After his farther went missing, he started to work as an apprentice at the store of soy sauce and miso in Fushimi Nishihama at age of 12 to support his mother.
父が行方不明となり、12歳で母親を扶養するため伏見西浜の醤油、味噌などを商う葭屋に丁稚奉公する。