Kinokuniya of the Past 

The ’80s

According to a study done by Richard Alba, in the 1980s, the New York Japanese population totaled 29,398, with 47.92% of the community residing in central cities (Alba, 1995). Moving from an unaccounted, small population in the 1970s to a little over 14,000 Japanese inhabiting New York’s central cities, it is unsurprising that a year later, in 1981, Kinokuniya opened its doors at Rockefeller Center. It is within this decade that ‘Little Tokyo’ was fostered on the Lower East Side in the vicinity of East 9th Street.

Unlike most foreigners at the time, the Japanese were not here to stay permanently, but rather came for an extended period of time to either study or work in growing transnational/ multinational businesses (Onishi, 1995). Economic growth in Japan especially spurred the transfer of its citizens to New York. As a result, compared to other immigrant groups who carved out their own niches in New York City, the Japanese population remained scattered throughout the city and suburbs despite the small, slow growing ‘Little Tokyo’ culture. Kinokuniya, therefore played a crucial role as a hub or meeting place for the Japanese in its central Rockefeller Center location.

The ’90s

This sentiment became especially true in the following decade as the number of Japanese residing in New York City rose to over 17,000 in the 1990s (Alba, 1995). One incident in particular, the Kobe Earthquake of 1995, also nicknamed ‘Great Hanshin Earthquake’ was highlighted by the New York Times. Occurring in the Hanshin metropolitan area of Western Japan, the earthquake happened in January and was rated a 7.3 by the Richter scale (Encyclopedia Britannica ). Those in America who had left behind family members in Japan were especially affected and found comfort in the New York Kinokuniya as they gathered there searching the list posted of names of the dead, while being surrounded by those who felt the same connection to their home country. The New York Times interview with Kenzo Minami, 20 at the time, sums up the connection perfectly as Mr. Minami is described spending, “Wednesday at Kinokuniya’s coffee bar, watching Japanese news broadcast on their TV”, awaiting news of the earthquake survivors (Onishi, 1995).

 

The ’00s

Kinokuniya solidified  and centralized the recreation of Japanese living in New York cities and suburbs in the late 1900s. Companies such as Sakura Bank and Kobe Steel brought over workers who sought to recreate Japanese suburban living in areas of Westchester and even extended to New Jersey, and Connecticut (Onishi, 1995). Yet, a recession in the late 1990s into the early 2000s in Japan led to the drawback of international business, and as a result, withdrawal of international workers.

Presently…

The change in location of Kinokuniya perfectly aligned with the recession in Japan. With the declining Japanese population in New York City, Kinokuniya‘s message and goals became more internationally and outreach-focused. The current location overlooks Bryant Park, a lively area that hosts a number of events, especially during the summer and garners international attention. Kinokuniya is also within close walking distance to Grand Central and Times Square. Kinokuniya’s high volume of tourist consumers could be attributed to its central location among these places of interest. Due to its proximity to these three major sites, Kinokuniya can be accessed through almost every major New York City Transit subway line. 42nd Street — Bryant Park serves the 7, B, D, F, and M lines, Grand Central serves the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S lines, and Times Square offers the 1, 2, 3, 7, A, C, E, N, Q, R, W, and S lines. Kinokuniya is nearby 19 different subway lines, and as a result, people from all around the New York City area can visit. Lastly, Times Square is also a hub for the Port Authority Bus Terminal, while Grand Central services the Metro-North, so Kinokuniya’s clientele can easily come from New Jersey and New York suburbs. These statistics can help place into context Kinokuniya’s growing and diverse consumer base. Although the store is surrounded by one or two Japanese restaurants, the surrounding area is generally multicultural, hosting everything from chic Swedish coffee shops to fancy Italian restaurants. Of course being one of the most easily accessible areas in the city by subway and public transportation, Kinokuniya especially flourishes.

Manager Takano explains that much of the clientele are tourists from not only Japan, but also Europe, along with non-Japanese Americans who generally come for manga, art books, and stationary. To draw an even wider audience, and take advantage of the increased influx of people, the bookstore hosts a number of culturally related events during the summer ranging from Folk Tale Storytime to Calligraphy viewings.

Yet, Kinokuniya is still somewhat reliant on the Japanese communities surrounding and created by outsourcing corporations. Manager Takano adds that although there are no plans to expand or open new stores in New York, the recent move of the Japanese company, Toyota, has led to the growth the Japanese community in Texas. The new store opened in February of this year. Interestingly enough, Kinokuniya has established itself in former corporation created Japanese communities such as Edgewater, NJ, Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA, etc.—but with the very different goal of garnering international clientele.

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