Kojiro Koganei was the second son of Kaii-einon, headman of Koganei village in the suburbs of Tokyo, and belonging to a family who had rendered great services to the community there for generations, including the planting of cherry trees, which are still flourishing.
Kojiro Koganei was exiled to Tsukudajima, in the Tokyo Bay, for killing a man during a quarrel. While in exile he met and became a friend of Tatsugoro Shinmon, another kyokaku. He was pardoned for services during the Great Fire at Edo (1846), only to fall foul of the authorities again and sent to Miyake Island for another spell of exile, which ended with the Meiji Restoration (1868).
