Katsu Kokichi (勝 小吉) was a low-ranking samurai whose autobiography serves as an important description of life in the Edo period.
By contrast, Katsu Kokichi led a life of idleness, never achieving an official post and supplementing his small (41 koku) income by dealing in swords, among other things.
The other things, contrary to samurai-class ideals, included acting as a security guard and lending money at high interest.
When Kokichi's son Rintaro (later to become the famous naval commander Katsu Kaishū, a major figure during the Meiji era modernization of Japan) was fifteen, Kokichi retired as family head, passing on that duty to young Rintaro.
Katsu Kokichi died in Edo in 1850, three years before Commodore Matthew C. Perry reached Japan.