He was born in 1798 as the third son of Shigeki (Shirobe) TAKASHIMA, a Nagasaki machi toshiyori (an important local officer under the Tokugawa Shogunate of Nagasaki-machi Town).
1798年（寛政10年）、長崎町年寄の高島茂起（四郎兵衛）の三男として生まれた。