300 Powell Street
SUZUKI FRUIT & LIQUOR 1920 | YAMAMOTO FRUIT STORE 1936 | KAWASAKI CONFECTIONER 1936 | SUNRISE MARKET 1960s
Powell Street was the place to find special Japanese foods and ingredients. Many confectioners sold freshly made sweets, like manju or mochi.
"One thing all the kids ate was a piece of coloured red ginger… For 2 or 3 cents you’d get a bag full that you would chomp on." - Bob Nimi
"They knew the tofu was fresh and my dad [Leslie Joe] brought in all the Japanese vegetables. We had local farmers selling to us directly, things like taros and daikons." - Peter Joe
Powell Street was the place to find special Japanese foods and ingredients. Many confectioners sold freshly made sweets, like manju or mochi.
"One thing all the kids ate was a piece of coloured red ginger… For 2 or 3 cents you’d get a bag full that you would chomp on." - Bob Nimi
"They knew the tofu was fresh and my dad [Leslie Joe] brought in all the Japanese vegetables. We had local farmers selling to us directly, things like taros and daikons." - Peter Joe
Artist Comments and Additional Information
300 and 314 are two panels that situate themselves between the hustle and bustle of Sunrise Market, which has become one of Vancouver's landmark supermarkets since 1956.
This panel focuses on the Kawasaki Confectioner (1936) and uses the photograph of Kasuga Kashiten as a window into the types of specialty foods stores that were available on Powell Street. Japanese treats like manju, candied giner, and other okashi (snacks). Other confectionery stores at the time included Negami's Confectionery, Kasuga and Suzuki.
