• HERITAGE SOURCE, founded in 1994 and based in northern Los Angeles County, is an on-line bookseller specializing in Japanese and Japanese American titles for all ages in the English language.

  • HERITAGE SOURCE offers a diverse selection including folktales, crafts, biography/memoir, fiction, nonfiction, cooking, language, picture books, and more. 

  • HERITAGE SOURCE aims to provide the public with easy access to our unique selection of books.   Special orders and out-of-print search requests are welcome.

  • HERITAGE SOURCE participates in a number of community events throughout the year.  Past notable events include the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the Nisei Week Japanese Festival in Los Angeles, and a variety of Asian American craft boutiques throughout California. 

  • HERITAGE SOURCE supports a number of nonprofit organizations in fundraising efforts while providing an invaluable and unique selection of titles to complement a home or community library.
  • HERITAGE SOURCE promotes authors and illustrators with book signing events whenever possible.
  • HERITAGE SOURCE promotes the appreciation of Japanese American and Japanese culture as well as literacy and language arts.

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BRIEF HISTORY...

HERITAGE SOURCE was established in 1994 when my daughters were ages five and two years.  

In my eagerness to share my appreciation for our Japanese American heritage with them, I searched a number of bookstores in Southern California for appropriate picture books.  This search proved to be difficult as I found a limited number of titles "here and there."  

With seventeen years of experience as an occupational therapist, two young children,  and a growing desire to "try something new," HERITAGE SOURCE was born.  Initially, my goal was to provide a primary source of Japanese and Japanese American picture books for children.  In the years since, however, our selection has slowly grown to include a variety of genres for all ages.

With our presence now on the internet, we find that our selection of titles is appreciated by readers as far away as Germany and Australia.  As long as there is interest in our selection of books, HERITAGE SOURCE is happy to be of service.   

~Carolyn Sanwo