Fukudenkai in Tokyo in the 20th Century

The support provided by Japan to Polish children evacuated from Siberia coincided with the formative period of official Polish-Japanese relations. Japan recognized the newly independent Polish state on 6 March 1919, and in August 1920 the first official envoy of the Polish government, Józef Targowski, presented his credentials in Tokyo. Shortly thereafter, in May 1921, the Japanese diplomatic mission in Warsaw was started, headed by Toshitsune Kawakami.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan was undergoing a period of profound transformation initiated by the Meiji Restoration. During the era of Taisho democracy (1912–1926), the country continued its process of modernization, the development of a capitalist economy, and gradual opening to the world. After the First World War, Japan belonged to the victorious Entente powers, participated in the Versailles Peace Conference, and in 1920 became one of the founding members of the League of Nations. It was within this political and cultural context that an unprecedented humanitarian operation for Polish children took place.

The Polish Siberian Children, who arrived in Japan in five transports, were placed under the care of the Japanese Red Cross, then headed by Tadanori Ishigura and Shigenobu Hirayama. The decision to provide assistance was made at the highest organizational level, and its implementation was coordinated, among others, by Professor Ichiro Okakura, who served as a liaison between the Japanese Red Cross and the Polish Committee for the Relief of Children of the Far East. He stayed with the children on a daily basis, maintained constant contact with Anna Bielkiewicz, and supported her both organizationally and culturally.

Immediate living facilities for the children were provided by the orphanage of the Buddhist charitable organization Fukudenkai, located adjacent to the Japanese Red Cross hospital. Founded in 1879 by Buddhist communities as an institution supporting orphans and impoverished children, the center offered a spacious campus with a garden and playground, as well as convenient access to medical facilities and transportation infrastructure.

The children’s first encounter with Japan took place at the port of Tsuruga, symbolically referred to as the “Gateway to the East.” Memoirs describing their arrival recall the silence after the ship came to a halt, views of mountains and white houses, bathing in hot water, disinfection of clothing, and the first warm meals. On the morning of 20 July 1920, the first group of 56 children, accompanied by their caregivers, departed Vladivostok aboard the ship Chikuzen Maru and arrived in Tsuruga two days later. There, the children were welcomed with gifts, taken to Matsubara Park, and bid farewell with patriotic songs. They were then transported by train to Tokyo, arriving at the railway station on the morning of 23 July and proceeding on foot to Fukudenkai.

Daily life at Fukudenkai followed a clearly defined routine, modified only on days of special events. Meals were prepared by Polish caregivers, taking into account the children’s nutritional needs and eating habits. The daily cost of food per child amounted to 70 sen, and the menu included, among other items, bread with jam, milk, cocoa, potatoes, soups, and stewed meat. One caregiver was assigned to every ten children, responsible for upbringing, education, and household management, with older children assisting in daily duties. Every Sunday, the children attended services at the Catholic church in Azabu, accompanied by members of the Catholic Youth Association.

An important aspect of the children’s stay was their cohabitation with Japanese children, which quickly resulted in friendships, shared play, and spontaneous communication. Anna Bielkiewicz recalled that after some time Japanese children greeted her in Polish, and that relations between the staff of both nationalities were characterized by kindness and harmony.

The children attracted considerable interest from Tokyo society. They were visited by women’s organizations, Buddhist and Catholic clergy, students, private individuals, and members of the imperial court. A particularly significant role was played by Empress Teimei, who repeatedly showed interest in the children’s fate, visited them at the Japanese Red Cross hospital, presented them with sweets, and allowed an unprecedented reduction of ceremonial distance during an audience. This meeting prompted Anna Bielkiewicz to write a letter of gratitude, composed in the refined style of Japanese official correspondence, written in kuzushi script and containing elements of hentaigana. The document was rediscovered only in 2019 in the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków and made public for the first time.

The children’s stay in Japan abounded in recreational and educational activities, including visits to Ueno Zoo and museums, trips to Nikko, cruises on the Tamagawa River, meetings with artists, concerts, and music festivals. One such event was a performance at Keio University, where the children presented Polish folk dances. They were also invited to private residences, including that of Baroness Mouri, and to Buddhist temples, where they received blessings and small gifts.

At the same time, comprehensive medical care was provided. Doctors and nurses regularly examined the children, and cases of illness-from colds to severe infectious diseases-were treated at Japanese Red Cross hospitals in Tokyo and Osaka. During the typhus epidemic in 1921, effective quarantine measures were implemented, allowing the children to avoid fatalities. The only tragic loss was the death of a young nurse, Fumi Matsuzawa, who contracted typhus and died after the children had departed Japan.

