One of the most famous stories to appear in the magazine was The Usurer (Konjiki Yasha) (also known as The Golden Demon) by Ozaki Kōyō, who based two of the characters in the play on Ōhashi Shintarō (大橋　新太郎) (son of the founder of the company) and Tomiyama Tadatsugu.

At the beginning of 1895, Hakubunkan began publishing the general interest magazine Taiyō (太陽, lit.

[2] Its early contributors included Kawakami Bizan, Hirotsu Ryurō, Kosugi Tengai, Izumi Kyoka and Higuchi Ichiyo.

Due to the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, the building which housed the headquarters of Hakubunkan was destroyed by fire, and the company relocated to the Tozaki area of Koishikawa, Tokyo (now part of Bunkyō Ward).

After the magazine Taiyō ceased publication in 1927, Hakubunkan continued to operate in the red, finally splitting into three companies in 1948: Hakuyūsha, Kōyūsha, and Kōbunkan.