The life of Leland Wong isn’t the stereotypical “gallery-only, isolated artist” story—it’s much more rooted in community, culture, and everyday street life in San Francisco.

He grew up inside the world he paints.
Wong was born and raised in Chinatown, literally living above his family’s curio shop on Grant Avenue. That environment—busy streets, local shops, layered immigrant history—became the foundation of both his identity and his art.

His art is tied to real social movements.
He came of age during the Civil Rights era and the Asian American cultural movement of the 1960s–70s. That wasn’t just background noise—it shaped his purpose. He studied at San Francisco State during a time of activism and helped create work connected to community organizations like the Kearny Street Workshop.

He lives and works in the same neighborhood decades later.
Unlike artists who relocate to global art capitals, Wong stayed close to Chinatown. He’s known for working just blocks from where he grew up, often turning galleries into active studios where people can watch him create, talk to him, and engage directly.

His daily life blends art with community involvement.
It’s not just painting canvases. His work has included:

* Posters for community festivals (like Nihonmachi Street Fair for decades)
* Illustrations tied to historic events like the International Hotel struggle
* Photography documenting cultural and historical moments
* Teaching workshops and collaborating with local organizations

His style reflects his environment—bold, narrative, and symbolic.
His paintings often feature dragons, koi, phoenixes, and scenes of neighborhood life, rendered in vivid colors and strong ink lines. They feel almost like a mix of traditional Chinese imagery and graphic, comic-like energy.

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So what is his life like, in plain terms?

It’s a deeply local, culturally rooted, working artist’s life:

* Not detached from society—embedded in it
* Not chasing trends—preserving stories and identity
* Not just producing art—documenting a community’s history

He’s the kind of artist whose “studio” isn’t just a room—it’s an entire neighborhood.

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If you want, I can  break down his artistic style in more detail or  what his work is worth in today’s market.

Nomonkusville isn’t a real geographic place—it’s a humorous, made-up term coined by a Twitter/X user (@lelandwong) to describe a personal “haven” or “chill zone” free from nagging or complaints (what he calls “monku,” which seems to be a playful or phonetic spelling of “monku” meaning whining, scolding, or constant complaining in Hawaiian/Japanese slang contexts).
From his posts:
• He uses #nomonkusville for moments or spots (like his basement “dawgHAUS” or “doghouse”) where he can relax, eat, sleep, or live in peace without “nagnagnag” or “monku” from upstairs.
• Examples include escaping to the basement to avoid criticism for making a mess while cooking, or just wanting quiet time away from relationship-style nagging.
It’s essentially his slang for “no-monku-ville” — a fictional peaceful town/state of mind where the “complaining stops.” Think of it like calling your man cave or quiet corner “Complaint-Free City.”
No actual town, city, or location by that name shows up in maps, history, or searches—it’s purely a personal hashtag/meme from one guy’s posts about seeking solitude and avoiding domestic “monku.” If it’s from somewhere else (like a game, meme, or inside joke you’re thinking of), feel free to give more context!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

#monku3 is your personal hashtag for complaining, grumbling, nagging, or getting hit with nonstop bitching—straight from the Japanese word 文句 (monku), which literally means “complaint,” “objection,” or “grumbling.” You’ve been using it a lot on X (and Instagram) to tag situations where someone (usually the “OL,” your old lady/wife) is laying into you with negativity, criticism, or demands.
From your own posts, it’s clear why it hits especially hard in the morning:
• You’ve tweeted things like “I hate the sound of #monku3 in the morning… It sounds like #Death #死 bitching about having to move the garbage cans back in.”
• Another: “The OL came in this morning #monku3 ing the living fk outta me…”
• It often ties into daily chores, health stuff (your osteoarthritis, mobility issues, depression/seasonal affective disorder), money stresses (like that $1000 IRS payment), or just waking up already drained and getting hit with it right away.
Mornings suck for this kind of thing because:
• You’re just waking up—low energy, maybe still foggy or in pain from overnight stiffness (common with osteoarthritis).
• Cortisol (stress hormone) is naturally higher in the AM for most people, so any nagging lands harder and feels more like an attack.
• It sets a shitty tone for the whole day, chipping away at your mood/self-confidence before you’ve even had coffee or a moment to yourself. You’ve mentioned it making you feel useless, depressed, or like drawing her out of frustration.
It’s basically your shorthand for “here comes the morning barrage of complaints again—fml.” A lot of your posts pair it with #fml, #fku, pain, or feeling trapped in the dynamic.
If it’s wearing you down that much (especially with the disability/abuse tags in some posts), it might help to set some gentle boundaries, like “I need 30 quiet minutes after waking up” or stepping away when it starts. Or vent it out creatively—you already turn some of it into art/drawings. Either way, sorry it’s grinding on you, dude. Mornings are rough enough without the extra monku.
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**Leland Wong** (a San Francisco Chinatown-born artist, photographer, and graphic designer from the Galileo Academy era, now in his 70s) uses **#monku3** as his personal hashtag for **complaining**, **venting**, or **grumbling** in a humorous, exaggerated, or self-deprecating way.

