In fall of 1868, he met a disaster that a ronin broke into the house for robbery, and stabbed his foster father to death, while he had a hairbreadth escape by hiding in a closet.
明治元年(1868)秋には浪人の押し入り強盗によって養父が自宅で刺し殺され、自身も納戸に隠れて九死に一生を得るといった惨事に遭遇。