Robert Walker Irwin (1844–1925)
Robert Walker Irwin, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin, was appointed by King David Kalakaua as Hawaiian Minister to Japan to negotiate the Kanyaku Imin Immigration Program with Japan. He was also the first American to legally wed a Japanese woman. The union produced the world's earliest biracial American-Japanese children.
Written exclusively for Discover Nikkei, this five-part article series traces the eventful lives of Irwin and the world's first American-Japanese family during critical periods of Japan-America relations.
Stories from this series
Part 5: Seeing Irwin
Nov. 8, 2020 • Philbert Ono
Read Part 4 >> Here are places where you can see exhibits, artifacts, documents, etc., related to Robert Walker Irwin. * * * * * Hawaiian Minister’s Ikaho Villa, Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture Founded over 1,300 years ago, Ikaho is a famous hot spring town on the cool slope of Mt. Haruna. By the 19th century, it was a popular retreat for many dignitaries and celebrities including the Imperial family who had a villa there until 1945. Famous artists and novelists …
Part 4: World War II in Japan and Grandchildren
Nov. 1, 2020 • Philbert Ono
Read Part 3 >> Despite racial prejudice and government pressure to move to the US, Irwin's children and grandchildren remained in Japan during the war as Japanese citizens. As adults, the grandchildren eventually moved to the US. * * * * * The war years Robert Walker Irwin died of a stroke (noted as "apoplexy" on his death certificate) on January 5, 1925 while at home in Kojimachi, Tokyo. He was 81. His wife Iki died on August 17, 1940 …
Part 3: Biracial Children
Oct. 25, 2020 • Philbert Ono
Read Part 2 >> Irwin's children were biracial in Japan, highly unusual at the time. They didn't feel completely Japanese in Japan nor completely American in America. They faced both identity issues and racial prejudice. Most still opted to live in Japan permanently. * * * * * International marriage and biracial children Despite much privilege and wealth, Irwin and Iki’s personal lives and marriage had many ups and downs. Iki didn't like her husband's drinking and womanizing with geisha, …
Part 2: Father of Kanyaku Imin Emigration to Hawaiʻi
Oct. 18, 2020 • Philbert Ono
Read Part 1 >> Successfully negotiated by Irwin and his close friend Inouye Kaoru, Japan's Foreign Minister, Kanyaku Imin was a government-contract immigration program that started the mass immigration of Japanese to Hawaiʻi from 1885. * * * * * Kanyaku Imin Immigration Irwin’s place in Hawaiian history started in 1880 when his friend Harlan P. Lillibridge resigned as the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s Consul General in Japan and recommended Irwin to take his place. As Hawai‘i’s interim Consul General in …
Part 1: Hawaiian Minister to Japan
Oct. 11, 2020 • Philbert Ono
*Japanese names in this article follow the Japanese convention of the family name coming before the given name. Irwin arrives in Yokohama in 1866 during a most tumultuous time in Japan’s history. He soon meets the two most important Japanese people in his personal and business life. One was his wife Iki whom he finally legally married after taking over 10 years to overcome family opposition and legal hurdles. Irwin and Iki became the world’s first American and Japanese nationals …
