Buddhist Church of Sacramento honors the new Japantown mural
Left to right: Sangha members Stuart Ito, Karen Adachi, Reverend Matt Hamasaki, and Sharon Ito, who served as the emcee, at the Sacramento Japantown Mural dedication ceremony at 4th Street and Capitol Mall. (May 29, 2024)
Sangha members participated in the dedication of the city’s newest mural, this one honoring the memory of Sacramento Japantown, once one of the largest Japanese communities in the entire United States.
This important, celebratory mural is located at 4th Street and Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento in what was once the heart of Japantown, founded by the Issei and Nisei, first-generation Japanese immigrants and second-generation American-born Japanese, respectively.
The community group Reclaim Sacramento Japantown set an ambitious goal for the project: to start and finish the mural in May during Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Affectionately known as “Sakuramento,” the mural evokes the voice of the Issei and Nisei who named their new home after “sakura,” the Japanese word for cherry blossom. Video courtesy of Paul Kitagaki, The Sacramento Bee (May 29, 2024)
The kickoff was held on May 5, 2024, with Reverend Bob Oshita offering a meditation in memory of the Issei and Nisei who built Japantown. Together with Reverend Patti Oshita, they led a Jodo Shinshu chant before a group of dedicated volunteers.
Roseville-based muralist Karen Tsugawa wanted a sense of community infused into her project. So she invited volunteers to join her on weekends to paint the mural’s background, while she created a series of panels in the style of Japanese playing cards known as Hanafuda. Karen depicted iconic scenes of Japantown, including our annual Obon dancing on the panels, which were later attached to the mural’s background.
Karen’s paternal grandparents grew up in Sacramento and were incarcerated at Tule Lake during World War II. Before this project, she knew very little about Sacramento Japantown. “It’s been an honor to both do the project and then just connect with so many people, especially fellow Japanese Americans who I didn’t know before,” said Karen.
The new mural was dedicated on May 29, in time to be showcased at the AAPI Night Market, hosted by the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.
History of a lost community
Sacramento was once home to the fourth largest — and among the most vibrant — Japantown communities in America, rivaling San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles.
Sacramento Japantown first disappeared in 1942, when Japanese Americans were removed and sent to one of ten U.S. concentration camps. After World War II, many returned to rebuild Japantown, but residents and business owners were removed once again, this time, to make way for downtown redevelopment.
Today, few businesses and only memories of Japantown’s past glory remain.
“The younger generations that didn't live through the forced incarceration of the camps and the city’s redevelopment, we didn’t know a lot of this history. So we’re learning so much,” said Jamie Katayanagi, who started Reclaim Sacramento Japantown.
The mural project received support from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, who provided the space for the new mural, along with donors from across the country including the Buddhist Church of Sacramento.
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