NIHONMACHI ALLEY
In this permanent public exhibit space, history meets art to invite you to explore the often unseen community treasures in Japantown: Chiyo’s Garden, Danny Woo Community Garden and Kobe Terrace.
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
Nihonmachi Alley
Permanent Public Exhibit
Seattle Japantown
In the early 1900s, Japantown (Nihonmachi) stretched from 4th Avenue South to 23rd Avenue South, a bustling enclave of family homes and independently owned shops, grocery stores and entertainment venues. In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor came Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which forced all persons of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps – Nihonmachi never fully recovered.
Nihonmachi Alley is located on the north side of Jackson Street between 6th and Maynard Avenues. It features murals of four landmark businesses that undauntedly continued upon the families returning from incarceration: Kokusai Theatre, Maneki Restaurant, Sagamiya Confectionary and Uwajimaya Grocers.
The murals in Nihonmachi Alley are a collaborative effort between Friends of Japantown and local Japanese artist Amy Nikaitani. In this space, history meets art to invite you to explore the often unseen community treasures in Japantown: Chiyo’s Garden, Danny Woo Community Garden and Kobe Terrace.
KOKUSAI THEATRE
Originally called the Atlas Theatre, the movie house located on Maynard and Jackson was founded in 1918 by a benshi (silent film narrator) to show Japanese films. After incarceration, the Kitamura Family took over, and in the 1960s renamed it the Kokusai Theatre. Kokusaí means international, and the cinema lived up to its name showing Japanese, Chinese and Filipino films. The theatre was one of the few places audiences could view Asian actors playing heroes and in leading roles. The entire family, including the children, worked at the theatre, taking breaks in shifts at Tai Tung restaurant down the street. A labor of love, the Kitamura children closed the theatre only after their mother passed away in the late 1980s.
Nan Ce Nu Er Xin (Women's heart is unpredictable) Niao Yu Hua Xiang. 2005.084.048
Tian Jiang Fu Xing (Lucky Star) Da Fu Zhi Jia (Rich Family). 2005.084.035
Hao Men Chun Se Dai Yu Zang Hua. 2005.084.023
For more information on collections materials, please visit our Wing Luke Museum Database
MANEKI RESTAURANT
Opened in 1904 at 6th and Washington, the original building resembled a three-story Japanese castle, seated up to 500 people, and was a popular location for weddings, funerals and visiting dignitaries. Local history says Takeo Miki, who went on to serve as Japan’s Prime Minister from 1974-76, was employed as a dishwasher here during his college days at the University of Washington. After World War II, the restaurant moved to 6th and Main, where Maneki continues to be a popular destination under the ownership of Jean Nakayama. In 2008, the James Beard Foundation recognized the Asian comfort food with an America’s Classic award. Today, Maneki is recognized as Seattle’s longest-standing Japanese restaurant with the first sushi bar, tatami rooms and karaoke.
Black and White photograph Of Tokuji Sato owner of the Maneki Restaurant. He is standing in the garden near the entrance. Above the garden is the tea house. 1992.041.001.032
Black and white photograph of the female waitstaff at the Maneki restaurant outdoor garden and tea room. August 2, 1940. The tea room replicates a large Japanese castle. 1995.039.001
Front gate of the Maneki restaurant when it was at 212 Sixth Ave South. 1995.040.001
For more information on collections materials, please visit our Wing Luke Museum Database
SAGAMIYA CONFECTIONARY
Sagamiya Confectionary opened in 1900, named after Unosuke and Take Shibata’s hometown, Sagami. From the corner of 5th and Main, the scent of mochi and senbei enticed the neighborhood. This little shop gained global attention during the 1909 World’s Fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, where Sagamiya was given an award for their traditional rice-based treat. When Take retired to Japan, she left the business to her nephew and his wife. Partnering with his cousins, they expanded Sagamiya to offer stationery, books, magazines and a soda machine. The windows often displayed local pride, such as the year’s biggest salmon and largest matsutake mushroom. Sagamiya reopened after the War, delivering its beloved sweets for another three decades, finally closing in 1978.
