Once known as Kijimiko, this urban center, Kijimi City, was situated on the icy slopes of Mount Izukika on the planet of Kijimi. At its heart was the spiritual center of the Dai Bendu Monastery. Due to its isolated location, the city transformed into a haven for the lawless, with rival gangs, guilds, and clans controlling the densely populated residences nestled between windy alleys, which were divided by neutral zones and cantinas.
During the First Order-Resistance War's final hours, Kijimi City faced a raid. The First Order, under the command of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, targeted the city in their pursuit of the Jedi Rey and her allies. Shortly after, the entire planet suffered annihilation at the hands of the Sith Eternal warship Derriphan, led by Captain Chesille Sabrond following the orders of the resurrected Palpatine and Allegiant General Pryde.
Originally, Kijimiko was a settlement that was constructed on a plateau of Mount Izukika, found on the planet Kijimi within the Mid Rim Territories. Situated at 4200 meters high on a frigid and moonless world, Kijimiko endured harsh, icy winds yet remained a place where people could live, with Izukika surrounded by more jagged mountain peaks. The temperature would plummet to remarkably cold levels at night, and the average temperature of the city was -25 degrees standard. The city was centered around the granitic stone of the Dai Bendu Monastery, effectively serving as the capital of the planet. The city featured cobblestone streets around Kijimi Spaceport and Kijimiko Square, interspersed with numerous temples, monasteries, and relics utilized by monks.
Monk's Gate was located on the northernmost wall of the Quarter of the Beatific alongside Queen's Road, and served as the home to pilgrims of the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance. This area later became known as Thieves' Quarter and contained Babu Frik's workshop and various cantinas, including the Monastery, which concealed a secret passage to the Spice Runners' Den, as well as the Domak Refectory. Roadway Gate also served as an entrance into Thieves' Quarter.
Kijimiko's establishment dates back to around 982 BBY. The town was constructed surrounding the monasteries of several religious orders, with the temple of the Dai Bendu at its core, built using stones extracted from Mount Izukika. Kijimiko gained recognition for its profound spirituality—the Dai Bendu were predecessors to the Jedi Order. To combat the cold of the night, the original monks of the city would light lanterns, and their method of survival transformed into a lantern ceremony centered around gratitude. Pilgrims of the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance, Lorrdian in origin, visited the Dai Bendu Monastery from other planets. However, rising crime forced the Brotherhood off Kijimi, leading to thieves and squatters occupying their quarter in the city, despite the presence of the Dai Bendu temple guardians. Kijimi's isolated and rural character attracted those seeking to escape interstellar law. Due to the lawlessness, the city's infrastructure suffered neglect, and residents had to find ways to heat and power their homes, relying on local gangs, guilds, and clans for basic services in exchange for loyalty pledges.
As time progressed, the city's criminal elements, driven by their own selfish desires, inadvertently prevented complete societal breakdown. During the Imperial Era, Kijimi City had been governed for numerous generations by the Ashiga Clan. This dynasty's power was rooted in a hive of Melitto species members. Originating from Li-Toran, a volcanic planet located in the Inner Rim Territories, the Melitto were insectoids whose society was traditionally structured around female myrmitrices vying to become queens. The myrmite followers of defeated myrmitrices became hiveless ronin, generally departing the planet and relying on special breathing apparatus for survival. Centuries of warfare plagued Li-Toran until the establishment of a planetary council, which aimed to avert global catastrophe by promoting interstellar colonization, leading to the creation of Melitto settlements across various worlds. The Ashiga Clan members on Kijimi displayed a willingness to sacrifice themselves for the hive, which controlled the city's underworld and manufactured weaponry.
The clan's control began to falter when the rogue Kay Vess and her partner Nix arrived in Kijimi City during the Galactic Civil War, a conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Under the leadership of Queen Ashiga, the clan initiated weapons production for the Imperial Military, compelling the indebted explosives expert Ank Parako to participate. [Krisk Ashiga](/article/krisk_ashiga], the queen's heir, opposed the clan's diminished independence and collaborated with Lady Qi'ra of the Crimson Dawn syndicate to undermine her mother's authority. While Imperial stormtroopers were visibly present on Kijimi's streets, Crimson Dawn secretly maintained operations from the Thermal District. Needing Ank Parako's skills as a safecracker for a Cantonica heist, Vess, guided by information from ND-5—who had previously visited the city and remained aboard their ship, the Trailblazer, at the spaceport—searched Kijimi City.
