A person wearing a black jacket, yellow pants, and a colorful scarf holds a small bundle of sage near a mural painted on a wall. The mural features black-and-white historical images, including a woman carrying a child, a row of barracks, and a sign reading "NEVER AGAIN IS NOW."

Linda Ando burns sage over the now-clean mural by Erin Shigaki on Jan. 25. Ando also prayed over the mural and burned sage over all the attendees of the community event to "cleanse the negative energy."(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

Tsuru for Solidarity, Community Members Respond to Defaced Nihonmachi Mural

Published on:

Feb 13, 2025, 9:34 pm

4 min read

by Dany Villarreal Martinez

This article was originally published by the International Examiner and has been reprinted under an agreement

Several passersby might have smelt the burning sage coming from Nihonmachi Alley. Had they peered into the slim alleyway, they would have seen Linda Ando spreading the scented smoke over "Never Again Is Now," a mural by Erin Shigaki.

"It was such an eerie haunting feeling in the alley, it was very disturbing for me … I decided to use sage to do some cleansing … I was so amazed at how light the energy felt afterwards," Ando said.

After the defacing of Shigaki's mural, Tsuru for Solidarity quickly organized a community event to show resistance. The mural, which was painted over with black ink and a Bible verse, was discovered on MLK Jr. Day and quickly cleaned up by Seattle Surface Cleaners, contracted by the CID Business Improvement Area. But Tsuru for Solidary felt more needed to be done.

Within days of the discovery, community members gathered on Jan. 25 to fold and string together paper cranes, known as tsurus, which symbolize peace. They also crafted tags, a symbolic reference to the numbered suitcase tags that were given to Japanese American families who were taken to incarceration camps by the military, according to Ando. Now, they are used to make statements.

A group of people gathers on a city sidewalk, smiling and interacting while holding colorful strings of origami cranes. A woman in a navy coat and a baseball cap speaks to an older man wearing glasses, a black jacket, and a backpack

Community members line up outside Panama Cafe, awaiting a procession led by Stanley Shikuma (right) on Jan. 25, 2025.(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

A man wearing glasses, a black jacket, and a backpack walks forward playing a handheld drum with a wooden stick, while a woman behind him, dressed in a black coat, yellow skirt, and colorful scarf, rings a small singing bowl. A group of people follows them holding strings of colorful origami cranes.

The healing event began at the Panama Hotel.(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

"The purpose was to say be present, be visible; to say 'we are still here,'" Ando said. "And to reclaim that space in a loving and resilient way."

Ando says the community has been under attack for some time, impacting the quality of life of Chinatown-International District residents.

"We don't want people to feel like they cannot come to Chinatown-International District [or] be fearful," Ando said. "We want to change that narrative. We have to always remember that this was a thriving community pre-war."

A mural on a city wall, featuring black-and-white historical images and the phrase "NEVER AGAIN IS NOW," has been vandalized with black paint splattered across the faces and figures. The mural includes a woman carrying a child, a row of barracks, and other historical scenes.

A photo of the defacement on the "Never Again Is Now" mural in Nihonmachi Alley.(Photo courtesy of the International Examiner)

The mural is part of a series of Shigaki's work remembering the history of Japanese American incarceration camps during WWII. Beginning in 1942, most Japanese Americans in Seattle were sent to Camp Minidoka, in southern Idaho. The first to be forcefully taken were the residents of Bainbridge Island — which is where the picture of Ms. Hayashida holding her daughter Natalie was taken.

"She has on a face that's very brave, when she must have been very frightened," Shigaki said.

Shigaki was not in Seattle when her mural was defaced, but was not surprised to hear about it. This is not the first time her artwork has been affected by hate. Another one of her murals was censored by one of the vice presidents of Bellevue College back in 2020.

"We have never had an act of vandalism in the alley that bad," Shigaki said. "But we have cleaned off small acts of vandalism for years."

Shigaki appreciated the loving community event. She believed it gave everyone a chance to see each other and to remember they are not alone. One of the community members, Eugene Tagawa, a Japanese American camp survivor found solace in the event and found the space to express his feelings about the defaced mural.

A person in a black jacket hangs colorful strings of origami cranes on a metal gate, while another person wearing a black coat, a bright scarf, and yellow sunglasses raises their arm with a joyful expression. Sunlight casts shadows on the scene, highlighting the vibrant paper cranes.

A community member at Chiyo's Garden during the event.(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

A person with long, graying hair, wearing a plaid jacket and a crossbody bag, holds up a green sign with the handwritten message "STOP REPEATING HISTORY" against a metal gate.

A participant attaches a note to the wall that reads, "Stop repeating history."(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

"I'm just outraged that somebody tried to erase part of my history," Tagawa said. "It's my heritage. It's me."

Tsuru for Solidarity shows support for other organizations, such as La Resistencia, who recognize repeating history and advocate to change it. La Resistencia is a grassroots organization run by undocumented migrants and POC who advocate for an end to deportation and immigrant detention. They were present at the community gathering on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Stanley Shikuma, who is part of Tsuru for Solidarity's leadership council, believes the community will always respond to negative incidents and advocate for change. He hopes it is not just the community that changes, but the people in power as well.

"A lot of communities have experienced [displacement] and are experiencing it today," Shikuma said. "Because of that history, [if] the Japanese American community can get people to stop and think about it, they will recognize the similarities."

Shigaki agrees that there is plenty of work to do. Now that time has passed for some to be able to work through the trauma of their history, they hope more can call attention to it now.

"It's certainly important for us to each work on the intergenerational trauma that the incarceration certainly causes," Shigaki said. "But now, for those of us who are ready, it's high time we stand up and stand with other communities."

A person wearing a black sweatshirt with a white emblem on the sleeve writes on a small yellow card with a black marker. The table is covered with colorful paper tags, some with handwritten messages, and a red fabric with a floral pattern.

After the defacing of Shigaki’s mural, Tsuru for Solidarity quickly organized a community event to show resistance.(Photo: Dany Villarreal Martinez, courtesy of the International Examiner)

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