At the age of 17, Ichiyo was forced to support her family as its head and, in 1890, she lived in the house of the Nakajima family as a Haginoya apprentice.
一葉は17歳にして戸主として一家を担う立場となり、1890年（明治23年）には萩の舎の内弟子として中島家に住む。