrobes so measuring before you buy hangers is recommended if you want to attempt this storage setup.

If you are uneasy about using standard ziplock bags, you can instead opt for archival quality BOPP resealable ziplock bags. Suppliers of these bags change and vary based on the region of the world you live in. Usually involves a minimum order quantity of at least 100 or more.

Square Fold

This method is useful for those who are limited on space, and can be compacted even smaller depending on the user. This method will fit into a 27cm x 27cm bag, but can fit into a smaller 27cm x 15cm bag if you fold one more time after the time shown.

Rectangle A4/AP Fold

An alternate method can also be seen using the same form factor as a Fules Cover/A4 sheet of paper, the upside being that the folds are more evenly distributed throughout the cover instead of being biassed on one side over the other. As a result, this format tends to stack better if you intend on stacking multiple covers on top of each other outside of a box. This folding technique uses 27cm x 35cm bags.

An A4 piece of paper (with the corners cut and made rounded) can be used to act as a guide for folding and give the cover shape in the bag. The paper provided in AquaPremier covers can also work as they are roughly the same size.

Note that this current folding format is slightly too top heavy.

An updated guide for a new method will be added at a later time.

Old Rectangle Fold

Method only here for reference for people who wish to refer to this guide which was the original tutorial listed in this guide. Has the downside of having imbalanced folding where one side can be almost twice as thick as the other, which can lead to a stack of covers folded this way to slip and fall if not stacked in an alternating order.

Hanging Covers

A popular way to hold covers without causing undue damage is by the use of magnets and some DIY. You will need neodymium magnets in combination with hanging strip refills, which can be bought at amazon at the links provided.

Each magnet comes with double sided mounting tape and plastic spacers. Attach a spacer to the magnet to reduce the attractive force slightly so that the cover isn't in an iron grip when hung, then stick the magnet onto a hanging strip refill. This hanging strip is then stuck onto the wall and can be removed to adjust. Put two magnets into the top corners of the cover, then meet them up with the magnets on the wall. A metal rod can also be used here.

You can see this in action here: https://imgur.com/gallery/5heCB (Original link dead due to imgur fuckery)

Storing Inners

Inners can be stored in vacuum packed bags when not in use, however it is not recommended to keep the inner in vacuum for long, as manufacturers request that covers should be removed out of vacuum packaging as soon as possible when new. When taken out of vacuum bags, inners should be left on a flat surface with no cover and unused for at least a day to allow the stuffing to regain air.

If covers are to be left in your bed and kept away from prying eyes, overcovers are also available to hide the cover to make the pillow appear to be a normal body/maternity pillow. These are usually in plain colours for maximum disguise.

Kuri sells specialised vacuum bags here: https://dakimakuri.com/shop/item/compression-bag

Also overcovers here: https://dakimakuri.com/shop/item/overcover

Communities

There are a few communities where you can ask if you are in help or are generally curious. Note that these communities are generally R18 and are English focused. Most of the Japanese dakimakura community are active on twitter.

General disclaimer however because:

>reddit

>discord

>communities

These include:

• Dakimakuras Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/Dakimakuras/)
  Highly regulated. If you wish to ask questions, post as a comment in the monthly pinned question thread or the mods will ban you if you text post a question. Image posting of loot and other daki is fine. Do not link taobao stores or promote bootlegs here.
• Dakimakura Discord (https://discord.gg/8CegPPaeqD or https://discord.gg/dakimakura)

Most western circles and some other independent japanese circles are contactable directly here. Can also ask here for general advice or if a shop is legit or not. Promoting bootleggers or artists related to them will get you a ban as it is directly a sore spot for them (for obvious reasons). To get access to the shop info channel and other things, you need to be a regular (i.e. participate often enough in discussion that the mods know you’re not a random, and grant you the role). Don’t post loli/shota as discord generally doesn’t like that, you will get banned. There is an associated rocket chat for those who want to post what discord ToS will not allow on their platform.

[Update 29/01] This discord (but not the rocket) is sfw only due to reporting of flat chests.

Other communities exist if you lurk more and find them, as long as you have thick enough skin.

You can find them yourself, this guide is plenty spoonfeedy already.

Commissioning

Setting up your own Commission

Truly the final stage for those who want the best daki experience, and definitely not for the faint of heart.
The only solace for those who after all their research couldn’t find the daki of their dreams. Where no artist has been interested in your favourite character, or all the available designs in the wild just dont do your character justice Well it’s time to make your own.

Getting into daki commissioning is the endgame for a lot of people in the hobby usually due to the sheer amount of cost, however this is the area that has the least ‘hard rules’ or guidelines to follow. Generally speaking, dakimakura commissions follow four rough steps.

• Finding an artist who is willing to draw
• Negotiating details, setting up a ‘commission/reference sheet’
• Pasting the artist, and providing feedback during the drawing
• Printing the design

The most important rule about commissioning is that there are no hard rules, the whole process will change depending on the artist and the commission itself. While the guide may provide some general guidelines, do not take anything here as gospel.

Finding an Artist

The first thing you need to do is find an artist who would be willing to draw.

