Orie Ichihashi was a Japanese-American photographer who documented the lives of Japanese Americans during the early 20th century. Born in 1891 in San Francisco, California, she was the daughter of a Japanese immigrant family. She attended public school and later studied photography at the California School of Fine Arts.
Ichihashi began her career as a portrait photographer in San Francisco's Japantown, where she captured images of everyday life for her clients. She also photographed important events such as weddings and graduations. Her work was featured in several publications, including The Pacific Citizen and The Japanese American Courier.
In 1942, Ichihashi and her family were forced to relocate to an internment camp in Utah due to Executive Order 9066. Despite the difficult conditions, she continued to take photographs of her fellow internees and their daily lives. After the war ended, Ichihashi returned to San Francisco where she continued to document the lives of Japanese Americans until her death in 1972.
Throughout her career, Ichihashi's photographs provided an intimate look into the lives of Japanese Americans during a difficult period in history. Her work has been exhibited at various institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of American History. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Photographic Society of America for her contributions to photography and documenting Japanese American history.