[3] Moriguchi named his company Uwajima-ya after the town of Uwajima (Ehime Prefecture), where he first entered the business (ya (屋) is the Japanese word for "store").

[5] In the 1960s, Uwajimaya began to expand its offering of non-food items and imported food from Japan and other Asian countries[6] and experienced tremendous growth at the Century 21 Exposition in 1962.

[7] In 1970, the store moved two blocks south to 6th Avenue S. and S. King Street, thus becoming one of the biggest in the Pacific Northwest, and expanded in 1978 adding more than half again its original size.

The Lane Street closure was controversial within the community, especially among some local small-business owners who were concerned that it would increase traffic, decrease emergency vehicle access, and have a negative economic impact on other businesses.

[10] Uwajimaya Village includes a food court, bank, restaurant, optician, beauty salon, cellular wireless store, and cosmetic shop.

[15] Kai Market opened in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood in 2017, but closed in 2020 due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.