Ume Ishibashi

Ume Ishibashi (Ishibashi Ume, 1888 – August 9, 1971) was a Japanese political wife and the wife of Tazan Ishibashi. She was born in Date District, Fukushima Prefecture (now Date City).

The Iwai family was a prestigious lineage that had served as senior vassals of Yonezawa Domain during the Edo period. She was the third daughter of Takaki Iwai, a samurai of Yonezawa.

Ume worked as a teacher at Higashi Komatsugawa Matsue Normal High School. Later, through her matchmaker, Kitaro Miura, the chief editor of the Tokyo Keizai Shimbun, she married Tazan Ishibashi in November 1912 (Taisho 1). It is also noted that Ume was a student of Miura’s wife, who was a teacher from Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.

In February 1944 (Showa 19), her second son, Kazuhiro Ishibashi, was killed in action on Kure Atoll in the Marshall Islands. He was a paymaster lieutenant in the navy.

Her husband, Tazan Ishibashi, became Prime Minister on December 23, 1956 (Showa 31). He resigned due to health reasons on February 25, 1957 (Showa 32). After his resignation, Ume reportedly devoted herself to caring for her husband.

She died of liver cancer on August 9, 1971, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, at the age of 82.

There are no detailed footnotes or specific additional sources about this person.