At the age of 14, he enrolled in Benji HINENO's dojo, a martial arts school, in Kochi castle town and learned the swordsmanship of the Oguri-ryu style that the lower-rank samurai learns.
14歳になり高知城下の日根野弁治の道場へ入門し、下士の習う小栗流を学ぶ。