As the rebel armada prepared to battle the Imperial Death Star in the Endor system of the Outer Rim in 4 ABY, Zarah Bliss passed away, leading Zeva Bliss to consolidate control over the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Within the ranks of the spice runners, Tomasso secretly acted as an informat reporting directly to Mon Mothma, the Rebellion's leader, and he sought to maintain his position despite the change in leadership. The Empire manipulated Tomasso, revealing to him that key figures of the regime, including Emperor Palpatine himself, would travel to the Death Star, prompting Tomasso to meet with Mothma on Desinta, an Outer Rim planet. Marinda Gan, a Spice Runner bribed by the Empire to work with bounty hunter Lan-Drus without Bliss' awareness, tracked Tomasso. Gan, realizing that Buccel Trune, a rebel spy, was investigating her scheme, allowed Green Squadron, a rebel cell based at Kellgar Six, to commandeer the ship Ezra's Gate in order to locate Trune. However, thanks to the efforts of Shara Bey, a Green Squadron pilot, and her husband, Kes Dameron, an Alliance Pathfinder, Mothma survived Lan-Drus' assassination attempt and decided to conceal Tomasso's assistance.
Following the rebel victory over the Empire at the Battle of Endor, which saw the destruction of the second Death Star and the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, the remaining Imperial leaders lacked unity. Nevertheless, Ubrik Adelhard, the Governor of the Anoat sector, contacted the Spice Runners of Kijimi, personally visiting Zeva Bliss' throne alongside his lieutenants Kith Alaytia and Bragh. Despite the eagerness of spice runners like Vigilch to eliminate them, Bliss permitted Adelhard to present his case. Recognizing the governor's "bravery" in entering Kijimi, she initiated negotiations, learning that he led an Imperial remnant willing to collaborate with criminals and reject the strategies of other fragmented Empire leaders.
In the wake of the Empire's collapse and Jabba the Hutt's demise around the same time, criminal organizations engaged in conflicts over the spice trade on Kessel, an Outer Rim world. The Hutts, the Mining Guild, and the Empire no longer provided protection for starships along the spice routes, making Oba Diah and Formos's processing terminals prime targets. Capitalizing on the Pyke Syndicate's diminished influence, the Spice Runners pirated shipments leaving the Maelstrom surrounding Kessel. The group also protected ships that paid them protection money and eventually forged an exclusive agreement with mine operators to extend the Kessel Run to Kijimi, where the Spice Runners blended in with the city's spacers and maintained a hideout in Thieves' Quarter.
The Rebellion was reformed into the New Republic, ushering in a period marked by relative peace and democracy after ending the Galactic Civil War in 5 ABY. In the years that followed, the galactic government's leadership was overextended, and its progress was hindered by campaigns against Imperial Remnants. The rise of the criminal underworld fostered widespread apathy toward the New Republic, and Kijimi City remained anarchic, having historically been beyond the reach of galactic governance and subjected to raids and control by various factions. As a remote, albeit frigid, haven for lawlessness, the city continued to serve as a refuge for generally unscrupulous spacers, many of whom were superstitious and venerated the city's ancient landmarks. City residents regarded the spaces between the clearly defined territories of different criminal groups as safe zones, including cantinas in neutral areas of Thieves' Quarter, although enslavers were unwelcome and denied safe harbor within Kijimi City.
Around 13 ABY, Kijimi Spice Runners fleeing New Republic officers arrived at the Trune family farm on Yungbrii, a Mid Rim planet, resulting in the deaths of Sela Trune's parents and brother during the ensuing conflict. Sela Trune, an officer in the New Republic Security Bureau, investigated the Spice Runners, tracking Vigilch's group to Yavin 4, an Outer Rim moon, after a heist on Kellgar Seven around 18 ABY. Subsequently, Vigilch, Marinda Gan, Gen Tri, and Zorii Bliss escaped Yavin 4 with the assistance of Poe Dameron. The sixteen-year-old pilot, driven by wanderlust, collaborated with the group across various star systems, developing a close relationship with Zorii—who concealed her past from Dameron, operating under the alias "Zorii Wynn," and explained that only seasoned Spice Runners could access Kijimi and that the group's hierarchy was based on merit rather than inheritance. The crew, aboard the Ragged Claw, based themselves on Sorgan, an Outer Rim planet, where they were joined by Tomasso, who had risen to become Zeva Bliss' second-in-command.
