The Ashinaga movement began after President and Founder Yoshiomi Tamai’s mother was involved in a traffic accident in 1963. She fell into a coma and passed away soon after. Tamai and a group of like-minded individuals went on to formally establish the Association for Traffic Accident Orphans in 1967. Through public advocacy, regular media coverage, and the development of a street fundraising system, the association was able to secure significant improvements to national traffic regulations and provide support for students bereaved as a consequence of traffic accidents across Japan.

Over time, the Ashinaga movement extended its financial and emotional support to all students who had lost their parents, including causes such as illness, natural disaster, and suicide. The Ashinaga-san system, which is based on anonymous donations, began in 1979. This was inspired by the Japanese translation of the 1912 Jean Webster novel Daddy-Long-Legs, in which an orphaned girl is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor. In 1993, Ashinaga expanded its role to include residential facilities, thereby enabling financially disadvantaged students to attend universities in the more expensive metropolitan areas. Around this time Ashinaga also expanded its summer programs, or tsudoi,at which Ashinaga students could share their experiences among peers who had also lost parents.