Tokyo native, studied oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts but moved to Los Angeles in 1956 before completing his degree. There became interested in Abstract Expressionism but applied visual language to the design of prints, especially lithography and intaglio. Ikegawa completed a master's degree in intaglio and etching in 1961 at Otis Art Institute under the direction of Ernest Freed, who set up a print studio for oversize color intaglio. Ikegawa developed a technique of highly embossed intaglio, which provided his prints a sculptural feel, and sometimes arranged them into installation-like displays. Though his subjects and philosophies often maintained Japanese imageries and sensibilities, his artistic practice reflected American contemporary interest in the commercial nature of images and social critique. (From Rika Hiro paper entitled, "Crossing the Shores: Object, Subject, and Place in Shiro Ikegawa, Hirokazu Kosaka, and Kikuo Mori" for the College Art Association, 2018.)