# Kōchiyama Sōshun — Short Fiction character guide

> Kōchiyama Sōshun in Short Fiction by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sōshun, Kōchiyama, VII Kōchiyama Sōshun

**First appearance:** 0024-vii

## Snapshot

A servant with the nerve of a snake charmer, he covets a lord's gold pipe and asks for it with a bow and a threat.

## Who they are

Kōchiyama Sōshun is an attendant at the Ōsukiya, later remembered as one of the Six Poetical Geniuses of the Tempō period, who moves among his fellow servants with easy insolence. Where others only gossip about Narihiro's gold pipe, Sōshun calmly fills his own from another man's pouch and then announces he will simply ask for the pipe himself. His mixture of amiability and overbearing confidence makes him a quietly dangerous figure, and his audacity drives the story's central confrontation.

## Relationships

### [Maeda Narihiro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/maeda_narihiro)

_rivalry_

A tense, adversarial dynamic where Kōchiyama and Maeda constantly clash over power and influence.

### [Ryōtetsu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/ryotetsu)

_friendship_

Kōchiyama and Ryōtetsu are close companions, often supporting each other through various schemes and conflicts.

### [Tu Tzuchun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/tu_tzuchun)

_social_

They are acquaintances who cross paths in social circles, sharing a distant but polite connection.

### [Ryōtetsu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/ryotetsu)

_friendship_

Kōchiyama and Ryōtetsu are close companions, often supporting each other through various schemes and conflicts.

### [Maeda Narihiro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/maeda_narihiro)

_rivalry_

A tense, adversarial dynamic where Kōchiyama and Maeda constantly clash over power and influence.

### [Maeda Narihiro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/maeda_narihiro)

_rivalry_

A tense, adversarial dynamic where Kōchiyama and Maeda constantly clash over power and influence.

### [Ryōtetsu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/ryotetsu)

_friendship_

Kōchiyama and Ryōtetsu are close companions, often supporting each other through various schemes and conflicts.

### [Tu Tzuchun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/tu_tzuchun)

_social_

They are acquaintances who cross paths in social circles, sharing a distant but polite connection.

## In the story

### [The Pipe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/the-pipe)

The priest who admires and then wheedles the gold pipe from Narihiro.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/ii)

Attendant of the Osukiya, later one of the 'Six Poetical Geniuses of the Tempō Period,' who challenges the others to ask for the pipe.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/iii)

Kōchiyama cunningly asks for Narihiro's pipe, using his attendant status and charm to get it. He leaves with the pipe, laughing derisively.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/iv)

The recipient of Narihiro's gold pipe, though not present in this chapter, his action drives Narihiro's reaction.

### [VII Kōchiyama Sōshun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/vii)

Sōshun's pride and avarice conflict as he schemes to obtain Narihiro's pipe, ultimately tricking Ryōtetsu and securing the pipe for himself.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/chapters/viii)

Kōchiyama declines Narihiro's offer of the new pipe, showing his indifference.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters/kochiyama_soshun
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_59_se/characters