Although Ekiken served the Fukuoka Domain, he enraged the second lord of the Domain, Tadayuki KURODA, so he was forced to lead a ronin (masterless samurai) life for seven years.
成長し福岡藩に仕えたが、二代藩主黒田忠之の怒りに触れ7年間の浪人生活を送ることとなる。