After Kinokuniya opened up its first store in the US in San Francisco (1969), a branch in New York followed suit (1981). This store was originally located in Rockefeller Center in its early days, but soon moved in 2007 to where it currently resides now, right on 6th Avenue and across from Bryant Park. The New York location effectively became the flagship branch of the Kinokuniya stores in the US. According to the NYT, the original New York branch established in Rockefeller Center was meant to serve the interests of the Japanese community. The location move also symbolized a shift to appeal to a greater population. Kinokuniya still aims to showcase aspects of Japanese culture to clientele through its varied inventory.
Though Kinokuniya serves to exemplify Japanese culture, in the New York branch, there has been a great increase in English language books in order to appeal to the greater mass and diversity of the city. In fact, now 75% of the books here are written in the English language, whether they be based on Japanese culture, fandom, or Western novels. The increase in English language books also arose from the growing second/third/fourth generation Japanese Americans who prefer to read in English rather than Japanese, yet still want to maintain their Japanese culture.
