Since 1944, Pacific Mercantile Company has been a rare source of Asian groceries and goods in downtown Denver.
Now, the family that has operated the grocery store has been immortalized in a new mural at Sakura Square.
The mural was designed and painted by Casey Kawaguchi, a Japanese-American artist, using funds provided by Denver City Council member Chris Hinds. It’s a companion to a similar mural on the other side of the building.
The mural depicts a Japanese woman wearing traditional makeup, with a butterfly resting on her hand. Behind her is a bonsai tree.
“For my work to find its place in the history of Pacific Mercantile, Sakura Square, and the longer Japanese-American history here in Colorado, makes me feel like it was meant to be,” Kawaguchi said.
Kawaguchi’s mural alludes to the past, present and future of the Japanese community in Denver.
Kawaguchi drew the bonsai tree to pay tribute to George Inai, who founded the market in 1944.
It was a tumultuous time for Japanese-Americans due to widespread anti-Japanese sentiments brought on by World War II and the federal government’s roundup of communities into internment camps.
Today, Pacific Mercantile Company is run by Inai’s grandchildren. Kawaguchi drew the geisha character — one of his signature drawings — with shorter hair to honor Jolie Noguchi, one of the grandchildren.
“Casey is like my son, I am his Denver mom,” Noguchi said. “When I heard about this particular mural and what it stood for, I was blown away.”
The butterfly represents Alyssa Noguchi, Jolie Noguchi’s daughter, who plans to inherit the grocery.
The area has become a hub for Asian community in recent years.
Downtown Denver is home to multiple historically Asian communities. A bustling Chinatown thrived around Wazee Street in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Japanese immigrants were arriving around the same time, and by the 1940s many Japanese-American businesses had established themselves along Larimer Street, where Pacific Mercantile Company and Sakura Square stand today.
The Chinese-American and Japanese-American communities were only a few blocks apart, and both suffered injustices. An anti-Chinese race riot in 1880 led to the destruction and the lynching of one man. During World War II, many Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps like Camp Amache, even as Gov. Ralph Carr tried to ensure their safety.
In the 1960s, Denver's urban renewal efforts threatened to destroy the Japanese-American community downtown — inspiring the successful effort to develop Sakura Square and Tami Tower, with a focus on housing and community commercial uses. Sakura Square opened in May 1973.
While Sakura Square honors its history and looks to the future., the city of Denver also has looked to honor the memory of the historic Chinatown, too.
A temporary exhibit at History Colorado included renderings of what a renewed Chinatown could look like. City officials are also considering putting aside money from a proposed bond package to help build out that vision, although details are sparse.
Andrew Kenney contributed to this article.
Editor's note: This article was updated with additional historical context about Denver's Japanese-American and Chinese-American communities.
