The S.F. JACL has proposed a historic mural in the heart of Japantown.
The San Francisco JACL chapter proposes an art installation that will forever honor
and remember key people, places and events that have shaped the 116-year history of Japantown.
Kyutaro and Yona Abiko, Jeff Adachi, Jimbo Edwards, Archbishop Nitten Ishida, Tsuyako “Sox” Kitashima, Janice Mirikitani, Henri and Tomoye Takahashi, Clifford Uyeda and Yori Wada. You may have heard of some of these individuals, or maybe you’ve never heard of them before.
The San Francisco JACL has proposed a “Japantown History Mural” spanning a full city block, featuring large-format portraits of these individuals to bring to life key people, places and events that have shaped the 116-year history of San Francisco Japantown.
Since the proposed location along Geary Boulevard borders Peace Plaza, which is public property, the proposal will need to be approved by various city agencies.
The idea for a “Japantown History Mural” arose after the SF chapter received bequests from three longtime members: Yo Hironaka, Greg Marutani and Frank Minami.
Hironaka was a tireless community volunteer; Marutani dedicated himself to public education about the Japanese American wartime experience and served on the National JACL Education Committee for many years; and Frank Minami was a Shin-Issei banker known for his generosity in supporting community causes.
“This is an opportunity for the Japanese American community to tell the history of Japantown to a broader audience,” stated SF JACL President Judy Hamaguchi.
The mural effort began in July 2022 with an agreement to collaborate with Lisa Brewer of Mission Arts 415. Years ago, she and her partner, Randolph Bowes, came up with the idea of beautifying a San Francisco alley as a way to reduce crime. The resulting Lilac Mural Project in the Mission District has been highly successful, improving public safety and creating a new attraction for visitors.
“The vivid and high-impact Japantown History Mural promises to become a major destination for locals and visitors alike,” according to Brewer.
The master artist for the proposed project is Crayone (aka Rigel Juratovac), the legendary graffiti artist who has created numerous San Francisco and Bay Area murals to international acclaim. He was raised in San Francisco Japantown by a single mother from Korea and began his artistry with graffiti on the Japantown Bowl building that existed at the time.
“I am honored to work on a mural with so much significance for Japantown, a community I love,” said Juratovac.
The SF JACL launched a public nomination process for the mural portraits on Nov. 1, 2022. Submissions were accepted through Dec. 31, 2022. The chapter established the following criteria for portrait nominees, individuals who have made a significant connection to San Francisco Japantown.
- Established and built San Francisco Japantown and who have made significant contributions to continue to build and preserve it; or
- Advanced our diverse stories and history through education, the arts and culture; or
- Played a leadership role in social justice and civil rights issues.
The SF JACL appointed a Mural Project Advisory Committee composed of Dr. Ben Kobashigawa, emeritus professor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University; Kenji Tagumi, editor-in-chief of the Nichi Bei Weekly newspaper; Rosalyn Tonai, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society; and Darcy Nishi of the Japantown Rainbow Coalition and a next-generation Nikkei leader.
At a public meeting on Jan. 12, 2023, the Advisory Committee reviewed the 70 nominations that were submitted and selected 27 nominees for portraits on the proposed mural for further consideration.
This list of 27 individuals was reduced to 10 portraits, which were then presented for public review at a community meeting held on Jan. 30, 2023. The 10 portraits included two couples: Kyutaro and Yona Abiko, as well as Henri and Tomoye Takahashi. One notable, Ruth Asawa, was selected, but the renown sculptor’s estate decided not to have her portrait included.
Below are brief profiles of the selected notables in chronological order.
Kyutaro Abiko (1860-1936; Issei), a native of Niigata, was an early Japanese settler who arrived in California in 1885. In 1899, he launched the Nichi Bei newspaper, which would become one of the most influential Japanese daily newspapers until 1942, when the war forced the newspaper to cease operations. A successful entrepreneur, he purchased 3,000 acres in the Central Valley community of Livingston to establish the Yamato Colony in 1904, and he contributed to establishing Japanese colonies in Cortez and Cressey. He published the leading Japanese daily newspaper the Nichi Bei Shinbun for many years, and the newspaper’s legacy remains today with the Nichi Bei Foundation and its weekly newspaper that continues to connect Japanese American communities in and around San Francisco and beyond. A devout Christian, he was among the founders of the San Francisco Christian Federation, the first Japanese American ecumenical Christian organization that provided social services to Japanese immigrant survivors of the 1906 earthquake.
