Shigekuro Tanaka Family

SHIGEKURO TANAKA FAMILY

Shigekuro Tanaka arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1903 from Hiroshima, Japan. It is not known whether he worked on a plantation there before moving to California but it is likely that he was recruited to do so. Hiroshima was targeted as a recruitment place by plantation owners in Hawaii and most workers signed a work contract before they were allowed to stay. After his contract period was fulfilled Mr. Tanaka probably moved to the mainland.

Mr. Tanaka’s wife, Komina, arrived in San Francisco in 1914. Shigekuro registered for the World War I draft in September 1918 and reported that he was a self-employed farmer in Portuguese Bend with his wife.

Mr. Tanaka and his wife were not reported in the 1920 Federal Census. It is assumed that they returned to Japan. There are no World War II relocation camp records of the couple.

It is probable that this couple were not related to the Masaki Tanaka family in Palos Verdes.