What Is a Yume-Joshi? Self-Insert Fandom, Dream Fiction and How It Differs From Fujoshi

It’s fun to imagine “what if my oshi talked to me?” Here are the basic terms of yume-joshi and dream culture, the story behind name-conversion fiction, how it differs from fujoshi, and the manners for publishing your work.

What Yume-Joshi Means

Yume-joshi (夢女子, literally “dream women”) are women who enjoy imagining a relationship between themselves (or an avatar character who stands in for them) and their oshi or a character. Men are called “yume-danshi.”

The relationship is not limited to romance. Partners, childhood friends, family, rivals: enjoying “what if I were in the story” in general is the realm of yume.

Basic Terms of Yume Culture

YumeImagining "what if I were in the story"

• Yume-shosetsuFiction that reflects the reader
• YumenushiYour avatar in the story
• Namae henkanSwap in your own name
• NarikawariStep into a character's place

Examples

• “I’m a yume-joshi, and I love imagining stories between my oshi and me.”
• “I started working out my yumenushi’s settings and the night was gone.”
• “I’m an omnivore who can do both fu (BL) and yume.”
• “My yumenushi is less a stand-in for me than a second original protagonist.”

The Origin of Yume Culture: The Invention of Name Conversion

Yume culture traces back to the “name-conversion fiction” (dream fiction) of the personal-website era. Readers typed in their own name, and the protagonist in the story was called by it. That invention, which makes the reader a participant in the story, established yume as a culture.

Afterward, as it moved from mobile sites to posting sites and social media, yume culture widened its range of expression. Beyond the pleasure of reading “as yourself” through name conversion, there is the pleasure of letting a carefully built original yumenushi shine, and of drawing relationships in illustrations (yume-e). Today yume is a genre with a remarkably rich variety of ways to use the imagination.

1. Personal-website eraName-conversion fictionType your name, become the protagonist
2. Mobile sitesCulture spreadsYume follows readers to phones
3. Posting sites and social mediaWider expressionOriginal yumenushi and yume-e art

Each move added new ways to use the imagination.

How It Differs From Fujoshi: The Position of the Viewpoint

Even among fans of the same work, the structure of enjoyment is completely different. That is exactly why a culture of respecting each other’s territory and keeping separate spaces developed.

From the outside

Fujoshi

• Enjoys relationships between characters
• The characters are the stars

From the inside

Yume-joshi

• Enjoys your avatar's bond with a character
• You plus the character are the stars

Same works, different structure of enjoyment, so fans keep their spaces apart.

Common Misunderstandings

• Yume isn’t only romantic fantasy. Imagining relationships in general, such as partners, family and rivals, is the realm of yume
• A yumenushi isn’t always a self-insert. Some people overlay themselves exactly, while others build the yumenushi as an independent original character
• It’s a different thing from gachikoi. Yume is a culture of enjoying relationships in an imagined world; gachikoi is real romantic feelings for a real-life oshi. They’re easily confused, but the fandom sphere keeps them distinct

Manners in Yume Culture

• Zoning. Some people can’t stand yume (jirai, landmines), so separate spaces with tags and search avoidance (kensakuyoke)
• Be especially careful with yume of real people. Making sure it doesn’t reach their eyes is the basic premise
• Don’t deny other people’s yumenushi. A yumenushi is that person’s avatar. Denying it comes close to a personal attack

Checklist Before Publishing Yume Works

When you put yume fiction or art on a posting site or social media, these are the notice-writing conventions the fandom sphere has settled on.

• I marked it clearly as “yume” in the tags (yume, dream, name conversion and so on, matching the site’s conventions)
• I wrote in the notice whether it has name conversion or not, and whether the yumenushi is a strongly original character
• I put information that lets people who dislike it avoid it first: romance, sexual content, violent expression and so on
• If it’s about a real person, I chose a place that won’t reach them (search avoidance, locked account, dedicated site)
• I haven’t mixed the work title or official tags into official tags that people who dislike yume also browse
• It contains no expressions that deny other people’s yumenushi or pairings (kappuringu)

Yume and pairings, yume and BL: these pleasures sit side by side within the same work. Respect each other’s tags, and protect yourself from areas you dislike by muting and tweaking your searches. Not denying any way of enjoying is the manner of coexistence this sphere has shared. Tastes split even within yume (with or without name conversion, a heavily original yumenushi and so on), so the culture of stating them beforehand in notices is carefully kept up.

1. 01Tag it as yumeMatch the site's conventions
2. 02State the typeName conversion or original yumenushi
3. 03Put warnings firstRomance, sexual or violent content
4. 04Choose the placeOut of sight for real people
5. 05Respect other tagsNever deny other ways to enjoy

Notes From The Oshi Lab: Design That Lets You Become a Participant

Yume culture shows that fans don’t always want to be the audience of the story. A game’s protagonist viewpoint, an idol’s “quasi-boyfriend/girlfriend” content, immersive events: design that lets “you become a participant in the relationship” is in fact a major trend in commercial content too. Yume-joshi culture is an early example, showing that demand in its purest form.

The concrete lesson for businesses is the power of being called by name. A simple mechanism like name conversion has been loved for nearly a quarter century because the moment you’re addressed by your own name, your distance from the story shrinks at once. If you reframe personalization as emotional design rather than a cost, yume culture is the best teaching material.

Related Terms

Fujoshi / Kappuringu (pairings) / Gachikoi / Nijisousaku (fan works)