Yona Abiko (1880-1844; Issei) immigrated to San Francisco in 1907 after graduating from Tsuda College, which was founded by her sister, Ume Tsuda, and marrying Kyutaro. A dedicated community leader primarily serving other women, Yona was among the Issei women founders of the Joshi Seinen Kai, an organization dedicated to welcoming newly arrived Japanese immigrant women by offering temporary housing, English-language classes and other social services. As a founder of the Japanese Young Women’s Christian Assn., Yona helped the Joshi Seinen Kai raise money to purchase its own building, located in Japantown, in 1921. This building was later renovated by renowned architect Julia Morgan, reopened in 1932 and remains as a community asset in Japantown. Committed to preserving Japanese heritage among the Nisei generation, Yona and Kyutaro organized Nisei Kengakudan study tours to Japan for Nisei leaders, affording them opportunities to connect with prominent Japanese leaders and contribute to strengthening U.S.-Japan relations. When Kyutaro died in 1936, Yona succeeded him as publisher of the Nichi Bei newspaper, becoming the first woman to lead a Japanese community newspaper in the country.
Archbishop Nitten Ishida (1901-1996; Issei), a native of Hiroshima, arrived in San Francisco in 1931 to establish the Nichiren Hokke Buddhist Church of America, which soon became a center for spiritual and cultural activity. Ishida taught calligraphy there for 60 years. His wife, Chiyoko, was a master instructor of the Omote Senke School of Tea, and a formal tea room was built within the Japantown property. As a community leader with strong ties to Japan, Ishida was incarcerated at the Crystal City, Texas, federal prison camp. After the war, he returned to his church and offered social services to families returning from prison camps and led efforts to send care packages to war-torn Japan. Appointed Archbishop in 1953, Ishida worked to bring together people of diverse religious backgrounds and was instrumental in the founding of the Japanese American Religious Federation. During urban redevelopment of Japantown that resulted in the displacement of many families and seniors, Ishida partnered with tenant rights organization Committee Against Nihonmachi Evictions to secure the 235-unit Hinode Towers/Nihonmachi Terrace affordable housing complex that remains an important community asset.
Jimbo Edwards (1911-2000) bridged the Black and Japanese communities as proprietor of the jazz club Jimbo’s Bop City, located in the heart of Japantown. He provided a safe and inclusive community space for music lovers and jazz musicians that transcended ethnic barriers. A serial entrepreneur originally from Texas, Edwards first visited San Francisco in 1939 to attend the World’s Fair, after which he and his wife, Leola, decided to make the city their home. As automobiles became widely affordable, Edwards started out as San Francisco’s first Black car salesman but took over Jimbo’s Waffle Shop in 1950. The back of the restaurant became home to impromptu jam sessions, and the renamed Jimbo’s Bop City soon became a popular after-hours jazz club, open between 2-6 a.m. Despite many federal, state and local laws discriminating against Black people before the Civil Rights movement, Jimbo prohibited racism of any kind within his establishment. For the next 15 years until it closed in 1965, Jimbo’s Bop City attracted the likes of Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughn, bringing jazz greats and meaningful cultural diversity to Japantown.
Dr. Clifford Uyeda (1917-2004; Nisei), a longtime Japantown resident and beloved pediatrician, was an intrepid advocate for the Japanese American community. In 1969, he co-founded the Center for Japanese American Studies at San Francisco State University. He was an early board member of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California. An active member and later president of the SF JACL chapter, he was a leader in the JACL redress campaign in 1977 and was elected JACL national president in 1978. Under his leadership, JACL expanded lobbying efforts to secure redress and contributed to the formation of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians by President Jimmy Carter. From 1988-92, Uyeda served as president of the National Japanese American Historical Society and published a book about the Military Intelligence Service. He then worked to secure greater recognition of the wartime Nisei draft resisters of conscience and Japanese Latin Americans.
Yori Wada (1916-1997, Nisei) served as executive director of the Buchanan YMCA from 1966-82, mentoring countless Black and Asian American young people. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, before WWII, Wada encountered widespread job discrimination and worked as a grocery clerk before joining the U.S. Army 442 Nisei Regimental Combat Team. After the war, he dedicated his career to youth development. As the leader of the Western Addition Council of Youth Serving Agencies, Wada collaborated with other nonprofit leaders to fill federally funded paid summer jobs with neighborhood youth. As a member of the San Francisco Civil Service Commission, he advocated for the inclusion of more women and people of color in the police and fire departments. In 1977, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Wada to the University of California Board of Regents, and he became the first Asian American regent in the board’s 109-year history. During his tenure as regent, he was an early advocate for the university system’s divestment from South Africa and championed affirmative action.