Following a bloody mission to recover Zeva Bliss' helmet, Zorii and Dameron followed Tomasso, moving between Spice Runner safehouses throughout the Outer Rim, evading the New Republic's reach and executing missions assigned by Zeva. Zorii, Dameron, and their new droid companion EV-6B6 collectively liberated several enslaved individuals held by Alfris Sotin after a botched negotiation with the smuggler. While the crew evaded the Guavian Death Gang, who sought to capture Zorii, she insisted on sparing Sotin's life, conflicting with Dameron's ideals against dealing with slave traders and his desire to kill Sotin. Around 19 ABY, Marinda Gan, held captive, informed Sela Trune about Zeva Bliss' plan to host a summit in Kijimi City, prompting Trune to fabricate intelligence that reached Bliss, convincing her that Tomasso was a traitor. After Tomasso and his crew murdered warlord Smaatku and his people to acquire the Letters of Where and When—star maps detailing secret smuggling routes beneficial to the Kijimi City spice runners—they were tracked down on Judakann, an Outer Rim planet, by Poe Dameron's father, Kes, and his friend L'ulo L'ampar.
Zorii was shocked and angered by the rebel veterans' intervention, but they were all attacked by Judakann's lurkers until the creatures were driven away by the arrival of Zeva Bliss and her Centurion-class battlecruiser. Poe chose to remain with Zorii, promising to eventually return to his father, and he was equally shocked and angered upon learning that Zorii was Zeva's daughter. Zeva declared that both he and Zorii had earned their place as full members of the Spice Runners and brought them aboard her ship, bound for Kijimi. The leader also executed Tomasso, believing he had been betraying her as a New Republic spy for months.
Upon returning to her hometown, Zorii Bliss paid a visit to Babu Frik, the Spice Runners' skilled droidsmith, at his workshop. Bliss valued the opportunity to share her thoughts with her friend, knowing that she was scheduled to meet with her mother later that day. The young woman contemplated her future within the Spice Runners and voiced her suspicions about Poe Dameron's true commitment to their cause. While Babu Frik affirmed that Zorii would always be both a Spice Runner and Zeva's daughter, he also encouraged Zorii to consider her identity if Dameron were to leave. Zorii then requested Babu Frik to repair EV-6B6—despite being destroyed on Judakann, Dameron had recovered the droid's parts, and Zorii had noticed Dameron secretly attempting to repair the droid during his first few nights in her home city.
Zorii brought Dameron to Babu Frik's workshop, introducing her two friends. Dameron, having carried EV's parts through the city streets, was surprised to learn that Babu Frik was an Anzellan droidsmith and deeply appreciated Zorii's acknowledgment of his efforts with the droid—particularly her gesture of bringing him to her old friend—and the two kissed, as if reliving their nights together on Sorgan. Babu Frik successfully restored EV-6B6 despite the challenging repair, returning her to the younger Spice Runners.
Zeva Bliss discussed their future with her daughter in a Kijimi battle room. The Spice Runner leader spoke of Tomasso as a trusted brother and outlined her plans to elevate the group to galactic prominence. Zeva formally appointed Zorii as her new second-in-command, expressing her desire to eventually pass the leadership of the Spice Runners to her daughter. As Zorii and her mother held the latter's helmet together, Zorii sensed a subtle presence behind her and made eye contact with Poe Dameron, who had been secretly observing the conversation. Over the following weeks, Dameron observed that he and Zorii were growing increasingly emotionally distant despite working together in Kijimi City alongside EV-6B6. Meanwhile, Tolo Mandah, the head of New Republic Intelligence, ordered Sela Trune to suspend her investigation of the Spice Runners of Kijimi due to the government's limited resources, but Trune decided to travel to Kijimi City independently.
