Kinokuniya's coffee shop - A cultural crossroads that sprouted in Shinjuku in the early Showa period

Kinokuniya's coffee shop - A cultural crossroads that sprouted in Shinjuku in the early Showa period

In Shinjuku, which experienced rapid development after the Great Kanto Earthquake in the early Showa period (1926-1989), Kinokuniya became more than just a bookstore; it became a cultural center. In 1930, an auditorium was built on the second floor, where writers, students, and artists gathered to discuss their work. It also had a coffee shop, where writers such as Masuji Ibushi and Sei Ito frequented and engaged in literary discussions.

At that time, there were few places in Tokyo other than universities and literary clubs where people could casually discuss literature, and the bookstore's coffee shop functioned as an intellectual salon where anyone could come and go. In addition, Nakamuraya established a coffee shop department in 1927, offering modern menu items such as curry, and Shinjuku was nurturing a coffee shop culture. Kinokuniya's coffee shop was a mechanism for people to stay in a space surrounded by books, where they could "read, talk, and relax" in succession.

Eventually, Kinokuniya published "Kinokuniya Getsuppo," a magazine introducing new publications, and after the war, Kinokuniya developed into a large-scale facility with a main Shinjuku building and a hall. The background of this development was its role as a "plaza of knowledge," which took shape in the early Showa period. Kinokuniya's coffee shop became the cornerstone that made Shinjuku the "Mecca of knowledge," and it continued to have an important meaning as a center where culture and the city intersected.