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Kissa is a common short form, particularly for themed cafes: jazz kissa, manga kissa, maid kissa, etc.

In general, nearly any common long word in Japan gets truncated down to three morae. Kissaten -> kissa, McDonalds -> Makudonarudo -> makudo, Brad Pitt -> Buraddo Pitto -> burapii, etc.

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> McDonalds -> Makudonarudo -> makudo

Fun fact, makudo (マクド) is how they call it in kansai (osaka, etc). makku (マック) is how they call it in kanto (tokyo, etc).

Oh, I was going to correct him. Never heard it called anything other than makku.

But yeah, Kanto ;)

I didn’t know what kansai/kanto were, so here’s an article I liked explaining one view of the differences: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/kansai-vs-kanto/

I currently live in Japan and I have never come across a jazz kissa, though Jazz outlets do exist in some multicultural/expat areas they aim themselves for foreign clientele. Also kissa is a rarely used term in my opinion with other slang being preferred outside 漫画喫茶。

I think jazz cafes and jazz bars are a common thing in parts of Japan, although they’re dying out. I’d say they’re decidedly western thematically, but aimed at a domestic clientele.

I believe Haruki Murakami ran a jazz bar before becoming established as a writer.

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