Fukudenkai Today

Today, at the same location in Hiroo, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo, Fukudenkai operates a children’s home, a center for persons with intellectual disabilities, and care facilities for the elderly. As a result of the turbulent political and social changes of the 20th century, the memory of the humanitarian assistance provided one hundred years ago gradually faded. Over time, even within Fukudenkai itself, the institution’s daily activities were no longer universally associated with the episode of sheltering and caring for Polish children from Siberia.

The rediscovery of this history occurred in 2010, when the then Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Japan, Jadwiga Maria Rodowicz-Czechowska, encountered Fukudenkai by chance during a morning jog. Familiar with the history of the Polish Siberian Children, she promptly contacted the institution – an action that became the catalyst for renewed relations and cooperation with the Polish side. From that moment on, Fukudenkai began to more systematically cultivate the memory of the events of the 1920s and to develop educational and commemorative initiatives involving historians, researchers, and representatives of public institutions.

An important role in this process has been played by the current president of Fukudenkai, Takaaki Ota, who –alongside the organization’s caregiving mission– supports initiatives aimed at identifying descendants of the Siberian Children and strengthening Polish-Japanese relations surrounding this shared history. In recent years, meetings of descendants, anniversary ceremonies in Poland and Japan, and study trips tracing the locations associated with the children’s stay a century ago have been organized.

Since 2022, Fukudenkai has initiated and co-organized cyclical events bringing together descendants of the Polish Siberian Children and individuals engaged in preserving the memory of the 1920–1921 rescue operation. The first ceremony of this new phase took place in 2022 at the Embassy of Japan in Warsaw and was organized by Fukudenkai in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan. Its purpose was to reunite identified descendants and to establish a permanent platform for contact and cooperation.

Another significant milestone was the official Ceremony Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Return of the Siberian Children to Poland, held in Poland in 2023. One year later, in 2024, Japan hosted the Ceremony Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Siberian Children in Japan, combined with a commemorative study trip “In the Footsteps of the Siberian Children” for volunteered descendants. During this trip, participants visited locations where their ancestors had stayed 100 years earlier, including care institutions and sites associated with the children’s presence in Tokyo and other regions of Japan.

Since 2023, these initiatives have been held under the collective name “Sakura no Kai,” as annual gatherings of descendants of the Siberian Children. The third edition took place on 17 October 2025 at the Residence of the Ambassador of Japan in Warsaw, with the participation of the President of Fukudenkai Takaaki Ota, and the Chair of the Honorary Committee of Fukudenkai Akie Abe. The event was combined with official diplomatic meetings, direct encounters among descendants, and an opportunity to meet the newly appointed Ambassador of Japan to Poland Akira Kono, further strengthening intergenerational dialogue and Polish-Japanese cooperation.

An important aspect of Fukudenkai’s contemporary activities also includes educational and social initiatives. The organization participates in international sports programs for children from care institutions, regularly sending teams of children from Tokyo to Poland to take part in an international football tournament, thereby fostering international experience and lasting peer relationships. Fukudenkai also draws inspiration from the pedagogical philosophy of Janusz Korczak, treating his principles regarding children’s rights and dignity in education as an important reference point for modern caregiving practice; in this context, training programs and exchanges with partners in Poland are carried out.

At the same time, Fukudenkai responds to current humanitarian needs. Since February 2022, thanks to donations from Japanese society and institutional support, the organization has actively assisted Ukrainian refugees in Poland by financing Polish language courses, providing material and financial aid during the initial period of stay, supplying winter clothing after their flight, and undertaking actions aimed at social integration and self-reliance.

In this way, Fukudenkai underscores the continuity of its mission-from caring for Polish Siberian children one hundred years ago to contemporary acts of solidarity addressing humanitarian challenges of the 21st century.

Official website

http://www.fukudenkai.or.jp/

Sources

• Theiss Wiesław, Dzieci Syberyjskie 1919–2019, Muzeum Sztuki i Techniki Japońskiej Manggha, Kraków 2020.
• Przybyłe z Syberii. Życie polskich dzieci w Japonii – projekt pomocy Japońskiego Czerwonego Krzyża w latach 1920–1922, opracowanie: Grupa Badawcza nad Historią Fukudenkai (Eiko Uto, Tsuyoshi Ogasawara, Akio Sakurai, Riichi Sugeta, Aoi Murakami), Ośrodek Pomocy Społecznej Fukudenkai, Tokio, wrzesień 2023.