:Jimbōchō Book Town
{{Short description|Book town in Kanda-Jinbōchō, Tokyo, Japan}}
File:Yaguchi Book Store and Koga Book Store.jpg
{{nihongo|Jimbōchō Book Town|神田神保町古書街|Kanda Jinbōchō Koshogai|alternately Jinbōchō Book Town|lead=yes}}
and also known as {{nihongo|Kanda Book Town|神田古書店街|Kanda Koshoten Gai|lead=yes}}, is a book town located in the district of Kanda-Jinbōchō in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The area is known for its high volume and concentration of used bookstores. It additionally houses the headquarters for multiple major Japanese publishing companies, as well as campuses for several universities.
History
File:University students at Kanda bookstore district circa 1930.JPG
Multiple universities and schools established campuses around Jinbōchō, Tokyo following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, including the University of Tokyo, the Gakushuin, Tokyo Women's Normal School, and Senshu College, among others. The presence of these institutions attracted bookstores catering to university professors and students that sold textbooks and other academic reference materials.
The area continued as a primarily student district until the 1930s, a decade that saw the development of a robust secondhand book market across Japan. This was motivated by the production of so-called {{ill|One yen book{{!}}one yen books|ja|円本}} – paperbacks that could be cheaply produced on a mass scale, and which significantly widened the availability of books among the general Japanese public. One yen books were published in a range of categories and genres (such as literature, reference books, and manga) and flowed into the secondhand book market, promoting the development of secondhand bookstores in Japan generally and Jimbōchō Book Town specifically. Stores selling rare and specialty titles began to proliferate in Jimbōchō Book Town in the 1950s.
In 2009, there were roughly 150 second-hand bookstores in Jimbōchō Book Town; as of 2021, the Kanda Bookstore Federation reports that Jimbōchō Book Town has 176 used bookstores,{{cite web |url=http://jimbou.info/index.html |title=Jimbou Book Town |access-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127135446/http://jimbou.info/index.html |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |language=Japanese}} constituting roughly one-third of all secondhand bookstores in Japan. The rise of online shopping for books in the 2010s led to a reported decline in customers at stores in Jimbōchō Book Town; these pressures have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which in 2020 forced the temporary closure of approximately 90 percent of the neighborhood's bookstores.{{cite web |title=東京 神田神保町の古書店 約９割が休業継続 新型コロナ |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200512/k10012426691000.html |website=NHK |access-date=May 21, 2021 |language=Japanese |date=May 12, 2020}}
Notable establishments
Jimbōchō Book Town houses the headquarters of multiple major Japanese publishing companies including Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Iwanami Shoten, the lattermost of which established its headquarters in Jimbōchō Book Town in 1913 and also operates its flagship bookstore in the area. Several other publishing companies operate flagship bookstores in Jimbōchō Book Town, notably {{ill|Sanseido Bookstore|ja|三省堂書店}} and {{ill|Shosen Grande|ja|書泉}}.{{cite web |title=神田神保町 新刊書店一覧 |url=http://jimbou.info/list/nb_list.html |website=Jimbou Book Town |access-date=May 21, 2021 |language=Japanese}} Multiple universities continue to operate campuses in the area, including Nihon University, Meiji University, Hosei University, Juntendo University, and Senshu University.
Location and transportation access
Book Town is concentrated along {{ill|Tokyo Metropolitan Road No. 302 Shinjuku Ryogoku Line{{!}}Yasukuni-dori Avenue|ja|東京都道302号新宿両国線}} between the Surugadaishita and Sendai-mae intersections, and along {{ill|Hakusan-dori Avenue|ja|白山通り}} between the Jimbōchō intersection and Suidōbashi Station. The area is served by Ochanomizu Station (connecting to the JR Chūō Rapid and Chūō-Sōbu lines) and Jimbōchō Station (connecting to the Toei Shinjuku and Mita lines, and the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon line).{{cite web |title=Access |url=http://jimbou.info/access/index.html |website=Jimbou Book Town |access-date=February 24, 2021 |language=Japanese}}
Gallery
File:Japanese student in bookstore street, Kanda-Jinbochō, Tokyo (1967-05-02 by Roger W).jpg|Streets of Jimbōchō Book Town in 1967
File:Used books 001.jpg|Shelves of used books at a store in Jimbōchō Book Town
File:Used bookstore in Jinbōchō 001.jpg|Sidewalk book shelves at a store in Jimbōchō Book Town
File:Used bookstore in Jinbōchō 003.jpg|Interior of a store in Jimbōchō Book Town
File:Sanseido-Bookstore-Building-01.jpg|{{ill|Sanseido Bookstore|ja|三省堂書店}} flagship store in Jimbōchō Book Town
File:Shosen Grande (2006.05.05).jpg|{{ill|Shosen Grande|ja|書泉}}
References
External links
{{Commons|Category:Second-hand bookshops in Kanda-Jinbocho|Second-hand bookshops in Kanda-Jinbocho}}
- {{Official website|http://jimbou.info/}}
{{Chiyoda, Tokyo}}