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“We’ll compete with books.” Sanseido Bookstore’s Kanda-Jimbocho Main Store reopens on March 19, 2026, with a book floor 70 percent the size of the old one. We asked president Takao Kamei about the resolve behind that number. (From “The People Who Weave Book Town,” interview with the president of Sanseido Bookstore, part 1, Hon no Machi, February 2026 issue)
What It Means to “Keep Going” as a Bookstore in the Heart of Jimbocho
As the climate for bookstores grows ever harsher, Sanseido Bookstore’s Kanda-Jimbocho Main Store reopens on March 19, 2026. Its book floor space is 70 percent of what it once was. Some focus on the fact that it has “gotten smaller,” but this “fresh start at 70 percent” carries the strongest possible statement of intent: to go on protecting books and the culture of Jimbocho while keeping the business viable. What does it take to resolve to “compete with books” at 1-1 Jimbocho, the very heart of the district?
The Briefing Marked a Milestone
On December 1, 2025, about 200 people from the publishing industry attended a briefing held at the Publishers Club, and about 400 more watched online. “So many people were watching, and I could really feel how high everyone’s expectations are,” Kamei recalls. “It was a time I’m very grateful for.”
Preparations began when the store temporarily closed in 2022. “In particular, Sugimoto, who emceed the briefing, and Okada, who has worked alongside him, have been involved in preparing the new main store ever since the closure. We formed a project team and moved things forward by talking things through at every step.”
The briefing was also a milestone, a moment to state clearly once more to everyone involved that the store would “compete with books.”
“A bit of a weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” he said—but then, bracing himself, added: “This is where it starts. I expect plenty more hard times ahead.”
Thorough Research into Bookstores and Libraries
The architecture and interior of the new store were designed by Go Hasegawa, an architect active around the world. To bring in a completely fresh perspective unbound by bookstore conventions, Kamei and Hasegawa toured many bookstores and libraries in Japan and abroad.
“We went around together looking at all kinds of examples—libraries designed by famous architects, bookstores that people say online have wonderful interiors, and so on.”
In this way, under the concept of “a bookstore where the world opens up as you walk,” they searched for the kind of bookstore worthy of 1-1 Jimbocho.
For example, putting a café on the ground floor was one option, but they held fast to the classic style: “a bookstore in the heart of Jimbocho that competes with books.”
“There are more and more bookstores with all sorts of distinctive features, but we are flying the flag of ‘the classic bookstore’ and will fight with books to the end, so we hope publishers will lend us their support as well.” “Everyone on our staff feels the weight of being a Jimbocho landmark, and they all say the same thing: we can’t run a half-hearted bookstore in that spot.”
The store itself is set to include many new initiatives that go beyond anything Sanseido Bookstore has done before. Among them are “Welcome to the Entrance to the World,” a curated shelf proposing new encounters with books; “Mekuru Juku” (the “Page-Turning School”), which links online and in-person; an original café space, “Kissa Chiso”; and even a “JUMP SHOP” in collaboration with a popular manga brand. The layout looks to expand not only books but also the experience around them.
The new store’s book floor space is about 70 percent of the former main store’s. Hearing that number, some took it to mean the store had “downsized.” But it was by no means a passive decision.
A Fighting Stance at 70 Percent
“In the process of fine-tuning how much space to use for the bookstore and how much to lease to tenants, we made up our minds to go with roughly 70 percent of the previous main store.”
It was the strongest possible statement of intent: to keep running a classic bookstore, and to mean it.
“Across the whole publishing industry, no one could accept Sanseido Bookstore, the landmark of Book Town, closing its doors. Even in times as tough as these, we’ll find a way to keep going at this scale—it’s a fighting stance, right at the limit of what we can do.”
Those “70 percent” carried the pride of a bookstore that has led the industry, and the weight of four years of accumulated effort.
The “fresh start at 70 percent” is by no means a retreat. We could sense the resolve of Sanseido Bookstore, a symbol of the publishing industry, to put down roots in Jimbocho and stand up once again.
In part 2, we explore how this new challenge was shared with and spread among each and every employee, and the thinking behind the concept “ENTRANCE TO THE WORLD.” (To be continued)
Sanseido Bookstore Kanda-Jimbocho Main Store at a glance (as of late December 2025)
1F: Store
2F: Store (“Jimbocho Ichinoichi”), stationery and sundries
3F: Store, café, event space
4F: “THE JUMP SHOP Jimbocho”
5F–13F: Office tenants
13 stories above ground; total floor area 3,794 tsubo (12,543 m²)
New store opening: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Temporary store in Ogawamachi closes: Saturday, January 31, 2026
Takao Kamei
President and CEO of Sanseido Bookstore. On March 19, 2026, he reopened the Kanda-Jimbocho Main Store.
Interview and text: Rin Mizuki
Hon no Machi editorial team. In charge of the series “The People Who Weave Book Town.”
Interview with Takao Kamei, President of Sanseido Bookstore (3 parts)
Part 1 A Bookstore Is a Door to the World: What It Means to “Keep Going” as a Bookstore in the Heart of Jimbocho
Part 2 The Future of Bookstores Lies in “Multiplication”
Part 3 “A Bookstore Is the Town’s Entrance”: Protecting Japanese Culture Through a Jimbocho Bookstore
This article was published in the February 2026 issue (Vol. 10) of Hon no Machi, the community salon magazine of Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho. You can read the full text, along with the other articles, in the PDF.
▶Read the February 2026 issue of Hon no Machi (PDF, in Japanese)
Founded in 1980, Hon no Machi brings you the latest from Book Town every month, together with Jimbocho’s bookstores, publishers, cafés and galleries.
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日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese