His military strategies were characterized by the thorough elitism by selected few soldiers (squads of selected castle soldiers for Satsuma Domain and squads of selected Kiheitai Army soldiers for Choshu Domain) and by the firearm absolutism, the traditional practice of the Goden school.
兵法の特徴として、徹底した少数精鋭主義（薩摩藩兵では城下士の部隊、長州藩兵では奇兵隊系の部隊を選抜して率いた）と合伝流の伝統である火力絶対主義にあった。