Nihonmachi Alley

In Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, the passage documents pre-World War II Japanese American history through facing visual works. On one side, artist Amy Nikaitani and Friends of Japantown Seattle present murals of four landmark businesses that persisted after families returned from wartime incarceration: Kokusai Theatre, Maneki Restaurant, Sagamiya Confectionary, and Uwajimaya Grocers. Directly across the alley, artist Erin Shigaki mounts larger-than-life historic photos under the banner “Never Again Is Now,” highlighting community memories and reflections on the past.