Katsu Kokichi
Katsu Kokichi was a low-ranking samurai whose autobiography serves as an important description of life in the Edo period.
Life and works
Born Otani Kokichi in Edo, he was adopted by the Katsu family in order to marry the only Katsu daughter, Nobuko. Kokichi's father, Otani Heizo, was a minor official in the shogunate. His half brother, Otani Hikoshiro, was twenty-five years older than Kokichi. After their father's retirement as family head, Hikoshiro became responsible for all the family; he was a noted calligrapher and Confucian scholar and was twice distinguished as district administrator within the shōgun's domain.By contrast, Katsu Kokichi led a life of idleness, never achieving an official post and supplementing his small income by dealing in swords, among other things. The other things, contrary to samurai-class ideals, included acting as a security guard and lending money at high interest. When Kokichi's son Rintaro was fifteen, Kokichi retired as family head, passing on that duty to young Rintaro.
Katsu Kokichi died in Edo in 1850, three years before Commodore Matthew C. Perry reached Japan.