Itamito was a peasant who ran the Hano Sake Shop at Rugashi. He had spent his life in service to the Mirumoto family, but after thirty-three years as the head of the Hano merchants, he had not heard from his Mirumoto superiors in a decade. This neglect made him bitter, and in 1159 he began pocketing some of the profits. He was exposed during an investigation of banditry in the area who posed as merchants to smuggle sake. Rivals of the Hano had sent out the bandits hoping to remove them from competition.