Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural

June 2026 - Toronto ON

Queen St. W

In Japanese, sanko most commonly means reference or consultation (参考, sankō), meaning information or a source you look at to help you think or decide. Depending on the kanji characters used, it can also mean three lights (三光—the sun, moon, and stars), and it can refer to a local Japanese grocery store like Sanko Trading Co. right here in Toronto.

Toronto does not have a single, official historic "Japantown" neighborhood, but rather spots around town.

The famous wall outside Sanko Trading Co. (located at Queen Street West and Claremont Street) features a newly re-painted piece titled The JapanTown Project No. 5. Created by an artist collective known as "The Summit," this version replaces the store's previous iconic Japanese-inspired collage that had occupied the wall since 2013 (see below).

The mural prominently highlights Sanko's legacy as a grocery store, depicting detailed, colourful illustrations of swirling bowls of noodles, fresh sushi rolls, and fish.

MURAL UPDATE

This replaces the original mural I posted in 2014 and 2015!

The previous mural at Sanko Trading Co.—which graced the Claremont Street wall from 2013 until its recent re-painting—was a highly celebrated, eclectic collaborative masterpiece. It was specifically painted by a powerhouse collective of Japanese-Canadian artists, including Ken Galloway, Timothy Fukakusa (Ekwal), Mitsuo Kimura, Takashi Iwasaki, Darcy Obokata, and Shogo Okada.

Because Toronto doesn't have an official, physical "Japantown," the artists explicitly designed the wall to act as a visual block of Japan dropped right into West Queen West.

The magic of the original piece was its mashup of contrasting artistic styles. Because five different artists worked on it simultaneously, you could look at one section and see crisp graffiti spray paint, then turn your head slightly to see soft, traditional brush strokes.