Kodansha House, launched by Japan’s largest publishing house Kodansha USA, made its highly anticipated return this October with a pop-up in the heart of New York City’s vibrant SoHo district. More than a showroom, Kondansha House is a curated experience celebrating manga, literature, art, and design, all under one stylish roof.
At the helm of this initiative is Alvin Lu, CEO of Kodansha USA, who is known for his “long years of experience in the U.S. market” and has overseen the company’s rapid evolution amid a growing international demand for Japanese content. In recent years, Kodansha House has been representative of Kodansha’s new phase in that growth—not just a retail or exhibition space, but as a platform for dialogue, innovation, and cultural presence.
In this interview, Lu discusses the mission of Kondasha House, how the project came to life, why SoHo was the perfect neighborhood to plant Kodansha’s cultural flag, and more!
This interview was conducted over email and lightly edited for clarity.
OLLIE KAPLAN: What is behind the mission or vision of Kondasha House? What makes it unique?
ALVIN LU: Anyone who’s had a chance to visit Kodansha House—or even seen clips of it online—can see how it’s different from the “big tent” conventions, much as we love those too. I can’t quite put it into words, you kind of have to see it for yourself, but Kodansha House is something we’ve put a lot of thought into as a curated experience tailored toward Kodansha’s identity as a manga publisher and part of the broader Asian pop-culture cosmos at the same time. We wanted to give back something to our biggest fans in the form of an experience, but it’s also a great way for someone who might want to find out more about what manga and anime are all about to have a first-hand encounter with it and live to tell the tale.
KAPLAN: Why is it in SoHo? What need(s) do you think it’s filling in the neighborhood or creative community?
LU: We looked at a lot of different neighborhoods, including outside Manhattan, but we arrived at someplace central that people could just kind of wander into or use as a hangout or meet-up location before moving on to their next spot. I thought the location team did a great job with this year’s finding this year’s address at 210 Lafayette. As vibrant and magical as lower Manhattan can be, we didn’t think there were places you could just hang out with your friends and browse manga, play video games, and drink matcha. It’s a place to unwind and soak in manga culture without pressure coming from the time or money you’d be expected to spend there.
KAPLAN: Megan Thee Stallion recently visited Kondasha House? Can you tell us more about that visit? Are there any exciting collabs coming up with her as a creator?
LU: It’s really all captured on her reel. I think she just came in as a pure fan of manga — I was impressed with the books she was pulling down from the library shelves, pretty deep cuts.
KAPLAN: You started holding events earlier this fall. What has been the fan reaction so far? Is it that fan reaction you expected?
LU: This year’s event has been bigger, in terms of size, traffic, social coverage, and retail, every metric really, than last year. I think people are really discovering Kodansha House and how to use it for their own needs, whether the space itself or the programming as a place to meet up and try new things.
KAPLAN: What were some of the biggest challenges or rewards in bringing Kodansha House to life in SoHo?
LU: I think the ambition of bringing this into the thick of Manhattan was the boldest challenge. We could have done something that was less culturally saturated or more flexible in terms of space, but given the crowds we’re seeing and how it’s resonated with the fans here and how happy they are just hanging out here, or the lucky few who got to meet their favorite manga-ka in person—I think it was really worth it.
KAPLAN: What is the Kodansha Mochikomi Fresh Ink program?
LU: A new dimension to Kodansha House, we started this year! Several Kodansha editors came to visit Kodansha House this year, and we set up one-on-one in-person meetings with established and aspiring comics artists to discuss their work. Submissions were handled online earlier in August and September. There were two sets of Q&A panels — very intense and serious discussions of how artists work with editors at a publisher like Kodansha. I think everyone who was there (me too) got a very privileged look at how this unique industry works.
KAPLAN: Can we expect more similar pop-ups in the future?
LU: Yes!
