In 1861, he went to Edo as an obante (a guard to defend Edo Bay) accompanying Shinsaku TAKASUGI for study purposes, and stayed in Yubikan on the premises of the Choshu hantei (the residence maintained by a daimyo) in Sakurada.
文久元年（1861年）、高杉晋作に随い御番手として江戸へ遊学、桜田の藩邸内にある有備館に入る。