List of Famous people named Katsu

Count Katsu Yasuyoshi , best known by his nickname Katsu Kaishū , was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of given names throughout his life; his childhood name was Rintarō (麟太郎). He was often called Awa (安房) from his title Awano-kami (安房守) during the late Tokugawa shogunate and later changed his name to Yasuyoshi after the Meiji Restoration.

Katsu Kokichi was born Otani Kokichi in Edo. He was a low-ranking samurai who was adopted by the Katsu family in order to marry the only Katsu daughter, Nobuko. Kokichi's father, Otani Heizo, was a minor official in the shogunate. His half brother, Otani Hikoshiro, was twenty-five years older than Kokichi. After their father's retirement as family head, Hikoshiro became responsible for all the family; he was a noted calligrapher and Confucian scholar and was twice distinguished as district administrator within the shōgun's domain.