She was born into a family whose ancesters had been samurai, and her older sister ran "Kato Ro," an Ochaya and Okiya (tea house and lodging house where a maiko or geisha lives) in Gion Kobu.
元武士の家系に生まれ、姉は祇園甲部でお茶屋兼置屋『加藤楼』を経営した。