Multiple western circles can assist you with getting into contact with artists they have worked with before, often for a fee. The price will vary depending on the artist, but it is not cheap, some charging at least four figures. Western circles will also manage printing and logistics for you as well, however they will have the option to sell your design on their shopfront if you go through them. The upside is by going through these circles, you get access to cheaper commissions, but the downside is that they retain the artwork for commercial use, because they are subsidising your commission by often 50% or more.

If you don't wish for this to happen, you can contact the artist directly for a personal commission.

The best way to find artists is to check through their previous posts on pixiv or twitter. You want to look for someone who hits multiples of the details below. The more that they hit, the better the commission will turn out.

• Has drawn the character you want, or has an interest in the series
• Has an artstyle that you personally like
• Has interest in the ‘archetype’ (Mecha Musume, Onee-sans, Magical Girls, etc.)
• Has the same kinks/fetishes/degree of lewdness that you want on your cover
• Has drawn covers before, either for a circle or as a private commission

If an artist isn't interested in what you like, they will likely ignore you, reject your request, or do a terrible job. The majority of artists who have not drawn daki covers may not reply or even respond to your request, even well established circles can have trouble with contacting new artists. As the artist is drawing the cover, they need to be interested too. Artists don't owe you anything, so they are only ever willing to draw what they are happy to do so.

When contacting an artist, be respectful. If they have a commissions list or request post, use their process. Do not contact artists when their commissions are closed, or where they state that they do not draw dakimakura. Language barrier may also be an issue, some artists may not be open to a commission where the commissioner cannot speak their language.

When contacting an artist, it may be good to ask what they are happy to draw and what areas are out. This can include (but not limited to) series, age, body type, level of lewdness, particular fetishes etc. It's best to lay this groundwork so you are not requesting things that the artist is uncomfortable with. Generally speaking, don’t ask for extreme fetishes unless the artist has drawn that kind of situation before.

As doujin and paid work for copyrighted material is a legal gray area, some artists will only accept paid work for properties that are licenced for personal use by the IP holder, please refer to this spreadsheet: List of Series/IP that have allowed personal/doujin rights

Setting up references, the commission sheet/brief

This is usually done when you contact an artist or during the negotiation process, however this changes depending on the artist. Some would prefer you send a brief at the first request, others will request the brief after agreeing to the idea in principle. Generally speaking, you will only present the brief after the artist has agreed to draw for you in principle.

The brief is a document, not often longer than a few pages that lists how you want the cover to be done. If the artist isn't familiar with the character, provide images of the character and highlight important parts that the artist has to pay close attention to. If you have a character design sheet, that would be ideal. Setting this document up can take a few minutes to months depending on your thought process and how exact you want to be.

Ideally, a cover at a high level should tell a ‘story’ or have a ‘premise’ for the best results, whether it is either plainly ‘my waifu is embarrassed on the bed’ to elaborate themes such as school/gym settings, damage after combat, humbling a kusogaki, or similar. It can be as simple as ‘lying on the bed on one side, embarrassed on the other’. If you can convey what the daki should be at a top level, this will make planning the smaller details easier from posing down to expressions. Always set up what the premise or concept of the artwork should be.

If you have a pose in mind, find references that have something similar to what you want, if you can roughly draw them that would be ideal. If you can't, grab a posable figure and attempt the pose, or find covers previously drawn to use as guides. The same will go for expressions, try to find as many expressions that are in the ballpark of what you want, you want to communicate the idea of what you want.

Be as detailed as possible. This document will be the main way that you will communicate what you want on the cover. Any detail that you do not fill will be left at the discretion of the artist, whether you like this is dependent on you, if you trust the artist with the details, then you can afford to be less specific. However, always take on board feedback from the artist, if they say something wont work, it probably won't.

A great example of going behind the thought process of a (very detailed) commission can be found here (written by Branta, translated by the author from chinese to english). Brief introduction to designing Goddess of Love Narmaya

Payment and progression

This is the part that is the most pivotal for whether a commission is done or not. Generally speaking there are no guides on how much a commission is worth, this is decided upon based on how you negotiate details, and how much the artist believes they are worth. Commissions can become very expensive very quickly, and are mainly considered endgame for many purely because of raw cost alone. The low end of commissions can start from $250, but $2500 is not unheard of, with some well known artists known to charge five figures. Generally speaking the following details will make a commission more expensive:

• Keeping the commission private
• Not allowing the artist to share via their fanbox/fantia/gumroad/patreon etc.

• Commercial licence or rights to print for the intent to sell the printed design
• How busy the artist is/amount in queue (the more busy, the more expensive)
• Level of detail required (body detail requirements, any mecha, background details, etc)

Generally speaking, commissions are paid throughout the process, usually split into 25/25/25/25

(25% to start, 25% after sketching, 25% after colour proofing, 25% at completion). This however can and does vary between artists, and payment may be requested at different times at different amounts. Most western artists prefer upfront whole payment, most japanese artists will request payment upon completion.

