Two books devoted to images of hamsters’ posteriors have already sold nearly 40,000 copies combined in Japan, according to the publishers, with a third book set for release later this month. Fans of the craze have coined the term “hamuketsu,” which combines “hamster” and “ketsu,” or buttocks in Japanese. “The photos in the book are all shots of hamuketsu,” Yukako Minami, a spokeswoman at Sekai Bunka Publishing Inc., said. The company released “Kawaisa-ni Monzetsu Hamuketsu,” or “Hamuketsu–So Cute You Could Faint,” on April 19, with an initial print run of 7,000 copies. “We’ve had multiple reprints and already shipped 30,000 copies total” since then, Ms. Minami said.

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