Emperor Kōkaku
Takayama was the son son of Takayama Ryōzaemon Masakiyo, a local samurai in what is now part of the city of Ōta, Gunma. He claimed descent from Takayama Shigehide, one of the 16 companions of Nitta Yoshisada, the famed imperial loyalist during the wars of the Nanboku-chō period. After reading the medieval chronicle "Taiheiki" at the age of 16 he became a Buddhist priest and at the age of 18 left home (leaving behind a suicide note) and travelled around the country spreading his theories on the supremacy of the Imperial house and illegitimacy of the Tokugawa shogunate. During his travels, he cultivated a wide circle of acquaintances with whom he regularly corresponded, including Hayashi Shihei, Uesugi Harunori, Hirose Tansō and others. Thwarted in his efforts to reach Ezo due to high security by the shogunate, he turned to Kyoto instead. He resided for a time at the house of the "kuge" Iwakura Tomokazu, presented a memorial to Emperor Kōkaku and wrote numerous patriotic poems.