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Fukami Jikyu in a shower of cherry petals

Fukami Jikyu was a former samurai whose martial skills became superfluous once peace was established under Tokugawa rule. Like many other young men in the samurai class, he joined the otokodate, or chivalrous men.  These groups dedicated themselves to righting abuses and upholding what they saw to be justice.  Often associated with excessive behavior, elegant clothing and pride, many groups turned into notorious gangs, believed by some to be the predecessors of the yakuza, or Japanese gangsters. Here, Jikyu strolls boldly through the streets of the pleasure district, looks up at the moon and composes the poem, “The full moon, coming with a challenge to flaunt its beautiful brow!”