Having studied the Yomei-gaku (neo-Confucianism based on the teachings of Wang Yangming) with the Confucian scholar Sessai MORITA in Kurashiki City, he became an ardent advocator of the 'Sonno Joi' slogan, (Revere the Emperor and Expel the foreigners).
倉敷市の儒学者・森田節斎に陽明学を学んだことから熱烈な尊王攘夷となった。