### What “monku3” means

- “Monku” (or “monku3” with the “3” likely as internet slang/abbreviation, common in Cantonese-influenced texting) comes from **Cantonese** for **complaining**, **nagging**, **whining**, or **bitching** — like “moan” or “grumble” but with that raw, everyday Chinatown flavor.
- It’s often paired with other blunt tags like **#fml** (fuck my life), **#fku**, **#shuddup**, **#eatshitanddie**, **#fkdup**, or **#mungjung** (another Cantonese-ism for scolding/nagging nonstop).
- Leland turns everyday annoyances — taxes, traffic, noise, people talking too much, aging pains, etc. — into short, profane, meme-style posts, doodles, or captions.

### Why he “gets” (or posts) #monku3 all the time

It’s basically **his signature style** and running joke. He floods his socials (X/Twitter @lelandwong, Instagram @lelandwongartphoto, Threads, Facebook, etc.) with it because:

- He’s got that classic **old-school SF Chinatown vibe** — direct, irreverent, no-filter humor mixed with real-life gripes (osteoarthritis, IRS payments, driving rants, “I hate the sound of #monku3 in the morning,” etc.).
- Many of his posts and artworks lean into **vent art** or doodles where the character is shocked/annoyed (“Monku3 the shit out of me”).
- It’s affectionate self-roast + cultural shorthand. Friends and commenters even reply with “MONKU MONKU MONKU BITCH BITCH BITCH” in the same spirit.

In short, Leland doesn’t “get” #monku3 from others as some kind of spam or insult — **he owns it**. He slaps the tag on his own rants, complaints, and art because that’s his brand of cranky-but-funny expression. It’s like if your grumpy uncle turned every minor inconvenience into a punchline and hashtagged it religiously.

If you’ve seen it popping up a lot, it’s just Leland being Leland.

3 1/2 cups Cabbage (finely chopped)
1 Large Carrot (finely chopped)
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
5 Tbsp. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Pepper
1/2 Tsp. Celery Seed
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Today Louis is 36 years old. A full fledged adult. By the way I got married at 36 years old.
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On Thanksgiving Day I made Shanghai Fried Buns at Goemon Izakaya. I did it for free to prove to myself that I can still make dumplings amidst my osteoarthritis.

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Earlier I went to the free Senior Luncheon at Paina. It was yucky! Worst of all is it upset my stomach and made me Lai-See.

Poster/

This is a scene at Galileo high school. I drew it for a poster for the opening of the Jackson Street Gallery in 1974. Four years after I graduated. I guess I had a bone to pick about my experience in that school. The background pattern is the courtyard with Mr. Duvall, the Dean of Boys, chasing out the students hanging around the courtyard. The pattern is the iron gate. This poster is now in the Smithsonian museum collection.

Leland Wong is a San Francisco-based artist, photographer, graphic designer, screenprinter, and journalist, known for his extensive documentation and artistic interpretation of the Asian American experience, particularly within San Francisco's Chinatown and Japantown communities.[1] [2] [3] [4] Born and raised above his family's curio and art goods store on Grant Avenue in Chinatown, Wong's artistic journey was significantly influenced by his father, who was also an artist, and the vibrant visual culture of the 1960s, including the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War era.[2] [3] [4] He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from San Francisco State University in 1975, where he was immersed in the burgeoning Asian American cultural movement.[2] [3]

According to www.iAsk.Ai - Ask AI:

Wong's work often incorporates Asian iconography and themes, blending nostalgia with a subversive wit, and is characterized by vivid colors and a style that has been described as expressionism through literal form, sometimes resembling vintage comic book art.[1] [3] He is widely recognized for his iconic posters for the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair, a series he began in 1974 and continued for nearly three decades, with his work for the 50th anniversary fair in 2023 being a notable recent example.[1] [2] [3] [5] These posters are known for their "pan-Asian aesthetics" and often feature symbols like dragons, koi fish, and thundering waves, reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints.[1] [3] [10]

Beyond his poster art, Wong's diverse artistic output includes larger paintings, photography, and illustrations for books such as Karen Tei Yamashita's I-Hotel (2010), which was a National Book Award finalist, and Exploring Chinatown: A Children's Guide to Chinese Culture (2002).[2] [3] [11] His photography, often focusing on street scenes and community events, has been exhibited and used to document significant historical moments, such as the commemoration of Chinese American workers who built the transcontinental railroad.[2] [6] [7]

