Michitoshi, who had been transferred to Hokkaido as a government official in charge of development of Hokkaido and had surveyed the place, appealed to the national government to set up a prefectural government of Hokkaido and was appointed as the first director of the Hokkaido Agency.
開拓官僚として赴任した北海道を調査し、北海道庁設置の必要性を政府に働き掛け初代北海道庁長官となる。