He was a western law scholar as well as being part of Enlightenment movement in the Meiji restoration in the end of Edo period, and he successively worked in different positions such as an important post in the house of peers and as councilor of the senate.
幕末明治維新の西洋法学者・啓蒙家で、貴族院(日本)や元老院議官などの要職を歴任。