His father, Motochika, had studied under Kijin KITAMURA, and Nankaku grew up in a family rich in education of refined poetry such as waka (a traditional Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables), renga (linked verse), and other than lessons on poetry and paintings, he was educated with 'shisho' (The Four Books of Confucianism), 'kanshi' (Chinese poetry) and so on.
父元矩は北村季吟に師事したこともあり、南郭は和歌や連歌など文雅の教養豊かな家庭で育ち、歌や絵の手ほどき以外にも「四書」や「漢詩」などを教えられる。