On Sunday, April 17, 1921, count’s daughter Kamako YOSHIKAWA, who lived in seclusion due to a scandal at Chiba Shinju, died of peritonitis at the age of 31. Kamako was the fourth daughter of Count Akimasa YOSHIKAWA. Hiroharu YOSHIKAWA, who married Kamako and became the husband of Yoshikawa’s daughter, was the second son of Arasuke SONE under the former family name of Hiroharu SONE. He was an onzoshi (Current Hitotsubashi University) who entered Mitsui from Tokyo Higher Commercial School. Kanji was not well behaved and often visited his mistress’ home, and his actual marriage with Kamako soon collapsed. Kanji invited Rikusuke KURAMOCHI, who had been a driver of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. as a chauffeur when the Yoshikawa family introduced cars.
Lonely Kamako falls in love with Kuramochi Rikusuke. As the fact was exposed, Kamako and Kuramochi almost got separated but ran away, and on March 7, 1917, he tried to commit suicide by jumping into a train near Chiba Station. At that time, Kamako was 27 years old and Kuramochi was 24 years old. The two survived, but Kuramochi committed suicide by slitting his throat with a short sword. This incident was widely reported as’ Chiba Shinju. ‘. His father Akimasa YOSHIKAWA resigned as Vice Chairman of the Privy Council due to this scandal.
Kamako spent some time in the hospital recuperating, but she fell in love again with Sataro Idezawa, a driver whom her husband Kanji recruited again from Mitsui & Co., as a successor to Kuramochi. His father, Count Akimasa YOSHIKAWA, secretly sent money to Kamako and supported their lives.
However, he stopped sending remittances when his father Akimasa died in January 1921 and his former husband, Hiroharu, succeeded the peerage of count and became the family head of the (Taisho 10) Yoshikawa family. Kamako and Izawa were deprived of funds and had to live in poverty. Meanwhile, Kamako died of peritonitis 100 years ago today. The chief mourner is Sataro Desawa, a former chauffeur.
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