Several such groups actually consist of a single artist: they are sometimes called kojin sākuru ( 個人サークル, personal circles). Groups of doujinshi artists refer to themselves as a sākuru ( サークル, circle). Part of a wider category of doujin (self-published) works, doujinshi are often derivative of existing works and created by amateurs, though some professional artists participate in order to publish material outside the regular industry.
Doujinshi ( 同人誌), also romanized as dōjinshi, is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels.
