Kaoru Otsuki

Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925), courtesy name Ch'un-nung, was an important revolutionary figure in modern Chinese history, hailed as a pioneer of the Chinese revolution. He was born into a rural family in Xiangshan County, Guangdong Province (now Zhongshan City). In his early years, Sun Yat-sen received traditional education, and later studied abroad in Honolulu, where he was influenced by Western ideas.

In 1894, Sun Yat-sen founded the Xingzhonghui (Revive China Society), an early bourgeois revolutionary organization aimed at overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and establishing a republic. He actively promoted revolutionary activities but faced failure during the preparation of the Guangzhou uprising in 1895 due to leaks of secret information, which led to the death of several key participants. Subsequently, Sun Yat-sen went into exile in Japan, continuing his anti-Qing revolutionary efforts. While in Japan, he resided in an apartment in Yokohama and made numerous friends.

In 1898, while residing in Yokohama, Sun Yat-sen met Koyuki Otsuki, who was then only 10 years old. That same year, Sun Yat-sen proposed marriage to Koyuki Otsuki's parents but was rejected due to age and family considerations. By 1902, Koyuki had grown into a beautiful young woman. Moved by his admiration for her, Sun Yat-sen, through his translator friend Wen Bingchen, expressed his intention to marry her. Although initially refused, family members eventually agreed in 1903 because they believed Koyuki also loved Sun Yat-sen. The two were married in Yokohama. During his time in Japan, Sun Yat-sen and Koyuki also had a daughter, Miyagawa Fumiko, born on May 12, 1906.

In 1907, Sun Yat-sen left Japan and began revolutionary propaganda activities across Southeast Asia and Europe/America, never returning to Japan to live. During this period, Koyuki married twice more—first to Kameichi Sanzuki and later to the abbot Jukōan Shutsu no kami Minakata Motokazu of the Dōkōji Temple—having a son, Minakata Motomasa. Sun Yat-sen’s daughter Fumiko was sent for foster care during his early years.

Koyuki Otsuki passed away in 1970. In 1984, Japanese scholar Fumiji Kubota reported on Sun Yat-sen’s Japanese wife and daughter in Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, and their accounts have since been widely reproduced. The publication "The Father of the Nation and Yokohama," published by the Yokohama Nationalist Party branch, also featured information about Koyuki Otsuki.