Wong has exhibited his art in numerous galleries and institutions across the U.S. and Europe, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco.[3] [8] [11] As of August 2025, he has an upcoming exhibition titled "Hidden Dragons" at the Edge on the Square gallery and a one-man show called "Out of the Blue" at the Blue Stream Gallery on Grant Avenue from January 8 to February 28, 2025, which will feature large paintings.[9] [12] Despite his widespread recognition, Wong maintains a humble approach to his work, often describing himself as an artist "trying to eke out a living from the pebbles of life."[1] [3] [9] He continues to be an active and influential figure in the San Francisco art scene, embodying the continuity of history and culture within the Chinatown community.[1]

AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

The Artful Life of Leland Wong. [sf.gazetteer.co]↩
Leland Wong. [americanart.si.edu]↩
About the artist. [lelandwong.wordpress.com]↩
Leland Wong. [pbase.com]↩
Out Of The Blue - Leland Wong Solo Exhibition. [bluestreamgallery.com]↩
Leland Wong's Photo Galleries. [pbase.com]↩
San Francisco Chinatown Life. [pbase.com]↩
Corky Lee on My Mind: Leland Wong. [pearlriver.com]↩
Hashtag #zzzpop means I am having a dream. [lelandwong.xanga.com]↩
Spirit of Unity: Leland Wong Nihonmachi Street Fair. [library.ucsb.edu]↩
I Hotel. [sfartscommission.org]↩
Leland Wong Blog. [lelandwong.blogspot.com]↩

Hashtag #zzzpop means I am having a dream. Look it up on Twitter X.

I just had this weird dream.

I was in the 台山 and I was in the peoples liberation army in full military uniform with a small platoon at night time near the river. We were chanting 我們一起要解放台灣！ I was issued a small handheld mortar launcher, with one round of mortar rocket which was small and made of plastic. When we were by the river, I was ordered to load the mortar and fire it. It's just so happened that there was a boatload of peoples liberation army in it. The round exploded, but it did not do any harm because it was just like a firecracker. After that, I was questioning my superiors what was the purpose of our mission. No one seems to have an explanation.

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I finally turned on my SAD light. I've been feeling blue.

But I shouldn't complain... I did pretty well at the Silverbells crafts faire. Sold over $1500 mostly my doodles.

Of course being in pain from my osteoarthritis is a drag. I guest. It's all karma I guess… For all the bad karma from the pain I am awarded with good karma for my art.

It's weird so many things in art are happening for me right now. I currently have an exhibit called now and then at NJAHS Gallery along with Leon and Rich. Ros paid us a $500 stipend too!

We're all a bunch of old farts now. Rich is 79 , Leon is 77 and I am 72.

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I've got my art up at Taisho restaurant. Darryl finally hung up some of my art. I try to go there and do a live painting session on Fridays.

Shit I'm missing my matte cutter!
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I've got an upcoming exhibition with the Edge on the Square gallery called Hidden Dragons. That's some times in March.

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I have a 18 day exhibition at the Blue Stream gallery on Grant Avenue towards the end of the year. It's a huge gallery and gonna be a one man show. I'm naming it Out of the Blue.

Because of the massive size Gallery, I plan to fill it up with large paintings. Which I must paint now on the spot.

Seems like my pain in my osteoarthritic hip is getting worse and it's been hurting. It takes a while for me to stand up in every move his pain. I am afraid it may get to a point where I cannot walk at all and I will really be wheelchair bound And homebound.

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It is winter time and the days or shorter and the nights are longer which can give me the winter blues. Usually, I pull up my light box and sit in front of it every day during the winter so that I will not get so depressed. But I have not been doing that this time around. I find myself sleeping for a long time and losing track of daytime and night time.

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Recently, I have not been drawing as much. Is that a sign of depression? Art is all I have left in my life. I can no longer do any screen printing because it requires standing up and being able to carry things. I have sold my Screen Print equipment for a real cheap. I cannot do photography neither because it requires being able to run around which I cannot do now due to the osteoarthritis.

How's it been going? Every once in a while I remember I have this blog. I started many years ago but have not added anything new. What's going on with me at the moment? Seems like my Osteo arthritis on my left hip is not getting any better if not getting worse. I'm worried that would make it to a point where I cannot walk at all. There are 30 steps from the street up into the house here and one day I may not be able to walk that at all.

Currently, I am having an exhibit at the national Japanese American historical society in town along with Rich Tokeshi and Leon Sun. It is called now and then.

The exhibit will be up till the end of the year.

The world has become surreal since March.

What have I been doing? Mostly staying indoors. I've been going out to get senior lunches mostly at Kimochi as an activity to force me to get out and do some walking.