Kaoru Shiibashi (File 30309/27-5)
Some Japanese were held on Angel Island for months while immigration officials cross examined their families in Japan. This is what happened to Karou who was 23 years old when he arrived in 1931. He had a birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii. His family left for Japan in 1910. His uncle came to testify on his behalf when he arrived in San Francisco, but had never seen Kaoru so he was not deemed a credible witness. Kaoru’s family in Honolulu was investigated as was his birth. Three witnesses were found there who knew his parents but no one who could identify a photograph of him with his family when he was a baby. His family in Nagasaki was twice interrogated. There were discrepancies between father and son as to his age, his wages as a factory worker in Japan, as well as scars on his body, so he was denied admission. However, his family did not give up, and they hired a lawyer to appeal the decision which then ruled in his favor. Kaoru was detained on Angel Island for almost five months.
Above information adapted from:
Lee, Erika, and Judy Yung. Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. p. 136-137
To view Kaoru Shiibashi's original case file photographed at the National Archives at San Francisco click here.
Some Japanese were held on Angel Island for months while immigration officials cross examined their families in Japan. This is what happened to Karou who was 23 years old when he arrived in 1931. He had a birth certificate showing he was born in Hawaii. His family left for Japan in 1910. His uncle came to testify on his behalf when he arrived in San Francisco, but had never seen Kaoru so he was not deemed a credible witness. Kaoru’s family in Honolulu was investigated as was his birth. Three witnesses were found there who knew his parents but no one who could identify a photograph of him with his family when he was a baby. His family in Nagasaki was twice interrogated. There were discrepancies between father and son as to his age, his wages as a factory worker in Japan, as well as scars on his body, so he was denied admission. However, his family did not give up, and they hired a lawyer to appeal the decision which then ruled in his favor. Kaoru was detained on Angel Island for almost five months.
Above information adapted from:
Lee, Erika, and Judy Yung. Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. p. 136-137
To view Kaoru Shiibashi's original case file photographed at the National Archives at San Francisco click here.