In February 1868, he sent a chief retainer to Kyoto (the hub of the Imperial Court and the New Government) in response to the defeat of the army of the old Shogunate (the last shogunate, Tokugawa clan and the followers) in the Battles of Toba and Fushimi.
慶応4年（1868年）2月、鳥羽・伏見の戦いにおける旧幕府軍の敗北を受けて家老を上洛させる。