Background
Sonehara Chiyozo was born in 1876 in Nagano, Japan.
Sonehara Chiyozo was born in 1876 in Nagano, Japan.
Sonehara studied in Tokyo in his youth.
In 1895 Sonehara became an interpreter for the army in Formosa. He helped establish the Dobun Shoin, an organization for Sino-Japanese cultural cooperation, in Nanking. Sonehara also proceeded to Szechuan Province, joined the Hsinli Company in Chungking and participated in the industrial development of the province.