Kanda-Jinbōchō
town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Kanda-Jinbōchō (神田神保町), commonly known as Jinbōchō or Jimbōchō, is a district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Jimbōchō Book Town is known as Tokyo's center of used-book stores and publishing houses, and as a popular antique and curio shopping area.
The center of Jinbōchō is at the crossing of Yasukuni-dōri and Hakusan-dōri, above Jimbōchō Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line, Toei Mita Line and Toei Shinjuku Line. The prestigious Tokyo Book Binding Club and Literature Preservation Society are located in Jinbōchō, and the area is within walking distance of a number of major universities, including Nihon, Senshu, Meiji, Hosei and Juntendo.
Jinbōchō is officially known (in addresses, etc.) as Kanda-Jinbōchō (神田神保町), and is part of the former ward of Kanda.
In 2025 Time Out named it the coolest neighborhood in the world.
History
Jinbōchō is likely named after a member of the Jinbō family, possibly Nagaharu Jinbō (神保長治) who lived in the area at the end of the 17th century.
During the late nineteenth century when Japan underwent modernization, foreign studies schools opened in the area, such as Bansho Shirabesho (Institute for Research of Foreign Documents) and Tokyo Gaikokugo Gakko (Tokyo School of Foreign Languages) which would later become the University of Tokyo and Hitotsubashi University. Many bookstores opened in the area, and it became established as a book town. In 1913, a large fire destroyed much of the area.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kanda-Jinbōchō” is town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kanda-Jinbōchō, town and located, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1689258. Authority coordinates are 35.697, 139.758. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2025 and 1913.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kanda-Jinbōchō”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kanda-Jinbōchō primary sources, Kanda-Jinbōchō archive and Kanda-Jinbōchō research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kanda-Jinbōchō”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kanda-Jinbōchō” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.