Also, always ask for change or revision policy. Oftentimes artists will allow a certain amount of free revisions, but will charge afterwards depending on difficulty. Some will allow major changes during the sketch phase, some will not allow any changes past sketches without payment. Always clarify with your artist how their revision policy works. It is important to provide feedback where appropriate, and changes should be notified at the earliest stage possible to avoid burning your wallet, and wasting the artist’s time. Do not wait until the artwork is almost completed to request a major change, this should only be done at the sketch phase. Poor communication can lead to the artist abandoning your commission project.

Before proceeding, always clarify at what stage you pay your artist, and when extra charges are incurred. This will avoid any grief and will ensure that things will progress as smoothly as possible.

Drawing Tips and Guidelines

The artwork is recommended to be for the standard size to be 54cm x 166cm (According to the P80 print template). The extra size is to allow for bleed, which is where you draw parts that are not to be shown, so that when the fabric is cut and sewn, any discrepancies will be covered up by the excess in artwork. It’s essentially a safety margin. There is also a safe area which is essentially a ‘bleed in reverse’, this area will be visible, but keep important details out of this area as it may be cropped out in the print.

The absolute minimum DPI is 150dpi for printing, however most circles recommend at least 200dpi, with 250dpi and 300dpi also common. There is however, usually a tradeoff between clean lines and the DPI, the larger the size of the canvas is, the more the faults of the artist can be magnified, and the more beefed up a computer has to be to handle a multi layered artwork at that size. Artists have reported that the large canvases can make drawing laggy depending on their hardware, and multiple artists have had their machine made inoperable due to file size.

For the technically minded:

• Bleed: 2cm from each side, 3cm from the top and bottom
• Safe Area (area that may be cropped): 1.5cm inwards from each side after the bleed
• Canvas size for 54cm x 166cm (Canvas can change depending on the printer)::

• 150dpi: 3189px x 9803px
• 175dpi: 3721px x 11437px
• 200dpi: 4252px x 13071px [P80/Kuri/CO] (Recommended Minimum)
• 250dpi: 5315px x 16339px [Fules 5266px x 16142px]
• 300dpi: 6378px x 19607px

When drawing, a few tips to keep in mind

• Make sure the head and top are not too close to the edges of the cover, this is because pillows slope away from the middle to reach the other side, so keep the face lower so that the character’s face is on the ‘flat side’ away from the slope at the top. If in doubt, use samples from other circles to check the gap
• When checking for lines, view the artwork first at 100% with a pixel to pixel ratio to ensure that the linework is clean. Check again while putting the zoom where the size of the cover on the screen is equal to the print size on your screen (the exact zoom will depend on your monitor and the DPI of the artwork, you may need a ruler to measure appropriately. If the cover looks good at this scale, it will be okay to print.
• Clean lines and consistent colouring are more important than DPI. Higher resolutions are only good if the artwork has clean and even lines. If the artist has issues with a higher DPI, consider lowering the canvas size (but do not go below 150dpi). The dpi is a magnifying factor, if the lines are clean, then the artwork will look better at a higher dpi, if there are flaws, they will be exaggerated if the DPI is high.
• Be patient. Most artists would be very unfamiliar at drawing at this scale, and as a result, artwork can take a decent amount of time even for the most experienced daki artist. Oftentimes, the artist is learning at the same time you are about the process.
• Use the original size that was drawn by the artist when sending to the printer, do not upscale or resize as this may cause flaws during printing. It is important that you request the proper size when commissioning the artwork from the artist.

Custom Printing

If you have your own designs, western circles can and will happily print for you your design if you have proof that the artist has given you permission. They will not put your design on their website if you do not use their commission service, and use their custom print service instead. Most western and chinese circles own their own printers.

If you are contacting a Japanese circle to print for you to get access to Japanese fabric, keep in mind that a minimum amount of covers must be printed for the printer to accept the order. This is 12 for Fules, 20 for Shiromoufu, and 20 for A&J (used to be 50 until they dropped their minimum order quantity recently). This can be quite an expensive investment. The circle will also often charge a service fee (usually 10%) to cover the work that they are doing acting as the middleman between you and the printer.

Note that if you are printing with a Japanese printer (that is not P80) you will need to follow certain print guidelines, and this will change from printer to printer. Generally speaking however:

• No gore or grotesque imagery (amputation, excessive blood etc.)
• No extreme expression where the character is “in grave fear of being hugged/embraced”
• No toddlers, or characters that (to a reasonable person) is excessively underage
• No detailed female genitalia or what is known as ‘spread’
• Female genitals if drawn are limited to either:

• A single line with no branches (Also referred to as a fold, suji, SJ)
• No solid lines but deep shadows visible

• Male genitals are to be reviewed on a case per case basis
• The printer reserves the right to refuse a design on other legal or excessive grounds

Japanese printers will usually send a colour proof to check for colour results, and if the image needs to be adjusted before the print run. Below are examples of what to expect.

Fules provides one test print.

The full sized print is the image ‘unadjusted’ which is the closest match to the colour output of the source.

Outputs 1 through to 4 are adjustments that you can choose which vary different values. You can choose to print ‘unadjusted’ or any of the ‘numbered’ adjustments.