Zeva Bliss was organizing the Kijimi summit, inviting both allies and enemies from the criminal underworld to the war room located within the city's Dai Bendu Monastery—her actual intention was to trap and eliminate the attendees, the culmination of years of positioning the Spice Runners as a major force in the galactic underworld. While Spice Runners personally loyal to Zeva were summoned to witness and guard the event at the coliseum outside the chamber, Zorii was tasked with initiating the attack, accompanied by Dameron and EV.
Poe Dameron recognized the injustice of the planned mass murder and refused to participate, enraging Zorii Bliss, who declared that Dameron was "either with us or against us" and threatened to kill him. The two fought until EV incapacitated Bliss, but they realized that Zorii had already sent the activation signal, causing laser cannons at the monastery to destroy the gathered criminals' ships. Zeva's guards forced the criminals out of the war room through a doorway leading to the field outside, where Zeva's followers were positioned in the former coliseum. Anticipating an execution, the scene erupted into chaos as Dameron distributed a cache of weapons to the captive criminals, while Sela Trune arrived with her ship, positioning its cannons between the coliseum's crowds and Zeva Bliss.
Bliss and Trune engaged in a duel, with the New Republic agent gaining the upper hand, informing the Spice Runner leader that Tomasso had been a loyal deputy and that Bliss had been misled. Deeply wounded but unyielding, Bliss fatally stabbed Trune. Although EV-6B6 was destroyed amidst the chaos, Dameron saw Trune and rushed to her side, learning that the New Republic officer was driven by both vengeance for her own family and a desire to prevent Dameron's family from suffering the same fate. Dameron began firing at Bliss, but despite his efforts, he was outmatched by the pirate leader. Zorii Bliss intervened, jumping into the fray against her mother, urging Dameron to help "salvage" their relationship and reshape the Spice Runners after deposing Zeva. Dameron declined to assist Zorii as she fought her mother, and the young woman's affection for Dameron transformed into intense anger, denouncing his betrayal and ordering him to "run" and never return.
Poe Dameron fled the monastery and encountered Tarand Crowe, one of the smugglers present at the coliseum. Crowe directed him to a house in the city owned by Von Tante, who cared for Dameron for several days before sending him on his way, wary of the Spice Runners who were searching the city for him. Planning to board a docked ship in the city the next day, Dameron visited Babu Frik to inform the droidsmith of EV-6B6's destruction and seek assistance. As a loyal member of the Spice Runners, Babu Frik refused to help—but he reminded Dameron of his skills as a thief, provided a holographic disguise matrix, and hurried out of his workshop. Disguised, Dameron decided to enjoy one last meal in Kijimi City, ordering a shawda club sandwich at a bar, where he watched a New Republic Senate debate featuring Senator Leia Organa. Dameron was reminded of the righteous cause for which his parents had fought alongside Organa, and he found renewed purpose—to reach and assist the senator—as he secured passage off-world with Zade Kalliday aboard the Midnight Blade.
Emerging from the remnants of Palpatine's Empire in the Unknown Regions, the First Order conducted raids on Kijimi City for years before initiating its plan to conquer the galaxy in 34 ABY. Exploiting the unlikelihood of Kijimi's criminals seeking assistance from the New Republic, the Order's presence gradually increased as its oppressive intentions became clear. The First Order commenced its galactic conquest after annihilating the New Republic capital in 34 ABY. Strono Tuggs, a chef, then traveled the galaxy in search of foodstuff, but he avoided Kijimi due to the First Order's presence and the city's rising crime rate. Tuggs expressed regret at skipping Kijimi in The Ultimate Cookbook, which he published in 35 ABY with the inclusion of his own Lha-Mi Glacier Bar recipe. The dessert bar was made from ice extracted from Kijimi's Lha-Mi glacier, where the Spice Runners concealed their cache, and was sold locally in Kijimi City. Residents believed that the city's long-gone Dai Bendu founders had also invented skordu, an alcoholic beverage distilled from a fungus that grew in icy caves high in Kijimi's mountains. The popular Ultra-Ox drink was said to cure altitude sickness in exchange for a different, more pleasurable, form of lightheadedness.
