Kyutaro Abiko (1865-1936) was the longtime publisher of the Nichibei Shimbun of San Francisco, the leading Japanese daily newspaper published from 1899-1942. He also organized the Central California Land Company. In 1909, he married Yonako Abiko (1880-1944). After the death of Kyutaro in 1936, Yonako Abiko became publisher of the Nichibei Shimbun. During World War II, she was briefly interned at the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California. The couple had a son, Yasuo Abiko (1910-88). The collection consists of correspondence, diaries, photographs, and memorabilia related to the Abiko family. Most of the material in the collection is in Japanese, but some is in English as well.

Kyutaro Abiko (1865-1936) was an Issei pioneer who came to the U.S. in 1885; he was the longtime publisher of the Nichibei Shimbun of San Francisco, the leading Japanese daily newspaper published from 1899-1942; he also organized the Central California Land Company; he married Yonako Abiko (1880-1944), in 1909, the same year she came to the U.S.; she graduated from a private Methodist mission school and Tsuda College, a women's school in Japan which was established by her older sister, Tsuda Umeko; after the death of her husband in 1936, Yonako Abiko became publisher of the Nichibei Shimbun; during World War II, she was briefly interned at the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California, and she later died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1944; the couple had a son, Yasuo Abiko (1910-88).The Abiko family was a very prominent Japanese immigrant family of San Francisco, California. A native of Niigata Prefecture, Abiko Kyutaro [characters] (1865-1936) was an Issei pioneer who immigrated to the United States in 1885. He was born as Kobayashi Kyutaro [characters], but assumed the family name of his maternal grandfather, Abiko Taido [characters], by whom he was raised. A devout Christian throughout his life, Abiko was first exposed to Christianity through an English missionary who was active in his home Prefecture. In 1882 he moved to Tokyo where he was baptized in 1883. As a young student in the capitol, he studied English, French, and the Chinese classics at several private academies. After arriving in the United States, he continued his education in San Francisco where he attended Lincoln Grammar School and graduated from Boys High School in 1891. In 1892 he matriculated into the University of California.

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