Background
Ichihashi was born in Nagoya, of the Aichi prefecture of Japan in 1878. He was the son of Ichihashi Hiromasha, a former samurai, and Maizuno Ai.
Ichihashi was born in Nagoya, of the Aichi prefecture of Japan in 1878. He was the son of Ichihashi Hiromasha, a former samurai, and Maizuno Ai.
He completed public school in San Francisco, graduated from Stanford University with a bachelors and a master"s degree in economics, and earned his Doctor of Philosophy at Harvard. In 1913, he began teaching about Japanese history and government, international relations, and the Japanese American experience at Stanford.
Ichihashi wrote a comprehensive account of his experiences as an internee at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center where he was imprisoned in World World War II along with other relocated Japanese Americans. He came to the United States in 1894 at the age of 16. This continued until World World War II began.
Ichihashi was upset that Japan started the war and purchased United States war bonds in support of the Americans.
Ichihashi and many other of the relocated were at first housed in California"s Santa Anita racetrack, where 5 to 6 people were housed in horse stables before being relocated to more permanent camps. In 1932, Ichihashi wrote a classic account of the early history of Japanese in the United States.
Ichihashi"s papers are housed in the special collections of Stanford University"s Green Library.