By the same year, the Order blockaded major hyperspace routes connecting Kijimi with the broader galaxy, which had an estimated population of 310 million. The First Order's Kijimi garrison, dressed to intimidate, imposed martial law under Captain Athewn Ozi, targeting individuals deemed "subversives." His army officers directed stormtroopers and snowtrooper patrols with a sense of moral superiority, believing that the city's inhabitants lacked values and were too preoccupied with protecting their criminal gains to resist the First Order. However, residents were unhappy with the occupation and maintained a subtle spirit of resistance.
Under the command of Captain Ozi, Kijimi City was segmented into distinct areas, each overseen by a lieutenant. In these occupied zones, troopers conducted nightly incursions, abducting children to serve as "recruits" within the stormtrooper program of their Order. Scanner craft projected beams of light and sensor readings across the streets, while Urban Assault Triped Transports (UA-TTs) were dispatched to quell more problematic instances of resistance. During this period of suppression, the Thieves' Quarter was dominated by influential guilds such as the Corellian Merchants' Guild, the Lantillian Spacers' Brotherhood, and the Intracluster Gatherers, the latter having broken away from the Wandering Star criminal organization. Furthermore, members of the Kozinarg Trade Guild enjoyed exclusive access to their guildhouse in the area, providing them with food and accommodations.
Zorii Bliss considered the First Order's reign of terror, marked by the forced disappearances of innocents on Kijimi, as an intolerable situation. Despite this, she suppressed her belief in the potential for the oppressed populace to unite and overthrow their invaders. When Resistance fighters Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, C-3PO, and BB-8 struggled to find Emperor Palpatine's wayfinder—who had seemingly returned—on the Outer Rim world of Pasaana, Dameron suggested they seek out Babu Frik. Frik, a droid mechanic residing in Kijimi City, was believed by Dameron to be capable of removing the programming that prevented C-3PO from translating the Sith language inscribed on a blade linked to Palpatine's wayfinder. The Resistance members seized the blade owner's starship, the Bestoon Legacy, from Pasaana and, accompanied by its droid D-O, journeyed to Kijimi City, unaware that they were being tracked by the Knights of Ren aboard the Night Buzzard.
Upon arriving in Kijimi City, the Resistance fighters moved stealthily as fugitives, only to be confronted by Zorii Bliss, who recognized Dameron. She subsequently guided them to Babu Frik's workshop in Thieves' Quarter. C-3PO made the sacrifice of relinquishing his memories of his companions in order to undergo the procedure, which successfully enabled him to recite the coordinates of the Emperor's wayfinder, located within the Endor system. As the Resistance members prepared to depart Kijimi, the First Order caught up to them. With the arrival of the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Steadfast, the flagship of First Order Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Captain Ozi delegated the task of coordinating Kijimi City's lockdown to Lieutenant Barok. Barok utilized sensor data transmitted from the overhead Star Destroyer, which was under the command of Allegiant General Enric Pryde. Snowtrooper squads, supported by scanner ship patrols and UA-TTs, marched confidently through the streets beneath the aerial dominance of the Steadfast, while AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transports transported additional prisoners and abducted "recruits" from the city to the First Order capital ship. Zorii Bliss and Poe Dameron observed the occupying forces from the rooftops of Kijimi City, engaging in a discussion about their complicated shared history.
The Supreme Leader and his Knights of Ren conducted a thorough search of the streets for any signs of Resistance activity. The Order's soldiers systematically swept through the city, going from door to door. However, due to the Resistance fighters' efforts to remain inconspicuous, most residents who were questioned on the streets truthfully claimed ignorance regarding the purpose of the search. Rey sensed that Chewbacca was still alive aboard the Steadfast, leading the crew to infiltrate the vessel using the Bestoon Legacy, aided by a First Order Captain's Medallion that Bliss had gifted to Dameron. With further assistance from the First Order's General Armitage Hux, who harbored resentment towards Kylo Ren, the Resistance successfully rescued Chewbacca and recovered their impounded ship, the Millennium Falcon. The Force-bond connecting Rey, who was on the Steadfast, and Ren, who was in Kijimi City, allowed them to confront each other.
The lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo Ren resulted in damage to merchandise throughout the city and the shattering of Darth Vader's helmet, which Ren had kept in his quarters on the Steadfast. Despite realizing that the Resistance was aboard his Star Destroyer, the Supreme Leader was unable to prevent their escape aboard the Millennium Falcon. Before their departure, Ren revealed to Rey that she was Palpatine's granddaughter. Rey remained deeply troubled by her lineage as she discovered the Emperor's wayfinder within the Death Star ruins on the Ocean Moon of Endor, and Kylo Ren departed the Steadfast in pursuit of Rey.
