Katsu Kokichi, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetKatsu Kokichi
Samurai noted for his autobiography
Date of Birth: 17-Feb-1802
Place of Birth: Edo, Japan
Date of Death: 09-Oct-1850
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius 
About Katsu Kokichi
- Katsu Kokichi (? ??, 1802 – 1850) was born Otani Kokichi in Edo.
- He was a low-ranking samurai who 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 shogun's domain.
- By contrast, Katsu Kokichi led a life of idleness, never achieving an official post and supplementing his small (41 koku) 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 (later to become the famous naval commander Katsu Kaishu) was fifteen, Kokichi retired as family head, passing on that duty to young Rintaro.
- During his last days, Kokichi wrote an autobiography (one of the few surviving from pre-Meiji Japan) titled Musui Dokugen ("Musui's Story"), narrating his life and adventures in a style much like that of the picaresque novel.
- This book is an excellent description of low life in Edo during the late Tokugawa shogunate.
- Katsu Kokichi died in Edo in 1850, three years before Commodore Matthew C.
- Perry reached Japan.
- The autobiography has been translated into English by Teruko Craig, under the title Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai.
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