Rights Management for Hope Princess Santaria: Report on the License Transfer to a Church Corporation in California

Summary

As of today, the management of the rights to “XmasFantasy OKURU Hope Princess Santaria” has been transferred, after being arranged in a legally rigorous and clear manner, to a church corporation registered in the State of California, United States. This does not transfer full ownership to the corporation. What has been transferred is the right of expression and other comprehensive rights, including the rights relating to sale and distribution. The transfer was made by license; the copyright itself has not been transferred and remains with the individual author. The transfer takes effect today.

Under this arrangement, the copyright rests with the individual, while the right of expression and related comprehensive rights rest with the corporation. By separating the vessels that protect the work, we hope to ensure that the work itself will never disappear because of any one person's circumstances. This change places no burden or inconvenience on our readers, but because it concerns the foundation of the work, we wish to report it as accurately as possible. We thank you for your continued interest in this work.

Background

The direct occasion was the author's participation in a networking gathering held in Kyoto. While listening to people who serve as heads of business corporations, the author found it no longer possible to wholeheartedly embrace the idea of running the work as a commercial, for-profit undertaking. This is not a question of which approach is right. What the author truly wished to do was to stand beside those living in poverty and those who carry weakness.

To give shape to that wish, a non-profit corporation with a religious foundation was needed. In Japan, however, prejudice and misunderstanding toward religious corporations remain deeply rooted, and the institutional requirements tend to be heavy. In light of these circumstances, the author chose to register the corporation overseas, in the United States. The procedures have been carried out remotely from Japan over the internet, through a local registered agent.

To the best of the author's recollection, the procedures began around November 2025 and the registration was completed around January 2026. The exact dates will be added to this page after the documents have been checked. We believe that refraining from stating uncertain matters as fact is also part of being sincere.

This work began on a small online posting site. It started simply from a wish to write, without knowing how many people, if any, were reading. When the author took part in Comic Market, the work was not yet presented at the forefront, and participation was as an individual. No copies were distributed, and in that quiet the author first began to think seriously about what kind of vessel should carry this work to its readers. The present review of rights management is a continuation of that reflection.

Additional notes

We believe there are still very few, if any, examples of manga and anime content held by a non-profit organization. The Church has a strong interest in whether such a model can stand, one in which a work exists not merely for sales, but to loosen someone's despair and open a hope that had been hidden. We will open that door little by little.

The work will continue to be published for our readers as before. If you have any questions or would like anything confirmed, please feel free to contact us. We would be grateful for your continued warm support.