Sidney Lewis Gulick (April 10, 1860 – December 20, 1945) was an educator, author, and missionary who spent much of his life working to improve Japan–United States relations.

[5] In 1888, Gulick traveled to Japan, where he worked for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions through the following twenty-five years.

[6] After returning to the United States in 1913, Gulick was dismayed to find growing discrimination and resentment against Japanese Americans.

He campaigned against California's anti-Asian legislation and urged equality of treatment for all nations.

He placed partial blame on the Koreans themselves for the violent suppression of the protests, and promoted the message that Japan was on a noble civilizing mission in Korea.

On the other hand, he advocated for the deescalation of violence and reform efforts to demilitarize Japan's policies.

During World War II, many of the dolls, especially the ones in Japan, were seen as the enemy and were burned or stabbed.

According to his grandson, Sidney Gulick III, "his ashes were entombed in three places: alongside his father's in Springfield, Massachusetts; in Boise, Idaho; and in Kobe.