Background
Hakuen Shorin was born in 1832 in Hitachi Province (Ibaraki Prefeature), Japan. His father was a county commissioner of the Shimodate Clan. He was adopted by the family of one Wakabayashi, a retainer of the Hikone Clan, but was soon disowned by his father for his lack of interest in military arts and his love of kodan at the age of 15.
