By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
In the wee hours, sometime between Sunday, Jan. 19 and Monday, Jan. 20, vandals destroyed a historic Wing Luke Museum mural in Nihonmachi Alley, splashing black paint across the artwork depicting Japanese American history.
The mural, located next to the Wing Luke Museum in the Japantown area of the Chinatown-International District (CID), was discovered to be vandalized on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The building owners filed a report with the Seattle Police Department, whose officers, as of this writing, are still in the process of gathering information on the incident. So far, no suspects have been identified.
Courtesy of Jeff Liang.
Though the mural has since been swiftly cleaned and restored by Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBA) staff and the rapid response sanitation vendor, Seattle Surface Cleaners, Jeff Liang, interim executive director at the CIDBA, said that “it felt like a gutpunch,” when he learned of the news.
Liang had been flying home from San Francisco. As he got on his plane, his thoughts were, “How can we help and what can we do?”
Liang said that minor vandalism in the area has occurred in the past, but nothing like this time. This time, he said, it felt “targeted.” Liang said he still has no idea on who might have done this.
The public art, installed and created especially for Nihonmachi Alley in 2019, highlights four Japanese businesses in the neighborhood. On the other side of the alley is a memorial to Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. In big letters on one of the walls is the phrase, “NEVER AGAIN IS NOW,” meant to remind the viewer of the internment camps that Japanese Americans were forced to enter during WWII.
The vandals covered the mural’s large depiction of a Japanese woman holding a baby in black paint. Names of those who volunteered to fight for the U.S. in WWII were blotched out. It’s like it was intentional, Liang said.
“People have [previously] respected the artwork and what it means,” said Liang.
The desecration of the murals is a stark reminder that anti-Asian hate persists. Although he does not know if it was a hate crime, Liang knows it was “an act of hate.”
This is not the first time someone has taken aim at the Wing Luke Museum.
In September 2023, a 76-year-old man used a sledgehammer to break the windows of the Wing Luke along Canton Alley South. The man caused more than $100,000 worth of property damage and was charged with a hate crime.
Witnesses to the crime heard the man say, “The Chinese ruined my life.”
Liang expressed the feelings of most of the community—frustration, sadness, and exhaustion.
The Wing Luke Museum also issued a statement on the vandalism on MLK Jr. Day:
“The Wing Luke Museum is deeply saddened by this act of vandalism of the powerful and evocative mural created by artist Erin Shigaki and the informational panels illustrated by artist Amy Nikaitani,” the museum staff wrote in a statement. “This is extremely upsetting, but we thank Paul and Craig Murakami, who own the Jackson Building, and the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area’s sanitation contractor, who quickly restored and cleaned up the damage. We send love and support to Erin and to Amy’s family at this time.”
Despite the feelings of frustration from the senseless crime, Liang emphasized the community’s resilience and resolve to protect and celebrate the cultural heritage of the community. He also emphasized the need to spread the word that the CID is a place to visit.
“The best way to support and respond to this act of vandalism is to visit Japantown,” he explained. “By eating at local restaurants, shopping at small businesses, and learning about the area’s history and culture, we can contribute to the vibrancy and resilience of Japantown while showing their solidarity.”
Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.