A Legacy of Excellence

Mission

As an iconic, family-owned business with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, we strive to be the premier destination to learn, share and provide the best of Asian food culture through experiences and goods.

Commitment to Quality

We’re passionate about sharing our love of Asian food culture with our customers by providing access to the best selection of authentic Asian foods from reliable and trusted brands.

Customer Service

Our primary motivation for what we do is you, our customer. For this reason, it is important for us to deliver exceptional service, share our knowledge and expertise and be a leader in innovation. We celebrate and welcome the diversity of our customers and community by creating a comfortable, fun and unique shopping experience.

Employees

Our employees are essential for our continued success. We believe a team of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences working together powers our success.

Community Involvement

We feel it is our responsibility to help build and strengthen the communities we serve. We support several local organizations that primarily focus on promoting community development, education, senior and elderly assistance and multicultural issues.

1928

Beginnings

In 1928, Fujimatsu Moriguchi, a native of Japan, began a small business in Tacoma, Washington. Moriguchi sold homemade fishcakes and other Japanese staples from the back of his truck to Japanese laborers working in the area.

1928

Naming of Uwajimaya

Moriguchi named his business Uwajima-ya, after the town of Uwajima where he learned his trade (”ya” means “store” in Japanese). His wife, Sadako, operated the small Uwajimaya store near downtown Tacoma.

1941

World War II

Moriguchi continued to operate in Tacoma until the outbreak of World War II, when he and his young family were sent to the Tule Lake Internment Camp in California.

1945

South Main Street

After the war, the Moriguchi family relocated to Seattle and re-opened Uwajimaya as a retail store and fish cake manufacturing company on South Main Street. Uwajimaya thus resumed its business in the Nikkei (Japanese American) community by providing Japanese food items and began importing food and gift items from Japan.

1962

Seattle World’s Fair

Fujimatsu, a visionary, used a booth at Seattle’s World’s Fair in 1962 as outreach to non-Japanese clientele. This move is considered the catalyst for Uwajimaya’s blossoming success in those years. Sadly, Mr. Moriguchi passed away that same summer.

1962

Moriguchi Brothers Take Over

With the success of the World’s Fair behind them, the next generation of Moriguchi siblings worked to grow the retail operation that their father had hoped for. Uwajimaya continued to develop and expand its customer base by catering to the needs of the shopper, which included offering cooking classes and expanding the product mix to include items from other Asian countries.

1970

South King Street

In 1970, Uwajimaya moved two blocks south to a new, larger store at 6th Avenue South and South King Street, becoming the largest Japanese supermarket in the Pacific Northwest. Over the years, this location continued to expand to meet the needs of the ever-changing community.

1978

Bellevue Store Opens

Uwajimaya opened the first Uwajimaya Bellevue location in 1978 to cater to the Seattle Eastside’s rapidly growing population in the Crossroads area.

1997

Beaverton Store Opens

After years of searching for the right location in the Portland, Oregon area, Uwajimaya opened its third location in the suburb of Beaverton!

2000

Uwajimaya Village

In November 2000, the Seattle Uwajimaya store moved one block south to anchor the ambitious new Uwajimaya Village in the heart of Seattle’s Chinatown/International District where it remains today.

2002

Sadako’s Passing

Sadly, Sadako Moriguchi, pillar of Uwajimaya and the Moriguchi family passed away in the summer of 2002, a few years after Uwajimaya Village was completed. Sadako’s passing was greatly mourned by the many customers and employees who had known the matriarch from her many hard-working years.

2009

Renton Store Opens

In the summer of 2009, Uwajimaya opened its fourth location in Renton, Washington.

2011

Bellevue Store Relocation

In the spring of 2011, the Bellevue store relocated to a newer and larger space in the Wilburton neighborhood from the Crossroads neighborhood.

2020

New Logo

In the summer of 2020, Uwajimaya unveiled their new logo. The new logo honors Uwajimaya’s past logo by retaining the outline shape of the ‘mon’ or emblem while simplifying and modernizing it. There is a split in the new icon – separating it into two. This represents a reflection and the duality of past and present, old and new, what was and what is to come.

2021

Remodeled Flagship Store

In December of 2021, the remodel of the flagship store in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District was completed.

2022

Revamping the Brand

With our history as our compass, we worked to revamp the Uwajimaya visual language to reflect our deep connection to the community, and our founders. We hope you enjoy!