Being the eldest child, for a brief period of time he inherited the role of being family head and running a kimono fabric store (Araki-ya store) which had been run by the family for generations; however, he later handed over that responsibility to his younger brother Hyosuke and immersed himself entirely in the study of calligraphy.
代々呉服商を営む荒木屋の長子としていったんは家督を相続したが、後に弟兵助に譲り、もっぱら書道の研究に没頭した。