[2] Kinokuniya was originally a lumber and charcoal dealer in Yotsuya; and after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the business was moved westward to a new location in Shinjuku, where it was refashioned into a book store by former president Moichi Tanabe, opening with a staff of five in January 1927.

[3] He named it after Kii Province, given that his ancestor was a servant of the Kii-Tokugawa family; they are not related to the Edo Period merchant Kinokuniya Bunzaemon.

In 2016, a document revealing discriminatory hiring practices by the company in the 1980s surfaced when it was published by trade unions.

[5] Kinokuniya is the largest bookstore chain in Japan, with 70 shops around the country, in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.

Fellow international bookstore chain Page One (headquartered in Singapore) began as the magazine agent for Kinokuniya, but later became independent.

On November 18, 2022, Kinokuniya announced that they opened their first Philippine branch at Mitsukoshi BGC Mall in cooperation with Fully Booked.

[10] On February 18, 2025, Kinokuniya announced that their Ngee Ann City store in Singapore is being downsized with some of the vacated space being reserved for a cafe.