Janice Mirikitani (1941-2021; Sansei) was an award-winning poet, performer and tireless advocate of the poor and marginalized. Incarcerated with her family at the Rowher prison camp during WWII, Mirikitani’s poetry and activism address the horrors of war, institutional racism and sexual violence, as well as celebrate the power of love and humanism. In 2000, Mayor Willie Brown Jr. appointed Mirikitani as the City’s second Poet Laureate, succeeding Lawrence Ferlinghetti. She wrote many poems about the Japanese American experience, from forced removal to horse stalls during World War II to the founding of the Japanese Cultural Community Center of Northern California to celebrating the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City. Together with her husband, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Mirikitani transformed the Glide Memorial Methodist Church from a traditional to a transformation Christian ministry focused on not only sheltering unhoused individuals but also affording them wrap-around services, including group therapy and employment services. Mirikitani served on the San Francisco Arts Commission, expanding opportunities for underrepresented artists, including those in Japantown, to access public funding.
Henri and Tomoye Takahashi (1914-2002, Issei; 1915-2015, Nisei) started the Takahashi Trading Company in 1945, just after they were released from the Topaz prison camp where their two children, Masako and Norman, were born. From the original store in Japantown, the couple secured an export license to ship medicine and other relief supplies to war-torn families in Japan. With Henri’s innovative designs of Japanese screens, lamps and housewares, the business grew rapidly, expanding to multiple stores in and around San Francisco, as well as one in New York City. In 1986, the couple, joined by Tomoye’s sister, Martha Masako Suzuki, established the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation with the mission of supporting the Japanese American community and to foster U.S.-Japan relations through cultural and educational endeavors. The foundation has awarded transformational grants to many Japantown organizations. In 2010, Tomoye and her sister received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, Japan’s highest civilian award.
Tsuyako ‘Sox’ Kitashima (1918-2005; Nisei), considered the “godmother of Japantown,” was a 25-year volunteer and board member of Kimochi Senior Services, a JACL member and an iconic spokesperson for the National Coalition of Redress and Reparation. After being released from Topaz prison camp in 1945, Sox Kataoka married Tom Kitashima, and they settled in San Francisco. She initially worked at the Wartime Relocation Authority San Francisco regional office and, later, at the Veterans Administration for 30 years. Upon retirement in 1981, she dedicated herself to the redress movement. Launching a letter-writing campaign from her kitchen table, she is credited with single-handedly gathering 8,000 letters of support for Japanese American reparations throughout the 1980s. After the enactment of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Sox focused on securing redress for every eligible Japanese American, even complex cases involving those without a permanent address or in jail or a mental health facility. In 1998, Sox was awarded a Free Spirit Award by the Freedom Forum.
Jeff Adachi (1959-2019, Sansei) was elected San Francisco Public Defender in 2002, capping a 32-year tenure there, handling over 3,000 criminal cases over that time. For many years, he served on the board of the SF JACL chapter, the Asian American Theater Company and the Nichi Bei Foundation Advisory Council. In 1995, he founded the San Francisco-based Asian American Arts Foundation that hosted the Golden Rink Award to recognize Asian American creative artists, including actors and musicians. The foundation awarded more than $100,000 in grants to emerging Asian American artists. Adachi also directed and produced award-winning films, including “The Slanted Screen” (2006), about Hollywood’s stereotypical treatment of Asian men; “You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story,” about Jack Soo, who was a Japanese American actor who used a Chinese name; “America Needs a Racial Facial,” a short historical documentary about racism in the U.S.; and “Defender,” about a notorious criminal case from Adachi’s case files that was subject to intense racism.
The proposed mural also includes references to significant events such as the arrival of the Kanrin Maru ship from Japan in 1860, the 1906 Earthquake, the wartime incarceration, redevelopment, redress and reparations, key Japantown business such as Uoki Sakai supermarket and Benkyodo, as well as significant Japantown organizations such as the Committee Against Nihonmachi Evictions, the Japanese YWCA and Kinmon Gakuen Japanese Language School, among others.
The SF JACL chapter has hosted nine public meetings, including three following the release of the near- final design. The next step will be to seek approval from the Recreation and Parks Department, which owns the wall, and the Arts Commission.
For updates on the mural proposal, visit the San Francisco JACL chapter website at www.sfjacl.org.
Editor’s Note: In a late-breaking development at press time, the SF JACL chapter has changed the name of the project to ‘San Francisco Japantown Journey.’
