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Sakuramento Japantown Mural

This mural was a collaboration and fundraised through Reclaim Sacramento Japantown, a group focused on bringing awareness to the historic Japantown that was in Sacramento until 1960 - when it was redeveloped by the city and was a replaced by Capitol Mall. It is on the corner of 4th and Capitol Expressway near the capitol building, which was identified as being the 'heart' of the Japantown in its prime days before Japanese-Americans were sent to incarceration camps and forced to leave the city.

 

Currently the property is owned by the Shingle Spring Band of Miwok Indians, who gave us permission for the painted mural and all on-site celebrations.

Mural Design and Process

There was conversations around having a timeline-like design which initally highlighted a key issue – the intersection the mural is on has a lot of traffic from being between the capitol building and the bridge, mostly by car and bikes. We decided that the mural needed striking, vibrant visuals along with “Sacramento Japantown” being the main text on one of the walls so commuters could quickly understand the foundation of the artwork. I proposed referencing historical photos taken in the Japantown through painting those scenes which were selected to show the liveliness of Japantown between the 1910s-40s that included Japanese American businesses, celebrations, and the key panel being the painting of the redevelopment sign with the background destruction of the Japantown. These were reviewed and revised with feedback from the Reclaim Sacramento Japantown board and members.

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The paintings referencing the photos would be stylized with a similar type of linework and colors found in hanafuda – Japanese playing cards where each suit has a designated flower and represents a specific month. Since this is a mural on temporary fencing, I decided that these would be painted on seperate wood panels that would mimic the dimensions of actual hanafuda cards but at a much larger scale. This way, they could be attached to the wall with screws as the wall painting was finished and I would be able to preserve parts of the mural in the future.

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The backdrop of the panels would be color splashes with origami birds symbolizing the current Japanese American community that resides in Sacramento and surrounding cities. In the center of the middle wall, a large sakura tree. Previously, Sacramento's Japantown has had several names by its residents over the decades which included “Sakuramento”, a historical reference to the cherry blossom trees that used to line downtown Sacramento's city streets. I felt it was important to honor all the names for Sacramento given by Japanese Americans, so the names are listed in three ways on the mural: Sacramento Japantown, サクラメント (“Sakuramento” in katana), and calligraphy by Etsuko Wakayama of an older name for Sacramento that translates to “Sakura Capitol”.

This project was able to become a shared community experience in that community members assisted with my process from start to finish – from the initial 'White Brush Ceremony' held on-site to commemorate the first strokes of primer on the wall, to painting of the walls and the panels, and installation of the finished panels to complete the mural. The ceremony day of May 5th also gives tribute to several important dates for Japanese Americans in Sacramento; in 1942 this was the day before Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated, and in 1955 this was the exact day the federal government approved the Sacramento Redevelopment Plan to destroy Japantown.

Sakuramento Panel Paintings

Osaka-Ya – Currently located on 2215 10th Street in Sacramento, and one of the last remaining Japanese American-owned businesses in the area that survived redevelopment. For this painting, I envisioned what the business would have looked like in an earlier era but at their current location with their signature blue shop sign. Their original location in the 1940s was on the corner of 10th Street.

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Sacramento's Obon Festival – A taiko performance during an Obon Festival in the 1950s, held by the Sacramento Buddhist Church.

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Iris Sukiyaki – The Iris Sukiyaki sign and the bustling activity on 4th Street in the 1950s post the war.

 

Sun Rise Laundry – Showing the activity on Capitol in front of Sun Rise Laundry, which was between 3rd and 4th Street.

 

Last Day of the Yorozu Co. - The last day Yorozu Co. was open before it was forced to close down due to Executive Order 9066. The store was on the corner of 4th and Capitol.

 

Redevelopment of Sacramento Japantown – The sign set up to advertise redevelopment after the City of Sacramento demolished many of the buildings within the Japantown. This ultimately was a part of the Capitol Mall project that displaced many Japanese Americans.

 

Re-opening of Ouye's Pharmacy – The second opening of Ouye Pharmacy, which was forced to move several times within Sacramento – from 3rd and L Street to this location on the corner of 4th and L Street (previously the old Sumitomo Bank) and their final move to 10th and V Street. The pharmacy was run by brothers Fred and Harold Ouye.

 

Hamai Kaishundo Drug Store and Print Shop – One of the early businesses in the growing Japantown it was located in the 1910s on 3rd Streets and later moved to 4th and M Street in the 1940s. It was run by Jimmy Hamai and his family.

References and Resources

Press

© 2025  Karen Tsugawa

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