とらのあな is a famous chain of doujin shops established in the 90s. とら (tora) means tiger (the kanji 虎), and あな (ana) means hole (the kanji 穴). So basically とらのあな can be translated into Tiger’s Hole. The name was inspired by the group 虎の穴 from the manga タイガーマスク (Tiger Mask).

とらのあな, rooted in Akihabara, had been expanding as doujin culture flourished in Japan. In its peak there were double digits number of stores all across Japan (and one in Taiwan).

However, since the covid pandemic, it has been increasingly hard for such business to run. Over the last three years there has already been multiple shops shut down. And on today July 5, many doujin creators received a letter from とらのあな that five more shops are to be closed on the end of August (Akihabara A, Shinjuku, Chiba, Namba, and Umeda), leaving only few operating. For example, in September there would only be one とらのあな left in Tokyo (in Ikebukuro).

The pandemic has crushed many industries. Those not dead yet like とらのあな are stil struggling to make do. Good luck to them.