The First Order garrison subsequently issued Protocol 13, ordering the withdrawal of all troops from Kijimi. With Kylo Ren having failed to capture Rey and instead embracing his family's love and commitment to the light side of the Force, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine instructed Allegiant General Pryde to select a world to demonstrate the power of his hidden Sith fleet on Exegol. Palpatine dispatched the Xyston-class Star Destroyer Derriphan, and Pryde chose Kijimi. The entire planet was destroyed by the Derriphan's superlaser. The Emperor's ambition to establish a "Final Order" was thwarted shortly thereafter at the Battle of Exegol by Resistance forces, aided by citizens from across the galaxy. Among the Citizens' Fleet were former residents of Kijimi City, including Zorii Bliss and Babu Frik.
Kijimi City was conceived for the 2019 sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, making its initial appearance in Kevin Shinick's novel Force Collector. This novel was released on October 4 of that year as part of the film's marketing campaign, with the film itself premiering on December 19. The name "Kijimi" is shared with a synthesizer produced by the Black Corporation in Japan. The company posted a photo on Instagram in March 2019, showing The Rise of Skywalker's director J.J. Abrams posing with a Kijimi synthesizer. Furthermore, the company referenced Kijimi and Star Wars in another Instagram post featuring J.J. Abrams and Oscar Isaac, who portrayed Poe Dameron in The Rise of Skywalker, during their visit to the company in Tokyo on December 9 of the same year.
J.J. Abrams envisioned Kijimi as a glimpse into a "village" situated in a remote corner of the galaxy, illustrating life under the oppressive rule of the First Order. He also desired a snowy setting for a portion of the film, sparking his interest in researching windy Italian streets. Subsequently, co-production designer Rick Carter delved into the works of Akira Kurosawa, the esteemed Japanese director whose films had previously inspired George Lucas in the creation of Star Wars. Carter's inspiration for Kijimi primarily drew from the stone walls depicted in Kurosawa's 1958 film, The Hidden Fortress. Costume director Michael Kaplan tasked concept illustrators with designing Kijimi City's inhabitants based on the use of furs. The characters eventually adopted aesthetics reminiscent of Western genre films. The Spice Runners were initially intended to appear on a dusty, arid planet but were instead introduced on Kijimi during script revisions. The Spice Runner leader, Zorii Bliss, would serve to explore the burden of Poe Dameron's past, mirroring the film's exploration of Finn and Rey's respective histories. Consequently, eleven months after concept illustrators began their work on the film production with the Spice Runners, their final assignment involved revisiting their designs to adapt them to a snowy environment. Artist Calum Alexander Watt believed that the Art Deco style of Zorii Bliss' design complemented the overall design of Kijimi City effectively.
Concept artist Bob Cheshire depicted the First Order–occupied Kijimi as a walled city characterized by an abundance of square roofs, blanketed in snow and illuminated by warm lights amidst the dark and blue shadows cast by the mountain, along with a couple of towering spire-topped structures and city walls. Co-production designer Kevin Jenkins described Kijimi as a "Kurosawa city" that he hoped would be comparable to the work of Ralph McQuarrie, the lead concept artist of Lucas' original trilogy. Adam Brockbank created an illustration of the city gate featuring similar flagstone aesthetics, while Andrée Wallin painted the city with inset doors designed to provide snow cover, overhead searchlights, and various other features, including a round door, McQuarrie-style bands around the tops of houses, and warm interior lighting emanating from twin windows. Jenkins referred to these features as "Star Wars things" that needed to complement the stacked roofs inspired by Kurosawa's imagery and images of Kyoto, the city that formerly served as Japan's capital.
