Though his lineage is unknown, by the time he was 19 he was well versed in ninjutsu. He may have been born in Iga-ueno (in present day Mie Prefecture), but that is in dispute. It is also said that he assassinated the mistress of Sandayu Momoji and escaped with Momoji's wife. After that, he became the leader of a group of thieves and wreaked havoc over a wide swath from Sakai to Kyoto. He once purloined a prized bird belonging the emperor's advisor, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and made for Osaka Castle, but the bird sang and Goemon was discovered. He was returned to Kyoto's Sanjo Kawara in 1594 where he was sentenced to boil in an iron cauldron. His story has been immortalized in Kabuki drama that has been passed down through the ages.