KYOKUTEI Bakin

, a.k.a. (, 4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848), was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. Born, he wrote under the pen name. Later in life he took the pen name. Modern scholarship generally refers to him as , or just as n. He is regarded as one of, if not the, leading author of early 19th century Japanese literature. He was the third surviving son of a family of low rank. After numerous deaths in his family, he relinquished his status, married a merchant's widow, and became an townsperson. He was able to support his family with his prolific writing of , primarily didactic historical romances, though he always wanted to restore his family to the social class. Some of his best known works are (The Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansō) consisting of 106 books and (Strange Tales of the Crescent Moon). published more than 200 works in his life, including literary critiques, diaries, and historical novels. Life and career Family and early life Born in (present-day Tokyo) on 4 July 1767, was the fifth son of and . Two of his elder brothers died in infancy. 's father, , was a samurai in the service of one of the retainers, until 1751 when he left his lord and gained service with . While serving under , was adopted into the family and wed 's adopted daughter, . returned to serve the family in 1760 after successor was dismissed for embezzlement. Though a heavy drinker, he was devoted to scholarship of classical Chinese works, especially those focused on military matters. He was a diligent , but contracted gout in 1773 and died in 1775. His death forced the clan to reduce the stipend by half, starting the steady decline of 's family.