Koyata Katsugorō

Biography

Koyata Katsugorō was born in the village of Nakano to Koyata Genzō. At age seven, in 1822, he informed his parents that his previous life had been as Suzaki Tōzō, a boy who had died of smallpox in 1810. He also recounted what he had witnessed in the intermediate state between death and rebirth. The story gained attention when it was confirmed that a boy named Suzaki Tōzō had indeed died of smallpox that year in Hodokubo village.

Tamon Denpachirō, the reeve of Nakano, filed an official report on the apparent miracle. In 1823, the scholar Hirata Atsutane learned of Katsugorō’s claims and invited him to Edo for an interview. Katsugorō and his father traveled to Atsutane’s home, where the boy received candy and spent a day playing with Atsutane’s daughter. Just before leaving, he shyly related his story, which was recorded word for word.

Atsutane’s disciple Takayama Torakichi was also present. Atsutane was particularly struck by Katsugorō’s description of the afterlife: a vague memory of an old man in black robes guiding him across a twilight landscape. Later that year, Atsutane published a book based on the account, titled An Account of the Revival of Katsugorō. In 1825, Katsugorō began studying at Atsutane’s private school, the Ibukinoya. He eventually abandoned his studies and returned to Nakano, where he lived out his days as a farmer. He died in 1869.