In 1919, Hagiwara and the JRC assisted the Imperial Japanese Army in the Siberian Intervention during the Russian Revolution. Preceding the Russian Revolution, Poles, who had been exiled to Siberia or sought refuge there during World War I, numbered around 20 million people. During the intervention, the problem of Polish orphans became evident to Hagiwara. Anna Bielkiewicz and Józef Jakóbkiewicz, of Vladivostok had formed the Polish Rescue Committee, began collecting orphans from throughout the area and petitioned Western countries for help. When they were unsuccessful in the West, Bielkiewicz and Jakóbkiewicz sent petitions to Japan and the Polish American community. On behalf of the JRC, Hagiwara requested that the Japanese Government assist with orphan relief work and obtained government approval within seventeen days. In 1920, Hagiwara, along with Yao Yamamoto () and Ume Yuasa () were awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in its inaugural presentation for their nursing excellence.