Black and white image of interior of Sagamiya Co. store showing Johnson outboard boat motor, mounted fish, and tackle, all with Japanese hang tags. 2005.068.238
For more information on collections materials, please visit our Wing Luke Museum Database
UWAJIMAYA GROCERS
Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi started Uwajimaya in 1928, selling fishcakes and other Japanese staples out of the back of a truck in Tacoma, Washington. After the incarceration, they opened their first store at 4th and Main, adding imported gifts and food from Japan so local Japanese families could prepare traditional dishes. Fujimatsu seized the opportunity to host a kiosk at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle and introduced his offerings to a wider audience. He died shortly after, never to witness the results of his efforts as his stores gained popularity in the Pacific Northwest. Since then, the specialty supermarket has moved twice within the neighborhood, ultimately establishing its flagship store at 6th and Weller in 2000.
Black and white photo of 3-story contemporary Japanese building. The base floor appears to be a grocery store. Seattle International District Uwajimaya store. 1991.100.714
For more information on collections materials, please visit our Wing Luke Museum Database
OTHER HISTORIC NIHONMACHI LANDMARKS
HIRABAYASHI PLACE
442 S Main St is the location of Hirabayashi Place, built in 2016 as a new mixed-use development that includes a childcare center to support affordable housing to help maintain the community in the CID and keep families in our neighborhood amidst gentrification and the high price of living in the city. The building is named in honor of Gordon Hirabayashi—a US citizen of Japanese descent born in Seattle who went to the University of Washington in 1937. When Japanese Americans were forced out of their homes and into incarceration camps in 1942, Hirabayashi stood up against Executive Order 9066 and defied the order on the basis that it was racially discriminatory and violated his rights as a US citizen. Hirabayashi took the case to the Supreme Court in 1943 that was defeated, until 40 years later where his case was reheard by the federal courts and ultimately his criminal conviction was overturned. Mitsuye Endo, Fred Korematsu, and Gordon Hirabayashi would be known for challenging the constitutionality of the forced removal and curfew orders through legal means as forms of resistance during WWII.
Upon visiting the entryway of Hirabayshi Place, guests may partake a mural painted to honor Gordon Hirabayshi’s life and legacy by Roger Shimomura
Black and White photograph Portrait of Gordon Hirabayashi. 2011.007.083
For more information on collections materials, please visit our Wing Luke Museum Database
VISIT THE EXHIBIT
PLAN YOUR VISIT
The Nihonmachi Alley Exhibit is an always open public art and community space. Plan your visit to the Chinatown-International District
TAKE A GUIDED TOUR
Visit the alley with an insider’s look and more insight into the enclave of family homes, shops, and the history of Seattle’s Historic Japantown
HAI! JAPANTOWN
Each summer, Nihonmachi celebrates with a block party and a weeklong calendar of family fun games, pop-ups, live music, and performances!
ABOUT THE ARTIST: AMY NIKAITANI
Although Amy Nikaitani only more recently moved to the Chinatown-International District, settling into senior housing on Yesler Way in 2008, she is no stranger to the neighborhood. Born in 1923, Nikaitani took her first breath in an area hotel. In the 1980s, she would spend time once again among the storefronts and hotels here, drawing elevation views not from photographs but directly from the buildings themselves.
Nikaitani moved to Kent when she was five years old and graduated from Kent Senior High School in 1941. Although her high school did not have an art teacher, Nikaitani drew figures of people on her own, a lifelong passion started in grade school. After graduation, though discouraged by her father from entering art school, Nikaitani enrolled in a costume design school with figure drawing classes her favorite. Her studies were cut short however by the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II. Evacuated to Wyoming, Nikaitani continued drawing, embellishing letters to soldiers overseas with her figures. Married in 1944, she returned to Seattle in 1946 to raise her family. No matter her stage in life, she has always returned to art, whether studying advertising art and then contemporary graphics, working at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair drawing portraits, serving as a supervisor in Boeing’s graphics department, or attending local drawing sessions twice a month.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Featured Artist: Amy Nikaitani
Art Designer: Erin Shigaki
Friends of Japantown
Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDPDA)
