text: 's father, , was a samurai in the service of one of the  retainers,  until 1751 when he left his lord and gained service with . While serving under ,  was adopted into the family and wed 's adopted daughter, .  returned to serve the  family in 1760 after  successor was dismissed for embezzlement. Though a heavy drinker, he was devoted to scholarship of classical Chinese works, especially those focused on military matters. He was a diligent , but contracted gout in 1773 and died in 1775. His death forced the  clan to reduce the  stipend by half, starting the steady decline of 's family.
  , 's mother, is characterized as being a good mother and loyal wife and the family had the privilege of living in the  mansion until their piecemeal departure from 's service that reached its completion in 1780. Her eldest son,  (1759-1798) was the only child not born on the  estate and served the family until becoming a  in 1776. His departure led to  and her remaining children including  and his two younger sisters,  (1771-?) and  (1774-?), being forced into a much smaller dwelling. 's older brother,  (1765–1786),was adopted out to lessen the financial burden and  was declared the head of the family at age nine. When  found service with a new family in 1778,  pretended to be ill to move in with him. While living there,  grew ill due to malnutrition and died 1 August 1785.