Takahashi Oden's Childhood
historical
research
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Born August 1848, in village of Shimomaki-mura in present-day Gunma prefecture
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Parents: Takahashi Kanzaemon (father) and Oharu, but raised by Takahashi Kyūeimon (Kanzaemon's brother)
yasha monogatari
On Oden's mother
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Had an affair with Ariga Seikichi (a famous gambler), but was engaged to Kanzaemon.
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Died of syphilis right after Oden was born
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Kanzaemon sent Oden to be cared for by Kyūeimon, because she reminded him of his wife’s betrayal
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Oden is described to have “evil blood"
yasha monogatari
On Oden as a child
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Grows up wild, engages in fistfights
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Committed her first theft by the time she was 17 years old
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Is sent to a convent and had an affair with one of the nuns there
Analysis
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No other information could be found about Oden’s childhood in our research, but the names of the people involved in her life match the characters’ names in Takahashi Oden yasha monogatari.
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Although the true reason is unclear, the fact that Kanzaemon sent Oden to be raised by his brother corresponds to the account in the story.
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Robun puts in the extra effort to describe Oharu's affairs and to label Oden as a child with "evil blood" in her due to the actions of her mother. Not enough is known about the history of Takahashi Oharu to neither confirm nor deny the story that Robun describes. Still, we cannot rule out the possibility that the story of Oharu was presented in order to provide a reasoning behind Oden's "evil inclinations", as it seems to be inherited in Robun's story.