Kanekichi was born in Tabuse, Kasumibaura-machi and he was the grandfather of national singer Kyu Sakamoto. In 1902, he migrated to Ashizaki, Hamaguchi-mura, Yamamoto-gun (present Ashizaki, Hachiryu-machi) with his family and introduced hobikisen to this area from around 1902 to 1905. He was also involved in the processing and sale of shrimps with his local partner, Kurakichi Ito, and had some relationships with wholesale merchants in Akita , Yamagata , Tokyo and Ibaraki .

Device for catching shrimps with the mark of Kanekichi Chit book Hobiksen was called utasebune on Hachirogata Lagoon, and a boat called katasen which was indigenous boat on Hachirogata was used for hobiki net-fishing. Katasen is in a shape of a long box with flat bottom made with a characteristic method called omoki-zukuri .

Utasebune before the reclamation of Hachirogata Lagoon
Taken by Mr. Seijiro Higuchi

This is a two-boat trawler. Two boats are connected together. This method did not exist in Kasumigaura. It is said that this method allows for high speed and can catch more fish than single-boat trawlers.

Sightseeing utasebune in the 18 th Lake Hachiro Water Festival ( Lake Hachiro in Akita ) (Taken in August 2003)