At the age of 6 (in Japanese counting, it was 5 years old), he was allowed to enter a domain school named Songido, and learned Chinese classics and Western studies from Tando TAKAHASHI, Kikuro KURODA and Gesshu IWAGAKI.
数え年6歳で藩校・遵義堂に入学を許され、高橋担堂、黒田麹盧、岩垣月洲に漢学洋学を学ぶ。