Okaemon was a retainer
of the Asano's since his grandfather
was a retainer, and he moved from Kasama to Ako.
Okaemon liked leanning especially all lunds of subjects.
When the castle was vacated he wound up the affairs to the
last in his position as a magistrate of drawing. Because he was
very discreet, he didn't join Gimei (the secret promise to
revenge) immediately and he lived in Kato-gun for the time
being.
In the 15th year of Genroku he joined Renpan in Yamashina.
After he went to Edo in September, he lived with them at the
store of Kinokuniya where Yasubei Horibe lived in Honjyo
Hayashimachi 5chome and spied on the movements of Kira.
At that time Isuke Maebara and Yogoro Kanzaki wrote the
biography "Sekijyomeiden" in which they tried to hand down
everything about the result of making a surprise attack on
the enemy and loyalty for the master. Then Okaemon wrote
this postscript in classical Chinese.
In making a surprise attacked on the enemy, he wrote a
poem and put it into his hood and fought with Fuwa-
Kazuemon outdoors as one of the back gate units.
Before Okaemon went to Edo, he was given a secular name
"Eigakusoushunginshi" by Bankei the priest. He wrote it on
gold paper, and when he made the surprise attacked on the
enemy he put it on the left shoulder of his clothes.
When they withdrew and went to the Sengakugi temple, he
heard about these things from Hakumei the priest and enter-
tainer.
He was requested to write something for commemoration, so
he wrote the following poem
" Omoikiya Wakabushinomichi Naratekakaru Gohonoenniau-
towa( I think that by chance I met the ways of a samurai
because of its relationship to Buddhism). Afterwords he was
looked after by Okinokami Matsudaira and he committed
harakiri(ritual) on the 4th of February.
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