He was born in Hirosaki in Mutsu, now Aomori Prefecture. His real name was Minoru. After studying at the domain school he served in the Justice Ministry and Dajōkan, gaining practical legal and administrative experience that later grounded his journalism.
Doubting bureaucratic life, he left office and became a newspaper journalist. Unsatisfied with pro-government tones, he sought to discuss the nation's shape from his own viewpoint. This turn led toward founding the newspaper Nihon.
He founded the newspaper Nihon and led its editorial line. He clearly took a nationalism (kokusuishugi) stance that criticized Westernizing policy and valued Japanese tradition and autonomy. The newspaper Nihon was widely read by intellectuals and students.
In the year the constitution was promulgated he wrote much on constitutional government and civic awareness. Calling for a constitution rooted in Japan rather than mere imitation of the West left a strong impression on readers.
He also faced disasters such as the Nōbi earthquake and social contradictions in print. Nationalism that did not ignore the weak or local realities differed from mere xenophobia. His scope as a journalist widened.
During the First Sino-Japanese War, amid victory fever, he also urged caution in postwar management and diplomacy. A tone that was not pure enthusiasm sometimes drew dislike, but it was Katsunan's consistent view.
Worsening chronic illness forced him off the front line of the newspaper Nihon. Even so he kept explaining nationalism (kokusuishugi) in essays and books, influencing younger journalists.
He collected works such as studies of recent political debate, presenting his political thought systematically. Appealing to readers in books as well as papers, he left a name in mid-Meiji intellectual history.
He continued to speak on international relations and domestic reform after the Russo-Japanese War. Rather than reveling in victory, he kept asking how national power should be used, to the end of his life.
He died of illness in Tokyo at forty-nine. From the newspaper Nihon he advocated nationalism (kokusuishugi) and asked how to build a nation-state not solely by Westernization. In a short life he left a large mark on Meiji press history.
Shimoda UtakoTatsuno KingoKomura JutarōUeki EmoriMikimoto KōkichiNaruse JinzōTsubouchi ShōyōAkiyama Yoshifuru
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.