Wordless Wednesday: Angel Island Nikkei Pilgrimage

 Volunteers from left to right:  Maureen Hanlon, Diana Edwards, Todd Armstrong,
Jim Russell, Lisa Gorrell, Janice Sellers, Stacy Hoover, Linda Okazaki and Adelle Treakle

A day of education, fun and remembrance was had October 1st as the California Genealogical Society took part in the Nikkei Pilgrimage to Angel Island that celebrates the Japanese-American experience.

How did we participate?

Linda Okazaki, our president, gave a presentation that encouraged people to find their family through the power of family history.

We also had a wonderful group of our dedicated volunteers who conducted genealogy consultations and helped participants get started in their hunt for family records.

Grant Din, Community Relations Director at the Angel Island Immigration
Station Foundation and California Genealogical Society member 

We love being a part of events that celebrate the diversity of California and the United States.  Do you have an event that you'd like us to participate in? Contact Linda Okazaki and learn how the California Genealogical Society can help with your next genealogy event.

Photos courtesy of Ted Okazaki

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society

Journey back to understand the Japanese experience

On Saturday, 2016 Saturday, October 1, 2016 from 11am to 3pm is the 3^rd annual Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation.  Just be sure to catch the 9:45am San Francisco ferry or the 10 am ferry from Tiburon to make the opening ceremony.

This year’s theme is "Family Reunion" and will focus on honoring the immigrant ancestors and rediscovering the history of the Japanese and Japanese American legacy at Angel Island. From 1910 to 1940, a total of  85,000 people of Japanese descent passed through here before being allowed to set foot in the U.S.

CGS Volunteers from the 2015 Pilgrimage

A group of volunteers from the California Genealogical Society (CGS), led by President Linda Okazaki, will be there to help people begin tracing their family history.

“Most people are curious about their family history. They want to know how to unveil the mystery of the past and understand the lives of their ancestors,” says Linda.

Linda has researched her husband’s Japanese ancestry and this journey has led her to discover everything from Immigration Records to Evacuee Case Files to DNA --- with many more intriguing bits in between.

Who’s involved with this effort?

The Nichi Bei Foundation also partnered with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation & National Japanese American Historical Society along with support from the California State Parks, California Genealogical Society, San Francisco State University Asian American Studies, San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, and J-Sei.

What will be on display?

Historical exhibits specific to the Japanese and Japanese American experience on Angel Island, including those sent there from Hawai‘i during World War II

Who will be recognized?

• Professor Charles Egan, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, San Francisco State University who translated poems published in the Nichi Bei Shimbun written by Issei between 1910 and 1924.
• The Hokoda family, whose descendants wrote the oldest known writing found in the Immigration Station barracks, who are from Hiroshima Prefecture. They were discovered by Professor Egan and visited the Immigration Station for the first time last year.

What else is happening?

• Talk on "Nikkei at Angel Island" by San Francisco State University Asian American Studies Professor Christen Sasaki, Ph.D.
• Musical performances by Berkeley Genyukai and Friends, along with Cal Raijin Taiko of UC Berkeley
• Storytelling vignettes
• Children’s activities

With so much to see and do, this a wonderful way to relive the Japanese immigrant experience to America.  It’s also just a wonderful way to spend some time on San Francisco Bay enjoying your family and friends.

Stop by and say hello to Linda and the volunteers if you attend.

Domo Arrigato!

Photos courtesy of Linda Okazaki

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society

Angel Island

Site Visit At Angel Island Immigration Station

Smithsonian Representatives, Magdalena Mieri and Lauren Safranek

NPS Representative, Ray Murray 

AIISF Community Relations Director, Grant Din

California Genealogical Society President, Linda Okazaki

Photos by Ted Okazaki

A Perfect Pilgrimage: Angel Island

By Linda Harms Okazaki

Linda Harms Okazaki, Katherine Yamada, SCGS genealogist and Grant Din, CGS member & Community Relations Director, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. Photo: Glenn Yamada

Angel Island is beautiful place for a picnic, a picture-perfect location for tourists, hikers, and locals alike. But the real beauty lies in its history. I am a fourth-generation San Franciscan who grew up in Marin County, but it wasn’t until I was an adult, with children of my own, and began my own genealogy that I understood my personal connection to this gem.

You see, from 1910 to 1940, the U.S. Government operated an immigration station on Angel Island where thousands of individuals first set foot in the United States.

My English immigrant and great grandfather, William Ambrose, worked as a night watchman in the Quarantine Station for 11 years. It was during this time period that my husband’s Japanese family members, the Okazakis, were “processed” through the Immigration Station. My children are doubly connected to the island.

Linda Harms Okazaki's Father in law, Terumi Okazaki with Ted Okazaki at Angel Island. Photo: Sharon Harms

On October 4, 2014, the Nichi Bei Foundation, a non-profit media organization serving the Japanese American community, hosted a Japanese American Pilgrimage to Angel Island to honor the 85,000+ Japanese who immigrated through this location, as well as those Japanese ancestors who were detained there during World War II.

Hiroshi Kashiwagi and his wife Sadako with Diana Edwards. Hiroshi is a playwright, author, poet, actor who read a poem about his mother's experience on Angel Island.

The California Genealogical Society, along with several other community organizations, was honored to participate in the planning and execution of this historic event. More than 600 “pilgrims” came by ferry, to the sound of Taiko drums. A handful arrived by boat and kayak. It was wonderful to see old friends reconnect and new friendships made. The event included speeches, entertainment, poetry, community awards, and a Bento (Japanese-style) lunch. I presented to the crowd the family story of the trials and tribulations of the Okazakis’ immigration journey.

L-R: CGS genealogists: Todd Armstrong, Linda Harms Okazaki, Diana Edwards, Eva Goodwin, Adelle Treakle.
Photo: Jiro Yamamura  

In addition to the formal presentation, the informal activities created a real sense of excitement and discovery for the visitors: exhibits in the original Mess Hall visually displayed a historical overview of the conditions at the Immigration Stations; the Japanese American Museum of San José provided a kids’ corner where participants played games, made buttons, and drew their family trees; and five seasoned CGS genealogists—Todd Armstrong, Diana Edwards, Eva Goodwin, Adelle Treakle, and I—provided complimentary family history consultations throughout the day to eager and inquisitive attendees. Families learned how to get started on their own research, about understanding census and vital records, as well as exploring records dealing with immigration—such as passenger lists and border crossings—and naturalization. Looking at Internment Camp newspapers from the early 1940s was rewarding for many as it brought to life those harrowing times.

View from barred window inside the Immigration Station. Photo: Melinda Crawford

Thanks to spectacular weather, enthusiastic attendees, and engaged participants, it was truly a moving pilgrimage for all involved. 

Video of the Nikkei Angel Island Pilgrimage: 
http://bit.ly/1xjTQK9

Immigrant Voices: Former Park Ranger Andrew Weiss
http://www.aiisf.org/stories-by-author/913-alexander-weiss



Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.