Cheshire also experimented with the city's roofs. According to Jenkins, they were the most challenging aspect of Kijimi's design, requiring subtlety yet also uniqueness. He cautioned Abrams that the "danger is we will end up with Santa roofs in Switzerland." Additional pieces by Cheshire depict regular First Order stormtroopers on Kijimi City's main street, while Cheshire and Jon McCoy also created illustrations of a bar within the city. Other illustrations by Brockbank depict a bar named "Elastic Lady" and a soup kitchen being visited by Finn, Poe Dameron, and BB-8. According to the artist, the Kijimi bar included in earlier drafts was intended to evoke the tense atmosphere of Nazi Germany–occupied Paris, the capital city of France, during World War II. Prop designer Matthew Savage created an illustration of musical instruments for Kijimi with the 1942 film Casablanca in mind. Directed by Michael Curtiz and filmed during World War II, the film is set in a bar in the Moroccan city of Casablanca under Nazi-collaborationist French colonial control. Brockbank also designed a cantina band comprised of robed individuals resembling Japanese komusō flute performers, who conceal their heads with large woven baskets.
Brockbank and Cheshire developed lighting concepts for Finn, Dameron, BB-8, and C-3PO as they fled the First Order through the city's sewers and tunnels. However, Abrams altered the sequence to feature a rooftop chase, complete with searcher droids, after Zorii Bliss warned of the First Order's approach. Brockbank also incorporated a scene depicting a First Order tri-ped walker wreaking havoc on Kijimi City as Finn and Dameron drew their blasters, while Cheshire and Adam Baines illustrated Kijimi's spaceport with stormtroopers capturing Chewbacca in front of the Millennium Falcon and leaving C-3PO behind. Industrial Light & Magic's Christian Alzmann illustrated Kylo Ren discovering Darth Vader's intact helmet on the snow-covered ground of Kijimi City, and ILM's Michael Sheffels created a digital shot extension for Kijimi City's establishing shot. Sheffels envisioned the city as a Japanese zen garden, but with glaciers instead of sand raked around rocks, although glaciers did not make it into the final version.
An early iteration of The Rise of Skywalker's script included a scene where the protagonists encountered a gang of Lanai assassins on the streets of Kijimi. Concept artist Jake Lunt Davies noted that, unlike the peaceful Lanai Caretakers depicted in 2017's Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, "These guys take care of other things…" An illustration by David Allcock depicted an eclipse over Kijimi City, but Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary clarified that Kijimi had no moon.
Using a scale paper model against Allcock's illustration, the Kijimi City set was constructed in the 4.3-acre outdoor North Lot of England's Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. The set, centered around a courtyard, featured three staircases and thirty building façades. Supervising art director Paul Inglis likened the coordination of "400 construction guys" to managing an army. Co-production designer Kevin Jenkins found the crane construction for the "bloody roofs" particularly challenging compared to the walls and windows, and Rosemary Brandenburg oversaw the set's decoration. The Rise of Skywalker's Main Unit filmed at the Kijimi set at night from November 26 to December 12 in 2018. Daisy Ridley, who played Rey, described the shooting on the set as "absolutely freezing," while Oscar Isaac characterized the set as "one of the wildest I've ever seen."
During daytime, scenes were filmed at Babu Frik's workshop on the nearby B stage, where prop designers spent two to three months setting up the shop and its greebles. The rooftop conversation scene between Zorii Bliss and Poe Dameron was filmed on a stage with partly built rooftops against a green screen. For the Spice Runners' Den, Star Wars maestro John Williams played the bartender Oma Tres, and prop designers created fifty-one items representing each film for which the composer had been nominated for an Academy Award. Annie Leibovitz photographed the making of the movie, including Keri Russell posing as Zorii Bliss on the set of Kijimi City.
Kijimi City is featured as a level in the 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. Although non-canonical, the game adapts the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and the city incorporates detailed architectural elements inspired by the movie. Senior environment artist Ben Moseley worked on the rooftop elements, with Stuart Niblock serving as the lead environment artist at TT Games.
Kijimi City is among the open-world environments featured in the 2024 video game Star Wars Outlaws, developed by Massive Entertainment. The team and Lucasfilm Games created the Ashiga Clan for Outlaws, with the game's world director Cloé Hammoud and art director Marthe Jonkers stating that the clan's creation was influenced by their close connection to Kijimi City, which has strong Japanese influences. The directors also noted that the clan members' designs were inspired by kimonos from the Edo period and color palettes from ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The Edo period of Japan followed a period of civil wars under the Ashikaga shogunate.